Carisbrook Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Carisbrook

On the Pyrenees Highway between Castlemaine and Maryborough in northern Victoria, Carisbrook is at the centre of a rich agricultural area.

The little town is proud of its many historic buildings, notable among which are the Masonic Lodge and the old gaol. Built in 1852, the gaol retains its original interlocking and horizontally-laid log walls, but the shingle roof has been replaced by corrugated iron. You can get a grasp on how the local squattocracy lived from Junction Lodge, a two-storey, bluestone homestead, complete with stables, barn, smithy, kitchen and workers" quarters on Camp Street.

A few kilometres south of town the Tullaroop Reservoir, and, back toward Castlemaine, the big Cairn Curran Reservoir offer camping and fishing opportunities. An Aboriginal archeological site 5 km south-east of town on Tullaroop Creek is doubly interesting because it features the rare use of stone in the construction of a cairn, a circle and a boomerang-shaped design.

At Maryborough, about 7 km to the west, they hold a Scottish Highland Gathering on New Year's Day each year and they say that you can hear the pipes in Carisbrook when the wind is right.