Adelaide Lead
Situated about 10km south of Maryborough, on the headwaters of the Timor Creek, Adelaide Lead is found between Alma and Possum Gully, Amherst and Talbot.
Signs of the first inhabitants, the Dja Dja Warrung people, can be found in the present forest; particularly the rock wells they made in the stoney outcrops to collect water to be used as they passed through. The original white settlers came in the 1840’s starting farms on the creek flats.
Later they were followed by gold seekers who named the area Adelaide Lead as they had just walked from Adelaide. Numbers of people quickly increased in the 1850’s and a largely canvas settlement grew up around the alluvial gold fields with shops (including a jewellers and a blacksmiths) and hotels. This was largely dismantled as people moved on to the next rush, but some workers remained to labour in the deep lead mines.
By 1900 all gold had been exhausted and Adelaide Lead reverted mostly to farming but some traces of previous activity can be seen, with remnants of mines and gold rush activity still found throughout the bush. The School, which operated from 1854 until 1956, is now used as a community centre, mainly for musical events, and is largely in original condition.
Much of the area is now covered in forest and managed by Parks Victoria. There is a camping ground in the forest, off the Old Avoca Road and plenty of good places to explore, with much of visual interest for artists and painters. Visitors are also welcomed at Possum Gully Fine Arts Gallery in Adelaide Lead, Possum Gully Road. The gallery is open weekends and exhibits and sells a wide range of high quality art works by new and established artists in a dedicated studio and extensive gardens.
Adelaide Lead artists, galleries and studios open for the 2023 Tiny Towns Arts Trail include:
