Steiglitz Historic Park Prospecting Area

A gold-rush township that once held more than a thousand people now sits quiet in the bushland between Geelong and Ballarat, on the edge of the Brisbane Ranges. Wallabies, kangaroos and cockatoos move through the gullies where hotels, churches and shops once stood, and a handful of walking tracks — the Steiglitz Circuit, Deadmans Loop, Beards Gully — thread the old goldfield. The restored courthouse holds relics of the era. Panning for gold is permitted in the park, and spring brings the wildflower displays the ranges are known for.