The Shire of Mount Alexander owes its beginnings to the day Major Thomas Mitchell – surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia – passed through the area on 29 September 1836.
One of his wagons was in need of some repairs, and coming across a clearing where two creeks merged into one, he made camp. Little did he realise what wealth lay within those two creeks and the landscape surrounding them.
On his return to Sydney he gave a glowing report of the area; an area of good grass and water that was ideal for grazing. The report saw a lot of land hungry settlers head south with their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and so began the settlement of squatters and large land runs.
In 1851 the world’s largest alluvial gold field was uncovered in the land surrounding those two creeks where Major Mitchell spent the night 15 years earlier.