Take a walk back in time through the relics of the area’s rich gold mining history at the Old Tom Mine on this Grade 3 walk through Box-Ironbark forest.

Follow the track heading north from Notley Camping Area (2km, 40 minutes return) or take the longer 5.5km loop starting and ending at Shadbolt Picnic Area (allow 2 hours).

The walk offers visitors the chance to explore remnants of both alluvial and quartz reef gold mining techniques from the 1800s. See the Old Tom Reef mine, the remains of a puddling machine used as recently as the 1930s and the site of a cyanide treatment plant which reclaimed gold from old tailings sands. The quartz mine is fenced but the mine entrance is still clearly visible at the end of the open cut. Gold-laden ore from this mine was carted to Bendigo for crushing in the 1850s until a small crushing battery was built on site. Later alluvial workings were built and in the 1930s tailings sands were treated with cyanide to reclaim even more gold. The Raywood channel, which forms part of the modern water supply, bisects the site.