War memorial
This small town on the Western Hwy,& midway between Ballarat and Ararat,& has a gold rush history. The discovery of gold at Fiery Creek swelled its population in the late 1850′s to nearly 100 000. Today Beaufort is primarily a centre for the surrounding pastoral and agricultural district.
Is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway midway between Ararat and Ballarat, in the Pyrenees Shire local government area. It is 387 metres above sea level. At the 2001 census, Beaufort had a population of 987. The town takes its name either from Rear-Admiral Francis Beaufort or a Welsh village in Monmouthshire.
The area was once occupied by the Jajowarrung Aborigines who called the area ‘Peerick’ or ‘Yarram-yarram’
Thomas Mitchell passed through the district on his expedition of 1836. Early settlers in the area were the Kirkland Brothers and a Mr. Hamilton; the latter took up Trawalla Station in 1838. The station was taken over by Adolphus Goldsmith in 1841 and he developed the property into a rich grazing enterprise. Lake Goldsmith was named after him. Gold was discovered in 1852, with another gold rush from 1854 at nearby Fiery Creek. The Fiery Creek diggings supported four townships — Beaufort, Yam Holes Creek, View Point and Southern Cross — during the 1850s. The population on the fields reportedly reached approximately 100,000 people at its height in the late 1850s and produced 450,000 ounces of gold over a two-year period, 1855–1856.[4] The town was surveyed in 1857 and town allotments were sold from 1858. By 1860, Beaufort had become a small but strong agricultural, pastoral and timber district. Beaufort’s Court House was built in 1863 and the Post Office renamed as Beaufort the same year (since 1855 having been known as Fiery Creek, Fiery Creek Pyrenees Gold Field, and Raglan).
Beaufort has been home to an all-ages, five-day (rave) music and arts festival called Rainbow Serpent Festival since 1998.
The town has its own railway station on the Ararat railway line.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Central Highlands Football League.
The town has various successful businesses including Michael Unwin Wines, Epping Timber, McVilly’s Timber and a school camp called Cave Hill Creek. The town also has a big vibrant supermarket, chemist, newsagency, its own newspaper (Pyrenees Advocate) two pubs and plenty of great cafes.
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