The Bealiba area was originally known as Cochranes, after John and James Cochrane, who took up a pastoral run in the area in 1853. The diggings, started in the mid 1850s, were originally known as Cochrane’s Diggings.
The rush to the Bealiba Flat, which has for the last few days been the topic of conversation, is likely to prove a tremendous rush. Gold was first struck there about three weeks ago, since then the number of miners has been gradually increasing, but it was not until the beginning of last week that anything like a great rush took place. The news of the large number of payable holes that were being bottomed soon got wind, and diggers have since been setting in from all directions. – Bendigo Advertiser, 27th October 1860
Today Bealiba survives as a picturesque ghost town, with a striking main street lined with gorgeous historic buildings.
Bealiba, despite its small size, has several attractions to check out including the scenic Mount Bealiba, the Bealiba Reservoir (free camping permitted), and the Orme Snowden Reserve (an excellent fenced playground and barbecue area).
Bealiba gold maps
- 1915, Geological Survey of Victoria, parts of parishes of Bealiba, Moliagul, Tarnagulla, Waanyarra, Dunolly and Archdale. Shows anticlines, dips, strike, dykes, quartz reefs, auriferous reefs, indicator lines, outcrops of ironstone, nuggets, shafts and alluvial workings.