Gold was officially discovered on Bendigo Creek in late October 1851, transforming the area in less than a year from a secluded bushland to a scene which "beggared description"[1] as tens of thousands of men, women and children came to the area during the gold rush at Bendigo Creek in 1852.
Starting at an elevation of 287 metres, the creek almost immediately flows through the Crusoe Reservoir at 286 metres and then forms a geographic spine through Bendigo's CBD either past or under many of the city's landmarks including the Alexandra Fountain at Charing Cross, Rosalind Park, Lake Weeroona and the Bendigo Botanic Gardens.
[6] [7] The location on Bendigo Creek where gold was alleged to have been first discovered in October 1851 was a short distance from that shepherd's hut.
Although the bullock driver's actual name remains unknown, he "was handy with his fists"[10] and was consequently nicknamed for the English bare-knuckle prizefighter William Abednego "Bendigo" Thompson (1811-1880) who was then at the height of his fame.
[11] Bendigo Thompson was a famously agile boxer who initially earned the nickname "Bendy" because of his constant bobbing and weaving around the ring.