It was founded in the 1860s as the Sandhurst Mining Exchange (Bendigo was called Sandhurst before it became a city), to list shares in mining companies working the rich goldfields of Bendigo and surrounding areas.
The 1870s were the heyday of the exchange, business was booming, and special trains brought investors from Melbourne to buy shares.
In November 1871, the exchange had over 1300 listed companies, with a total capitalization around £10,000,000.
The Great Depression of the 1930s hit the exchange hard, and World War II saw the closure of almost all mines.
In June 2012, it was purchased by the National Stock Exchange of Australia who decided to shut it down.