Mining spread contaminants and destroyed the infrastructure the indigenous people created over generations to maximise seasonal drainage patterns; channels and weirs they built out of timber stakes, to slow receding summer flows, were wrecked; water holes where the people gathered in smaller groups during periods of scarce rainfall and from which they transported water in skin bags when moving, were muddied, polluted and drained; the soaks they had dug between banks into sandy sediment to tap into the water table were likewise obliterated.

Some of their waterholes in rock platforms of the Creek that they found or enlarged, then covered with slabs to protect them from animals, may still remain, unidentified.

In 1854, Chief goldfields commissioner, Captain W. Wright, renamed the settlement 'Castlemaine' in honour of his Irish uncle, Viscount Castlemaine.

On 20 July 1851 gold was discovered near present-day Castlemaine (Mt Alexander Goldfields) at Specimen Gully on Barkers Creek.

John Worley, George Robinson and Robert Keen, also in the employ of Barker as shepherds and a bullock driver, immediately teamed with Peters in working the deposits by panning in Specimen Gully where the gold had been found, which they did in relative privacy during the next month.

When Barker sacked them and ran them off his land for trespass, Worley, on behalf of the party "to prevent them getting in trouble", mailed a letter to The Argus (Melbourne) dated 1 September 1851 announcing this new goldfield with the precise location of their workings.

[12] "With this obscure notice, rendered still more so by the journalist as 'Western Port', were ushered to the world the inexhaustible treasures of Mount Alexander"[13] also to become known as the Forest Creek diggings.

[16] Notable prominent businesswoman Fanny Finch was running a restaurant and lodging house at Forest Creek at this time.

From the 1970s the industries that had dominated employment in the town for a century began to decline, with many factories closing and others such as Thompson's Foundry significantly downsizing.

[citation needed] Some of these more recent arrivals added to the gentrification of the Victorian era town, helping to preserve its already charming country aspect and enhancing it by establishing a number of cafes and restaurants.

As with much gentrification, however, consequent rising house prices placed increased economic pressure on many earlier inhabitants who sometimes struggle to continue living in the area.

The town has, overall, taken on a fresh lease of life, combining some of the more desirable aspects of urban Melbourne with the charm and openness of old Castlemaine.

In state politics, Castlemaine is located in the Legislative Assembly districts of Bendigo West currently held by the Australian Labor Party.

Castlemaine has joined the likes of nearby Daylesford with gaining tourism from Melbourne, offering an array of local cafes and bars which have increased the region's appeal.

This structure replaced a wooden post office which was built on this same spot in 1859 when the service was transferred from the gold commissioner's camp.

Constructed by H D McBean, builder of many substantial buildings in Castlemaine, including part of the hospital and Thompson's foundry, it cost £2,000.

Constructed of face red brick and coloured cement dressings (now painted white) and a tiled roof, it is pavilion-planned.

[30] The sophisticated design in French Renaissance style by leading Melbourne architects Purchas and Swyer (the Glenara homestead at Bulla is also their work), is rare in a building of the early 1860s.

[30] On 17 November 1983 the Castlemaine Art Museum at 14 Lyttleton Street was classified by the National Trust which notes its significance as "an exceptional building in its intent and execution and ... historically important as one of the earliest examples of the 'modern movement' in provincial Victoria".

[31] Despite the onset of the Depression, £3,250 was raised in only six weeks from private individuals and local companies, augmented by state government grants totallng £1,500, which together covered the total cost of £4,132.

The pediment, simply decorated with a rising sun motif, bears a statue of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, between two towers with cupola crowns.

A landmark in the historic townscape, exemplifying the period when the temporary town became permanently established, it now serves as the tourist centre.

[38] Housed in an historic building, the Mechanics Institute at 212 Barker Street in which it was established in 1857, the Castlemaine Library held 4,781 volumes in 1877,[22] and since 1996 has expanded its services and offerings and access to 222,931 items (in 2021–22) as part of the North Central Goldfields Regional Library Corporation which services also the City of Greater Bendigo, Loddon Shire and Macedon Ranges Shire; an area of 12,979 square kilometres.

See Buda Historic Home and Garden Castlemaine also hosts a local farmers market where the finest producers of the Mount Alexander Shire region, all in one place.

The old wooden mill beside Barkers Creek opposite the Botanical Gardens was at one stage a carpet factory As a gold rush town, Castlemaine attracted migrants from all over the world.

Initially the churches in Victoria were unable to cope with huge numbers of migrants settling in areas which had been sparsely populated.

[48] Castlemaine is also the self-proclaimed Hot Rod centre of Australia,[49][50] with many small businesses catering to this popular form of motor sport at a national level.

Primary care options include dentists, opticians, physiotherapists, podiatrists, chiropractors, pathology and hearing services, plus a substantial number of complementary and alternative practitioners.

V/Line operates VLocity services to Melbourne's Southern Cross station, the fastest weekday express taking 65 minutes.

The fictional town of Yoorana in which the series is set is located on the western side of (and effectively replaces) Castlemaine, per an onscreen map.