Mount Macedon township was largely established by Melbourne's wealthy elite in the post-gold rush era of the mid to late 19th century who used it as a summer retreat.

[vague] The gardens and homes of Mount Macedon are well known for their size and scale, some of which contain collections of exotic plants that are rare in cultivation.

[citation needed] The mountain was sighted by Hamilton Hume and William Hovell on their 1824 expedition to Port Phillip from NSW.

[8] The state parliament approved funds of £12,000 to purchase a Government house[9] near the top of Mount Macedon as the location of the official summer residence of the Governor of Victoria in the late 1880s.

The official residence and land was sold for £5,600[13] in 1934 via public auction to raise funds in the post-Depression economy and as the Premier at the time, Sir Stanley Argyle, said "the estate no longer justified itself because none of the recent Governors had made much use of it".

Remnants of the tramway include "a substantial cutting and embankment, and a well-defined chute impression extending about 500 metres down the mountain".

[17] It was opened in 1898 and was described in The Age at the time "on the slope of one of the hills in Upper Macedon, about 2500 feet above sea level, in a climate which has been tested for many years, and proved exceedingly efficacious in cases of lung disease".

It is one of 500 horse troughs donated free of charge to towns across NSW and Victoria to grant Mr. Bill's wish that "no animals to go thirsty".

Intense harvesting of the native timber on the slopes of Mount Macedon for building and use in the gold mining industry in the early 19th century resulted in the rapid deforestation of the area, to the extent that efforts to replant the forests were undertaken in the late 1880s.

[24] Over 150 oak trees line the famous Honour Avenue, located in the heart of the town at the base of Mount Macedon.

In autumn, particularly between March and May, the oak trees turn bright with colour, attracting significant amounts of tourists and visitors.

[53] Fox hunting in the surrounding forest was popular in the early nineteenth century, although native animals were frequently encountered and killed.