Castlemaine is a small town in (goldfields region), a gold mine in central Victoria, about 120km by car from Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, and about 35km from Bendigo (Bendigo), the four major cities of Victoria.
Castlemaine is the administrative and economic center of (Shire of Mount Alexander), Alexandria. Castlemaine began to emerge from the gold rush in 1851 and gradually developed into a major regional central town. Despite the gradual decline in the population of Castlemaine following the gold rush, the Victorian government officially declared Castlemaine a city on December 4, 1965.
Castlemaine is home to many Victorian cultural institutions, including the oldest continuing theatre on the Australian mainland: the Royal Theatre (Theatre Royal).
