Castlemaine-Diggings-National-Heritage-Park-Management-Plan

6 STRATEGIES FOR VISITORS
6.1 Information, interpretation and
education
Providing information, interpretation and
education can help orientate visitors, foster an
understanding and appreciation of the park’s
special natural and cultural values, build
understanding of management activities and
help visitors to experience, understand and
appreciate the park in a safe and appropriate
manner.
Parks Victoria delivers information,
interpretation and education to visitors by
various means, including its website, ranger
patrols, Park Notes, signage, tourism brochures
and other publications, displays, and licensed
tour operators. These services may be
developed and provided in collaboration with
other organisations. The primary location in
Castlemaine for visitors to obtain information
about the park is the Tourism Visitor
Information Centre.
The Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage
Park offers unique opportunities to develop
interpretive themes integrating the heritage and
culture of the Traditional Owners, the built
fabric of former gold towns, archaeological
evidence of the gold rush and ongoing mining,
geological exposures and the environmental
transformation of the Box-Ironbark forests and
woodlands, for interpretation.
Eureka Reef, Forest Creek, Pennyweight Flat
Cemetery, Vaughan Springs, Herons Reef,
Garfield Waterwheel, Spring Gully, Butchers
Gully, Wattle Gully Mine and Escott Grave
have great potential as sites for interpretation
of the gold rush theme using visual landscape
reconstruction developed from historic
artworks and writings.
Current information and interpretive material
includes signs and information boards at key
visitor sites and walking tracks, the Mount
Alexander Diggings Trail guidebook and
interpretive trails at Forest Creek Gold
Diggings, Garfield Waterwheel, Eureka Reef
and Kalimna Point.
Park staff, tour operators and community
groups currently deliver interpretive programs
relating to the park’s natural and cultural
values.
The park complements other tourist
destinations in the area. Improved promotion
of the park in conjunction with local attractions
could increase visitation and help support the
tourism industry.
Aims
• Promote and encourage visitor discovery,
enjoyment and appreciation of the park’s
natural and cultural values, in a safe and
appropriate manner through information,
interpretation and education.
• Provide creative interpretation
opportunities for people to learn about and
understand the park’s historic and cultural
features and values, including Indigenous
cultural heritage.
• Support the local community to deliver
interpretive programs relating to the park’s
cultural and natural values.
Management strategies
• Continue to support Castlemaine’s
Tourism Visitor Information Centre as the
key distribution point for pre-visit
information about the park.
• Provide access to pre-visit information
about the park through:
• Park Notes
• Parks Victoria’s website
• Parks Victoria Information Centre
• Castlemaine Tourism Visitor
Information Centre and other
accredited information centres
• Education Notes
• community and user groups.
• Ensure information relating to safety
issues and potential hazards in the park is
available as pre-visit park information
(section 6.12).
• Provide visitor signage at key locations
(table 4) and main entrance points (table
3) in the park to assist with orientation and
provide information about park features,
walks, prospecting and other recreational
28 Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park