Overview
Rushworth is one of Victoria's iconic gold rush towns, established during the height of the gold rush in 1853. Following the collapse of the gold rush in the 1870s, the district moved from mining to timber. Sawmills flourished in the area until around the 1940s.
With such 'rich' history, Rushworth boasts it's own museum, heritage walk and many historic buildings, including the Criterion Hotel, St Paul's Anglican Church and the many shopfronts of High Street.
Located by the Rushworth State Forest and Whroo Historic Reserve, Rushworth's surrounds are known for its dense and colourful flora and fauna. Waranga Basin is also a popular fishing and recreational destination.
Place Based Planning
Place Based Plans focus on making places better. The process involves looking at, listening to, and engaging with community members who live, work and play in a particular place (from a street to an entire town) to understand their needs and aspirations. Ultimately, what do you want your town to look like, function like and feel like?
The Rushworth Place Based Plan committee is made up of nine members including Matthew Barlow, Louise Costa, Graeme Hannigan, Mark Labozzetta, Andrew Larkin, Jasmin Le Deux, Crystal Pateman, Sarah Pain and Anne Spittles.
Township Facility Planning
Township Facility Planning looks at the future of the town's assets and identifies whether a facility should be renewed, upgraded, repurposed or retired.
Nominations are yet to open for Rushworth's Township Facility Plan Committee.
Help us prepare the Reimagining Rushworth Plan
We want to hear from you!
A community group has been set up to work in partnership with Campaspe Shire to find out what people really love about Rushworth and what people would like to see improved.
This information will be documented into a Place Based Plan by December 2023. The plan will feature a series of priority projects which the community will work towards achieving over the next 10 years or so.
We look forward to hearing your ideas about how we can make Rushworth an even better place. Also, we are really interested to hear from you about what you can do to help create a positive change in the community.
You can get involved by:
- Attending a community pop-up.
- Thursday, 8 June from 9.30am – 12.30pm at Gus and Ollies Café
- Saturday, 17 June from 9am – 12.30pm at Rushworth Market
- Hosting a discussion with your friends, family, neighbours, community group or colleagues using our conversation kit.
- The conversation kit can be downloaded here(PDF, 217KB)
- You can email the kit to [email protected]
- Drop your completed guide off at Council’s Service Centre or one of the Place Based Plan orange boxes located at various businesses around town.
- Completing the online survey by clicking here
The engagement period will close on 30 July.
For more information you can contact the project team on [email protected]
Help us prepare the Reimagining Rushworth Plan
Community Workshops
Rushworth and district residents are invited to the community workshop sessions to share thoughts and ideas on how to make Rushworth and surrounds even better.
- Sunday, 6 August from 2 - 4pm at Rushworth Shire Hall
- Wednesday, 16 August from 11am - 1pm at Rushworth Shire Hall
- Wednesday, 16 August from 6 - 8pm at Rushworth Shire Hall
Workshop structure
First hour will be structured workshops lead by the project team, discussing the results of the consultation so far, and listening to ideas from the community.
Second hour is a casual drop-in session where busy community members can quickly talk to the project team about their ideas.
For more information contact Wendy Holland from Communityvibe on 0438 433 555 or [email protected].