Creswick: museum, farmers market, pizza and the American Hotel

Creswick was chosen for overnight accommodation as a convenient location between our visits to Beaufort and Clunes in August.  Surprisingly, it was so much more than a place to sleep.  We spent more time than we expected with visits to the farmers market, splendid heritage buildings, the local history museum and the shops.  The town has a rich goldrush history and a vibrant active community.  In fact, we were could have spent much more time there if we had not had plans to visit Clunes before we drove home.  

The American Hotel Creswick

 90 Albert Street, Creswick

 

By the time we arrived to check in for our accommodation at the American Hotel, it was late afternoon.  The hotel dates back to the gold rush in Creswick in the 1850s and has seen the population deccrease from 250,000 in its heyday to 3170 in the most recent census.  Patrons included the artistic Lindsay family and it is part of the Lindsday trail.  It was the Cobb & Co depot for stage coaches, the setting for political meetings and hosted the local community bank.  
 

The bar had a great ambience with pea soup green walls and an assortment of historic photos as you would expect.  I wanted time to look around and have a drink if we were staying longer than a night.

Our bedrooms were basic with a shared bathroom.  We weren't there too long so we didn't need much.  I was happy with a comfy bed and the tea and coffee making facilities in a cupboard.  

I peeked into the function room. because it looked rather grand  It is called the Lindsay Room in honor of the local artists.  It has an ornate mirrored fireplace and pictures around the wall

Less fancy but cosy is the dining room.  I went through around dinner time and was surprised how busy it was.

A walk about town! 

 

Before we went out for dinner I had a walk.  I always like to see the place where I am staying and I had decided to go get some herbal tea bags so we could have a cuppa tea.

I headed for the IGA supermarket.  We were impressed at how much vegan food could be found there.  This is is a sign of a country town full of tree-changers!

 

I also passed the Odessa at Leavers restaurant where we planned to eat.  It was built in 1856 and is the oldest building in town.  I didn't book and when we entered the place was heaving with not a spare seat in the house.  Ella Hooper of the band Killing Heidi was performing so it was booked out.  And the kitchen closed at 6.30pm.  It made me sad to be unable to eat in the cosy space with sparkly fairy lights strung around the rich red curtains, lamps and stone walls.  We really need to return to Creswick just to eat here.  And of course next time I will book!

Raffas

84 Albert Street, Creswick 

Fortunately Sylvia had read that Raffas pizza joint had vegan cheese.  It did not have the ambience of Odessa but the pizza was great.  I was pleased with the August special: a Spinach and Ricotta pizza that was drizzled with hot honey!  The hot honey took a fairy ordinary pizza to new heights.  Sylvia enjoyed her vegan Margherita pizza.  

Creswick Market

19-21 Victoria Street, Creswick

By good luck, we were at Creswick on the 3rd Saturday of the month when the Creswick Market was being held at the neighbourhood house.  It was lovely with lots of stalls, great artwork on the water tank and buskers.  I only wished I had some coins to put in the buskers's basket when they sang Whole of the Moon by the Waterboys.
 

Firstly we check out the food to go, having not have breakfast.  We settled on Pierogi Darling.  Who could resist a cute name and gorgeous set up with swirly orange tablecloth.  It was interesting chatting to the friendly owner who said she had been selling different meals and found that pierogi was the most popular.  

So we have pierogi for breakfast.  It was excellent.  Mine were fried potato and farmers cheese pierogi with sour cream, sauerkraut, a pickle spear, herbs and a drizzle of paprika oil.  Sylvia had the vegan buttery potato and chives pierogi with the sides.  It was a great way to start our day!

Another stall I really loved was Gypsy Weaver.  They made soft toys with recycled yarn, fillings and buttons.  Every toy was different with a name and backstory on a little card.  It was great fun to read the cards and look at all the different designs.  They also set up a loom at their stall so we could watch the weaving.

We enjoyed checking out the plant stall.  In the background is some gorgeous butterfly wall art on a shed.  I really liked how it was in the grounds of the neighbourhood house with the community artwork.

A good farmers market always has an amazing baker.  We bought a loaf of pumpkin and onion sourdough to take home.  A good loaf of bread is the best souvenir!  To keep us going we also had a bread stick (batard?) with lovely fried onions baked on as a topping.

There was lots more to see.  We had a taster of a warm alcoholic spiced apple cider from Daylesford Cider.  It was the perfect drink for a winter's day.  I told the stallholder that I would buy it if it was non alcoholic.  He miraculously produced a non alcoholic version and I bought a six pack of the cans.  I was amused by the neurodivergent fridge magnets and stickers and made a purchase.  One  that resonated with me was one saying "I am multi-tasking.  I can listen, ignore and forget all the same time".  They didn't have a fridge magnet so I bought one saying "My computer must be broken.  I keep hitting the escape key but I am still at work."  I also loved that one stall had lots of heat packs in different shapes to ease pain in knees, forarms and necks.  

Creswick Museum

70 Albert Street, Creswick

I hadn't planned to go to Creswick Museum but once I saw it, I was keen to visit.  It is in the former municipal chambers.  It was built in 1876 when the Borough of Creswick was wealthy with gold rush money.  This imposing Victorian two story building is built to impress with a loggia entrance, rows of arched windows and a balustrade around the roof and a grand spiral staircase in the middle of the interior.

The reception counter has a giant Alfred, the eponymous pudding from Norman Lindsay's classic children's book, The Magic Pudding.  He is a cantankerous character and perhaps put there to glare at anyone who is unhappy that the museum will only take an entrance fee in cash.  Not because the staff are behind the times but because their previous EFTPOS machine had problems that has sent them looking for a new system to take electronic payments.  I had a chat to the women at the counter who were very friendly and helpful.  With our local museum considering new designs while it is renovated, it is interesting to hear about others' experiences.

Modern museum theory is that clutter makes it too hard to take in anything so they are discerning with choosing less objects for more attention.  I confess that I didn't have much time and was so tired after leaving home the morning after finishing up at my old job that I still didn't do a great job of taking it all in.  But I did leave with a few highlights, which is all that the museum curators expect.  The photo above is of the Colonial Art Room

 

I really loved the Creswick School's Roll of Honour in tribute to students who served in World War I.  I have seen many honor rolls but ones with photos are unusual.  To see all the faces of those young men who went to war is quite touching.  (Our history society has so many donated to them because no one wants them any more.  However they are too large to be easy to store or display many so they are a constant challenge.) 

 

The most memorable item was the Clifton Billy.  Creswick holds the unenviable record for having the worst gold mining disaster in Australia.  A sudden flooded mine trapped 27 men on Monday 11 December 1882.  When the rescuers reached them on the Thursday, only 5 men were still alive and survived to tell the tale. Some of the dead had written messages to their families on their "crib pails" (in which they took their meals down the mine.)   This is the only known artifact from the disaster.  It is inscribed "Goodbye dear mother, sisters and brothers: Philippa my dear girl. John Tom Clifton".  The words are written behind it because it is difficult to read it almost 150 years later.

I almost gave a cursory glance at this room but was glad I had a paper guide for each room and found it was the Lindsay room.  On display is some of Lionel and Darrly Lindsay's artworks as well as some family photos and an ornate vintage organ.

Then it was time to go upstairs via the grand spiral staircase.  On the landing were letters from the goldfields.  If I had had the time, I would have loved to stop and read them but time was tight by now.   The letter that included a  lovely landscape sketch was the one I appreciated most.

 

I took this photo because I loved the huge painting hung above the door and the lovely wooden display cases but I didn't stay long enough to take much in. There seemed to be lots of rooms to wonder through if I had the time.

My eye was caught by this portrait of John Curtin who was a great Australia's prime minister during World War II.  I had been aware that he had lived in Brunswick but had not known that he was born in Creswick.

I liked the way the notices were arranged in this display case.  The one that attracted my eye was was the notice on water restrictions in 1930.  Watering the garden was restricted to 3 hours from 7pm on three nights a week.

The final room I came to was the former Council Chambers.  When the building had been converted from the municipal offices into a museum, this room was preserved.  Most of the furniture dates back to the end of the 19th Century and was used for decades in this room.  On the walls are photos of early councillors and a couple of large portraits.

 

Sylvia was not interested in the museum so she went down the main street (Albert Street) to browse in a vintage shop (55 Albert St) and then on to Il Bello cafe for a latte.  I met her there after I had dragged myself away from the museum.  It was time to leave Creswick and get the car to head to Clunes.

You can read more about our trip on my post about our visit to the Cyril Callister Vegemite Museum, Beaufort and I plan to soon write about our Clunes visit.

Cyril Callister Vegemite Museum, Beaufort

Ever since I heard about the Cyril Callister Vegemite Museum, I have been looking for an opportunity to drive almost 2 hours to see how they presented the history of the iconic umami black spread that Australians love (while the rest of the world scratches its head in bemusement).  Finally in August with an the indulgent week between the end of one job and the start of another, I booked an overnight trip that featured this visit.

We broke our journey from Melbourne by stopping for lunch at the Pancake Kitchen in Ballarat.  The Vegemite Museum website had opening times but I worried we drive go all that way and find it closed.  So I texted and was relieved to confirm they were indeed open.  As we set off I was sad to hear that Johnny Young who had hosted the tv show Young Talent Time every Saturday night during my childhood.  Then I got so excited to hear one of the YTT kids, Karen Knowles, all grown up chatting about her memories of Johnny that I took a wrong turn.  

After that it was all smooth sailing.  Well mostly.  The news has been focusing on the poor condition of country roads.   One of the more amusing moments listening to ABC 774 on the radio was Charlie Pickering suggesting to the leader of the Legalise Cannibis Party that its politicians should fill in the pot holes in the road!  I understood the conversations more as I was swerving around the pot holes on the rural roads.

I was excited to finally be at the Vegemite Museum.  It is housed in an old petrol station, hence the odd covered area where petrol pumps once were.  Six large 44-gallon drums are painted by regional artists with Vegemite themes.

Inside we were greeted by the Happy Little Vegemites tune that played on repeat in the front room.  The large space had displays of many Vegemite jars throughout the years since it was first manufactured in 1923.  Some of the older jars were ceramic while the more modern glass jars come in many shapes.  There are also various Vegemite produces (such as Cheesymite Shapes and Vegemite baked beans) and souvenirs (including radios, watches and egg cups).

The door opened frequently with new visitors eager to see the history of Vegemite but the museum never got crowded.  I was told that it was busier on the weekends, and of course when they had group visits.

The Vegemite jars that make me the most nostalgic are the ones that could be reused as drinking glasses.  The glasses above are the tall ones.  Most of the drinking glasses in our cupboards as a kid were the smaller Vegemite drinking glasses.  Strangely enough, among all the jars on display, there were none of the smaller glasses.

While Vegemite is the star of the museum, it is dedicated to Cyril Callister who was born in the nearby town of Chute (which had a population of 13 at the last census).  He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a science degree and was employed by the Fred Water Company (that became Kraft) to develop a yeast extract when Marmite supplies were disrupted by World War I.  This of course was Vegemite!  I am sure Cyril Callister would have expected people to eat it but not to paint with it.  How surprised he would be to know someone had painted this portrait of him using Vegemite and water!  Maybe he would even applaud the ingenuity.

I enjoyed chatting to the volunteer, John, who was generous with his time as we were shown around the museum.  Like many small museums, it runs on a small budget that relies on volunteers and the revenue from visitors.  I really liked seeing some of their ideas for attracting visitors.  

This room is set up like a laboratory to reflect the work of Cyril Callister.  When kids visit on school excursions, they are brought in here to do some simple experiments such as making Vegemite pearls which are like those fruit popping pearls that explode in your mouth.  There was also a rack of lab coats for the kids to wear.  Good fun!

In the history room, there are great black and white photos of Cyril with his family and some of the factory work.  In the top photo above you can see one of the laboratories from the 1910s-1920s at Kraft where experiments led to the creation of Vegemite.  The photo below it is of a Vegemite delivery van in the 1940s-1950s.  

In addition to old photos this room has more old Vegemite jars.  The ones on the shelves are given dates to create a Vegemite timeline.

 

Iconic Vegemite advertisements are displayed here too.  Promotions often focused on how the vitamin B in Vegemite was very good for you.  The famous jingle about Happy Little Vegemites claimed "it puts the rose in every cheek". Lots of healthy kids featured on the adverts at a time when many children suffered from nutritional deficiencies.  The above advert encourages putting Vegemite next to the salt and pepper whenever you set the table.

The above black and white photo is one of the kids immortalised like Peter Pan in advertisement for happy little Vegemites.  Next to it is a photo of him grown up.  It seems surprising that this little boy whose face we all knew so well is now lined with age and the fair hair has become grey.

One room is a gallery of Vegemite inspired artworks.  I really loved these tubes of Vegemite that are suspended in the air as they pour Vegemite onto toast and into the jar.  

This painting of a place populated by little Vegemite jars is bright and cheerful.  The gallery is a work in progress but has some interesting representations of the familiar!

This board encourages people to "tell Cyril about your Vegemite story".  Many of the little toast shaped notes are by kids and are fun to read.  Comments include:  "Vegemite with lettuce in a sandwich is good", "I don't eat it but it looks cool" and "one tablespoon in a bucket, sprinkle the roses, get rid of aphids".

One of the activities for kids is painting with Vegemite thinned down with a little water.  In the art room are also Vegemite candles with toast the smell amazing, a book on the history of Vegemite and postcards.

The framed artwork on the wall are Vegemite and water paintings by local high school kids of iconic local buildings in Beaufort.  Some of these young people are very talented.

Before we leave we check out the merchandise.  There is a lot to choose from: little jars of Vegemite, beanies key rings, stickers, t shirts, Vegemite toast candles, and the history of Vegemite.  We bought a tea towel, a fridge magnet, Vegemite fudge, Vegemite meat pies and some postcards

On the table among the souvenirs was this Vegemite Monopoly set where you can land on squares labelled Burnt toast, Vegemite factory and Pass the Vegemite.  It was for show only and not for sale.  

I really enjoyed looking around the museum with all the Vegemite history and learning about Cyril Callister who was the man behind the invention of the wonderful dark paste!  

After leaving the museum we had a quick look around the town.  Beaufort is a sweet little country town that benefits from a major highway running through it.  We recognise a few of the buildings as the subjects of the paintings in the museum.

This building (seen on the Vegemite postcards) is the Flywheel Cafe that my brother really loves for a pitstop on the way to South Australia.  If we hadn't had our lunch in Ballarat, I could have been tempted.

Instead, we enjoyed browsing in op shops and an antique shop (above) with many gorgeous items that I would have loved to have the money and the room to store them.  Then it was time to leave and drive onto Creswick where I had booked to stay the night.

Cyrill Callister Vegemite Museum
23 Neill St, Beaufort
Open Thursday to Sunday 11am to 2pm.
Entry fee $5. Children enter free.
cyrilcallisterfoundation.org/museum

More about Vegemite and its history:

• 20 Vegemite recipes for the 100 year anniversary, plus reflections and products, Green Gourmet Giraffe blog, 26 November 2023.
• One hundred years of Vegemite, BBC, 6 April 2023
• Happy 100th birthday Vegemite: How the iconic Australian snack spread evolved into a cultural phenomenon, Adventure.com, 26 January 2024
• The Vegemite Story at vegemite.com.au
• Vegemite facts for kids, Kiddle

Street Art in Melbourne: Thornbury 2026

 

I seem to have been in Thornbury more than usual lately either on my bike or in car.  Whether for ice cream, medical appointments, a meal or even a vegan bakeoff.  Sometimes when I want a ride on my bike and don't know where to go, I go where I have glimpsed street art while driving.  A few of these photos of street art are from one of these rides.  Lots of whimsy, humour, politics and beauty.

Pender Street, near High Street:

 
 The Last Hurrah Funerals, High Street and Pender Street:

 

 

 

Blythe Street near High Street? 

  

Gaza War Politics near Naturally on High organic shop (maybe Shaftesbury Parade): 

 
Near Welcome to Thornbury: Indigenous people and fauna

  

St George's Road to Miller Street ride: 

 

 

 
More Green Gourmet Giraffe street art in the northern suburbs near Thornbury:

Street Art in Melbourne: Coburg IX 

Street Art in Melbourne: Northcote 2023

Street Art in Melbourne: Northcote, Thornbury, Fairfield

Street art in Melbourne: Preston