- Alternative Names
- Spring Hill
Part of the Creswick goldfield, the settlement’s original name was Spring Hill but became known as Kingston after 1860. The name ‘Spring Hill’ was retained to describe the district generally.
In May 1872, Carter, Brown & Graham discovered rich gold (at a depth of 100 feet) on Spring Hill and a rush followed. The mining of the Spring Hill leads down to what was known as the Berry Lead (and synonymous with Victoria’s richest deep lead mines) provided three extraordinary years in yields. While returns on Spring Hill had declined by the late 1870s, new mines were opened and Kingston’s population increased from 335 in 1881 to 446 in 1901.
