The great gold rush of 1854 onwards transformed the sleepy British colony in southeastern Australia, named for Queen Victoria. The fortunes made (and lost) in those few years paved the way for grandiose public and private architecture in the settlements which sprang up on the goldfields and the staging posts en route from the seaport of Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay.

These images were taken with Nikon D300 using RAW format, and are available for licensing.