The Beehive at 59 Trojan Road, Castlemaine, is a classic goldrush villa located just south of the highway to Bendigo. It has seven bedrooms, a library, a ballroom and one bathroom. The modern outdoor lap pool was built only two years ago and helps keep the children happy when summer is hot. With slate roofs and rose-covered wrought-iron colonnades, the looks a picture, and is served by a school bus route. The grounds have five outbuildings, including an original shepherd’s hut, a stable used for car parking, and a chookshed.

The house boasts a rich history. The land had been ruined by mining when a Herbert Dexter bought it for a song in 1861. He had come out from London in 1855 to join his brother Harry in the search for riches. Harry Dexter was mayor of Castlemaine in the late 1870s and the grand villa befitted the Dexters’ status as wealthy men and pillars of the community. The brothers came from a family of gardeners and horticulturalists, and their grandfather had been chief beekeeper at the Royal Botanic Gardens, at Kew.

There is still a beehive on the property, on the eastern side. The western side of the property abuts a Black Angus stud run by another owner.

The current owner says The Beehive is a lovely place to live and the neighbour’s cattle give him no trouble.

[Image by Mark Moz, Creative Commons]

Another rearranging/editing exercise. Really bad, I know...