Bendigo Pottery

Bendigo Pottery is Australia's oldest working pottery, located at Epsom on the Midland Highway north of Bendigo in Victoria. Established in 1858, it operates as a heritage pottery complex with working kilns, museum, galleries and retail showrooms. The site is known for its historic bottle kilns, traditional ceramic production and extensive collection of Australian pottery. It functions as a living heritage attraction combining manufacturing, exhibition and hands-on visitor experiences.

Visitors can explore a working pottery complex set around historic brick bottle kilns and heritage buildings. The site includes a museum with pottery collections and kiln history, contemporary galleries, retail showrooms with Australian ceramics, working studios where potters demonstrate wheel-throwing and firing, and hands-on clay workshops. The grounds include gardens, picnic areas and a cafe, with flat pathways connecting galleries, shops and exhibition spaces.

Founded in 1858 by Scottish potter George Guthrie during the Victorian gold rush to produce domestic ceramic wares, Bendigo Pottery is Australia's oldest continuously operating pottery. It retains historic bottle kilns and early industrial structures and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as an example of 19th-century regional ceramic manufacturing.

The site preserves and continues Australian ceramic traditions, serving as a centre for ceramic arts, education and craft heritage. It displays significant collections of Australian domestic and art pottery and supports contemporary makers through studios, galleries and community workshops that maintain traditional pottery techniques.