Victoria · Attraction
Bendigo Pottery
Australia's oldest working pottery
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Founded in 1858 by Scottish migrant George Duncan Guthrie, Bendigo Pottery is the oldest continuously operating pottery in Australia. Set on a 10-acre site in Epsom just north of the city centre, it combines a working production facility with an interpretive museum, heritage kilns, artist studios, an antiques centre, hands-on activities, and a cafe, making it one of regional Victoria's most layered day-trip destinations.
Guthrie stumbled upon a rich local clay deposit while searching for gold and channelled his Scottish craft training into a business that would eventually rival the great Staffordshire potteries of 19th-century England. By 1888 the site had 11 kilns running and employed 130 people. Today the pottery continues to produce handmade Australian ceramics fired in a natural gas kiln, and visitors can watch the full production process from clay preparation through to the finished glaze.
The interpretive museum traces the pottery's history of more than 160 years through tools, products, and archival material, while the heritage kilns stand as industrial monuments to the scale of 19th-century production. The Village of Artisans brings together independent studios alongside the main pottery, and visitors can try the potter's wheel or decorate a piece to take home.
Entry to the site is free, which makes it an easy inclusion on any Bendigo itinerary. The on-site cafe is open during trading hours, and the retail gallery stocks contemporary ceramics made on the premises.
Scenic views
