The 1859 Map showing the location of the Morris's Telegraph Inn and Police Paddock at Ashbourne, Victoria. (Supplied by Maps Victoria Branch)

The Location of the Mia Mia Inn became famous as the first stop on the Bourke and Wills Expedition. The remains of the Bluestone wall built after 1853 can still be seen today on the road to Heathcote.

On the morning of 25th, Becker was astonished to see an extinct volcanic crater between their camp and the Three Chain Road, and he sketched the expedition passing through it on their way out of ‘Darlington’ to pass over “the desolate Spring Plains” to Mia Mia. They crossed “the Major's Line” for the first time, reached Mia Mia and camped by the Spring Creek. Here Burke decided to rest the expedition for two days, with the officers staying at the Mia Mia Inn. This inn was situated behind the existing bluestone ruins of a later inn built after the township was surveyed in 1859.

Mia Mia was one of the few places Burke allowed any rest on the course of the Expedition. The party stopped for two nights, already exhausted by the trip from Melbourne. In addition to being over-equipped in almost every regard, they had encountered terrible weather.

From: http://burkeandwills.slv.vic.gov.au/gpx/ga2504