Mr Pitt knew that trawling through old editions of The Advocate, the Daylesford Mercury, the Daylesford Express and the Daylesford Herald was the best way to discover gems from the township’s past.

He also meticulously went through old books and written family histories in the possession of the Historical Society of Daylesford and District.

Mr Pitt has now collated those stories, anecdotes and characters that made the township what it is today and turned them into a book – Mud, Blood and Gold.

Having moved to Daylesford in 1972 as a New-Age type, he soon became passionate about its history, amazingly soon finding out that his forebears had also lived in the town.

He said one of the most disturbing stories he discovered was that of a man who had been tarred and feathered in Vincent Street, supposedly after cheating in a game of cards.

Mr Pitt’s research has also led him to document the life of Daylesford "big wheel” William Stanbridge, who lived on a pocket of land now occupied by Wombat Park.

He said Stanbridge became rich simply because “rich veins of gold” ran beneath his property – and he charged prospectors a royalty for every ounce of gold they discovered upon it.

“In today’s standards he would be a multimillionaire, just for doing nothing,” Mr Pitt said.

Standbridge donated money to setting up classrooms for girls, a clock to the local primary school and funds to the Church of England.

Stanbridge also has strong relationships with the Dja Dja Wurrung.

“He also wrote a book about Aboriginal astronomy. He sat down with them (the local Indigenous people) and talked to them about their version of the night sky.”

Mud, Blood and Gold is available from Paradise Books, Daylesford Newsagency & Lotteries, Daylesford Museum and Muffins & More. A launch will be held at the museum on June 19.