The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to identify cities that put creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their sustainable development plans.
The network recently awarded Bendigo and the Central Victorian region as Australia’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
The designation recognised the rich concentration of food and wine culture in the region, with the award specifically highlighting the indigenous food culture. The gastronomic bounty of central Victoria was well known to its original inhabitants, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, who hunted among its iron box forests and scrubland and established a 40,000-year-old sustainable food system.
Today, the city of Greater Bendigo encompasses both the urban area and the outlying towns, from the Murray River to the Macedon Ranges.
The region boasts many restaurants, cafes and wineries and also hosts popular food and drink festivals including the Bendigo Craft Beer and Cider Festival in March and the Bendigo Wine Makers Festival in April.
