Percydale is a rural locality and former goldfield in the Pyrenees Ranges, 7 km north-west of Avoca in central-west Victoria.
Alluvial gold was mined in the Percydale area – originally called Fiddlers Creek – from 1854 onwards. A fresh find and a rush in 1869 brought a population of over 2000 people. A school was opened in 1870.
There was a substantial population of Chinese miners, and a pork butchery and a Chinese hotel are recorded as operating in the 1870s. Several mines were opened during the 1870s and worked until the turn of the century. The Raggedy Gully lead, about 5 km west of the Percydale township, provoked the last big gold rush in the Avoca district (1871), bringing 1000 or more miners. A cyaniding works began in 1904.
In addition to mining, Percydale had a slate quarry. Examples of the slate can be seen in the masonry of some old farm buildings, including this dairy.
