Coopers Creek is a locality and mine in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. In the 1860s, Coopers Creek was settled during the Victorian gold rush and, throughout its history, gold, copper and lime have been mined there. Today, Coopers Creek is effectively limited to two camping sites, the first near the site of the mining town and the second to the east at Bruntons Bridge. Ruins from the locality's mining history, and the Copper Mine Hotel are all of the locality's history which survives. In August 2022, the 21 properties that comprise the town were listed for sale. Geography Coopers Creek is in the Shire of Baw Baw in Victoria's Gippsland region. It is located in the Great Dividing Range, in the steep forested slopes of the Thomson River valley. The original township was located around the confluence of the Thomson River and Coopers Creek which is where mining operations were centred. The area gazetted as Coopers Creek is partially bounded by the Thomson River and by a number of roads in the area. It is partially within the Baw Baw National Park, the Erica State Forest and the Boola Boola State Forest. The area used for mining is now included in the Coopers Creek Copper Mine Historic and Cultural Features Reserve. History of industry Mining Alluvial gold from a copper, silver, gold and platinum deposit in the area was found in the Thomson River upstream of Coopers Creek resulted in a number of mining claims being made in the area during the Victorian gold rush. However, very little gold was actually discovered in Coopers Creek. It was the discovery of the first copper deposit in Victoria, in 1864, which led to the continued viability of township. Initial smelting conducted in Coopers Creek was unsuccessful and unprofitable due to lowered copper prices and the large quantity of firewood being consumed in the process. A new source of copper was found in 1878 and led to the significant increase in mining infrastructure, including a new crushing mill, kilns and smelting furnaces, and an increase to 70 men being employed at the mine. By 1880, however, the copper found two years earlier had been exhausted and the mine fell into relative disuse for twenty to thirty years. The post office, opened twenty-five years earlier, closed on 11 September 1893. Though attempts were made to begin mining at Coopers Creek in the