Since then many people have fossicked and found gold throughout the whole area. Stories of gold finds are heard every other week and news of big finds still appear occassionally. Most weekends you'll find holiday campers throughout the goldfields area, metal detectors and gold pans in hand, all in an earnest search of the elusive nuggets. In 1864, the mining exchange opened up where the current Beehive building stands today. The original building was much bigger but unfortunately burnt down in 1871. The Beehive building was quickly built to replace it and continued as the Bendigo mining exchange for many years. Bendigo Council purchased the entire building for around $230,000.00 in 1999.