The major aim of the group is to protect, preserve and promote the cultural heritage sites and artefacts which make up the Mount Alexander Diggings.

The initiator of the Diggings project was local archaeologist David Bannear who had worked on the setting up of the Burra tourist venture in South Australia and could see that the Mount Alexander sites from the 1850s gold rushes could be linked in a similar way for the benefit of our tourist visitors. David introduced us to the thirty three sites that would comprise three heritage trails around the shire.

Regular activities include regular Monthly public walks and tours are conducted on one Sunday each month during the cooler months to places such as the Garfield Reef, Eureka Reef and the Wattle Gully Mine as well as walks to many little-known mining sites in the National Heritage Park, a great chance to learn about our history at first hand. Details and dates of these walks will be available on this site and from the Castlemaine and Maldon Visitor Information Centres closer to the date of each.

FOMAD also participates in many local activities such as the annual Shire's Heritage Festival in May, various historical reconstructions such as the 150th anniversaries of gold discovery, the Miners Right, the Burke and Wills Expedition and has provided 'Billy Tea and Damper' to many Diggings visitor groups.