The 69-year-old was trapped for more than an hour after falling down the shaft at about 5.50pm.

A CFA mine emergency response team from Bendigo and 11 volunteers from the Castlemaine SES unit were involved in the rescue.

An SES worker and a paramedic were lowered into the shaft to stabilise and retrieve the man.  

Castlemaine SES unit controller Bob Pratt said about 50 emergency personnel spent about four hours removing the man from the site before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

“He was heavily traumatised,” Mr Pratt said.

“He’d been down there for some time before we could facilitate the rescue.

“Once we’d accessed him and he’d been treated on the scene we still had probably 400 or 500 metres of extremely rough ground to carry him in the stretcher by hand.

“Whilst mines look inviting to explore, it is highly dangerous.”

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said the man was taken to the Chewton Football Oval before being flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

"He has got facial injuries, he's got a knee injury, he's got a leg fracture and he's got an arm fracture.

Mr Mullen said the man had been with a walking group when he fell.

- with theage.com.au