It was a bit of a struggle for the kids to rise 'bright eyed and bushy tailed' after a very windy and restless night sleeping inside the continually flapping of the canvas annexe. We were thankful that the annexe remained intact overnight and were greeted with a much calmer morning and the forecast promised a perfect day to spend at Sovereign Hill . Sovereign Hill is an outdoor museum which recreates the 10 years in Ballarat after the discovery of gold in 1851 where thousands of people flocked from all over the world to try to make their fortune. |
We decided to do a couple of the experiences - Labyrinth of Gold Tour which took us into an original mine and shared about the dangers and continual high risk of gold mining during that era. We also viewed the Gold Pour demonstration and watched the pour of a bar reportedly worth about $170 000.
Jess was keen to try her hand at panning for gold so we all had a bit of a go and were not disappointed! Between us all we found several shards of gold to keep. It is certainly a great day to experience what life would be like in the gold rush times, and you certainly do need a full day to experience it all.
As part of the entry to Sovereign Hill, we also visited the Gold museum - This museum houses a valuable collection of gold nuggets, alluvial deposits, priceless gold artefacts and gold coins. The Gold Rush attracted many from overseas and particularly China and consequently had a huge and important cultural contribution to the Ballarat community. The Gold Museum included a 'Re Awakening the Dragon exhibition that featured two processional dragon / lion heads, one of which is the oldest known artefact in Australia. Ballarat is now one of only four known sites where a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) dragon survives in whole or part,
We took a drive after visiting The Gold Museum around Lake Wendouree which was the site use for water sports in the 1956 Olympics held in Melbourne
Blood on the Cross Show - deaf perspective. Eureka explanation
Authenticity of the historical village was impressive and the steam driven machinery operating.
Told the story of the Eureka Uprising, how the corruption by govt official and town leaders the high costs of miners rights forced the rebellion of the miners.