Sovereign Hill
May. 1st, 2013 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranSovereign Hill is a recreated mining town on what were once the goldfields of Ballarat.
Besides panning for gold there's plenty to do and see. For example, you can ride a Cobb & Co stagecoach...
Or sample a cosmopolitan refreshment, where they serve both tea and coffee.
I think just about every Victorian schoolchild goes here at least once. Although it also seemed much bigger when I was young.
There are lots of different mine tours. We were short on time this visit, so we just went on the free "self guided" tour of the recreated Red Hill mine.
This was actually very well done, because they had speakers around the mines projecting the voices of Cornish miners as they guided around the mine. There were a lot of Cornish miners on the goldfields hoping to turn their mining skills into riches, but, by the time recreated in the Red Hill mine, the gold had almost run out and mining had become wet and dangerous work as the miners chased the gold laid down by "deep leads" or underground rivers. The highpoint was two ghostly Cornish holograms re-enacting the mine's most famous moment: the discovery of the Welcome Nugget, the second largest nugget ever found in Australia.
We got out of the mine just in time to see the Redcoats on their way to their daily musket firing. Ballarat is also famous as the location of the Eureka Stockade, one of the most prominent rebellions in Australian history.
These Redcoats aren't putting up with any rebellion today...
After the musket firing. I didn't get any photos of the firing itself, because I was in the crowd holding Liem up so he could watch. One of the soldiers had a misfire and he had to try again with a new priming cap.
And after watching the Redcoats, why not stop off for a Cornish pasty at the Hope Bakery? (Meat and vegetables in one half, fruit in the other, and a thick pastry crust so you can enjoy a two course meal down the mineshaft without needing to wash your hands...)
Besides panning for gold there's plenty to do and see. For example, you can ride a Cobb & Co stagecoach...
Or sample a cosmopolitan refreshment, where they serve both tea and coffee.
I think just about every Victorian schoolchild goes here at least once. Although it also seemed much bigger when I was young.
There are lots of different mine tours. We were short on time this visit, so we just went on the free "self guided" tour of the recreated Red Hill mine.
This was actually very well done, because they had speakers around the mines projecting the voices of Cornish miners as they guided around the mine. There were a lot of Cornish miners on the goldfields hoping to turn their mining skills into riches, but, by the time recreated in the Red Hill mine, the gold had almost run out and mining had become wet and dangerous work as the miners chased the gold laid down by "deep leads" or underground rivers. The highpoint was two ghostly Cornish holograms re-enacting the mine's most famous moment: the discovery of the Welcome Nugget, the second largest nugget ever found in Australia.
We got out of the mine just in time to see the Redcoats on their way to their daily musket firing. Ballarat is also famous as the location of the Eureka Stockade, one of the most prominent rebellions in Australian history.
These Redcoats aren't putting up with any rebellion today...
After the musket firing. I didn't get any photos of the firing itself, because I was in the crowd holding Liem up so he could watch. One of the soldiers had a misfire and he had to try again with a new priming cap.
And after watching the Redcoats, why not stop off for a Cornish pasty at the Hope Bakery? (Meat and vegetables in one half, fruit in the other, and a thick pastry crust so you can enjoy a two course meal down the mineshaft without needing to wash your hands...)
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no subject
Date: 2013-05-01 01:27 pm (UTC)Also,
"Yes!" I said. "That's what
I read "Victorian child," and saw the pictures of people in period dress, and for a moment thought--time travel?? And then I realized, ohhhhh! Child from [the Austrailan state of] Victoria
My father-in-law *loves* Cornish pasties.
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Date: 2013-05-01 08:32 pm (UTC)I read "Victorian child," and saw the pictures of people in period dress, and for a moment thought--time travel?? And then I realized, ohhhhh! Child from [the Austrailan state of] Victoria
Actually, you were right anyway. The site recreates the goldfields in the 1850s, so the actors are representing Victorian Victorians.
My father-in-law *loves* Cornish pasties.
I'm quite fond of Cornish pasties too, although the Victorian style (state, not period) is probably quite different from the original. They used to come with a stiff, shell-like crust and they're kind of hard to find these days, especially in New South Wales where they're more into flaky pastry.