We woke to a very foggy morning. Peter was off to his gold prospecting adventure for the day so I dropped him off and returned to the van for some washing (seems to be never ending), before heading off into town. I was hoping that after the fog burnt off we would have a lovely sunny day (like we have in Brisbane). However it doesn't necessarily work that way here and the clouds just hung around all day. I went back into town at 10am still with heavy fog.
There is a "Vintage Talking Tram" tour which travels throughout Bendigo city where you learn about the history of the area and the grand architecture is highlighted. Sidney Myer opened his first Myer store here in 1900. He was years ahead of other retailers in offering visually appealing merchandise, set in an exciting shopping environment.
The tour started from the Central Deborah Gold Mine. This mine operated between 1939 and 1954, and was the last working mine to close in the Bendigo area during the goldrush. The mine is now used for underground tours.
Inside the tram with the conductor -
The Old Bendigo Post Office - the building on the left with the clock tower was built in 1887, and is the largest outside of Melbourne. The Law Courts next door opened in 1896. These matching buildings are among the most ornate in Australia.
With this tour you are able to hop on and off the tram at any stop during the day. I got off in town to check out the attractions. I walked around the gardens, up a very steep hill to a lookout. I walked up the 122 steps (I counted them)to the top to a 360 degree view of Bendigo and surrounding areas. This is the lookout-
And the views from the top -
Some more city and garden views-
After a leisurely stroll around town and a lovely lunch I jumped back onto the tram and back to the starting point.
From there I drove to Bendigo Pottery. This was established in 1858 when George Guthrie noted significant clay deposits while prospecting for gold. This chance discovery of clay suitable for pottery production lured Guthrie back to his trade and the first pieces of Bendigo pottery were made. The original site was abandoned after excessive flooding of Bendigo Creek and moved about 1 kilometre to the current location.
The old brick kilns are huge and are now part of the showroom area as shown below. The new kilns are now gas fired, unlike these old ones which would have been wood fired.
From here I went to see how much gold Peter had found. Unfortunately, Peter, the instructor and the other "prospector" came home empty handed. They did unearth old car bodies and tin cans, but nothing of value. Peter did say that instead of finding his fortune he saved a fortune as he has decided it's not worth getting a metal detector.
Scott left for Shanghai today for a 3 day conference. He will be back on the weekend.
Tomorrow we go to Echuca, then decide where we will go from there.
Till then,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.
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