7th-10th January - Ballarat
Our route took us north through the Otway Ranges and the villages of Lavers Hill and Gellibrand and the town of Colac. The wonderful mountain scenery in the first 40 kms of the trip was exquisite at times. Wildflowers in yellows, reds, blues and pinks, with the vast green back drop of trees, shrubs and ferns.
Colac was interesting for the fact that we again found signs hard to come by in determining our desired passage through the town. Again, it was left to some imaginative reckoning to come to the fore and safe passage was eventually found.
South of Colac, we had a brush with fame, when we spotted the winner of the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Marathon, shuffling Cliff Young, come clown the road toward us. Dressed in shorts, T shirt, gum boots and the famous dirty white legionnaires hat. He must have been training or perhaps still completing last year's race!
We arrived at Ballarat at 13:30, set up camp and headed for the nearest shopping complex. The set-up was short handed, as Sue was washing. After a week away from washing machines, we were worried that Chris would be arriving at his grand parents dressed only in what God gave him and with a port full of smelly rags.
The shopping exercise was carried out for food but also for one, important essential. After weeks of repairs to the air mattress, it was time to trade it in on a new one. Mission accomplished, we returned back to camp at Ballarat Wimdmill Caravan Park.
This is one amazing accommodation location. The proprietors - "Hi, I'm Colleen and this is John" - are over the top in the friendly department and can't seem to do enough for you. Standard facilities include a sauna, spa, tennis court, swimming pool, games room and organised activities for the children ... all included in the tariff of $17 per night for a powered site. The organised activities include adult supervised games and activities and movies shown in the games room each night.
The tent sites are very sheltered, as evidenced by the roaring wind we could hear, but only just feel. The surface is soft, green grass and level. The amenities block is very clean and well appointed and includes a Family Bathroom and separate Baby's Bathroom. Hot water and a camper's shelter is also provided. In this there is a sink, gas barbecue and gas rings. There is a nominal charge for the use of the gas.
Torrwrrow, we are off to Melbourne to see Chris off on his big adventure to Sydney and a visit with Goggy and Pa. He appears nervous of flying but we know he will enjoy it.
Our fourth Sunday of the trip began with a 7:00 am morning call as washing, breakfast and other organisational things had to be done prior to heading for Melbourne Airport.
I had the misfortune of having to deal with Atilla the Washer Woman at the park laundry. My every move was monitored by the woman with a sixth sense for knowing when a washing machine would finish its cycle or a clothes dryer would shudder to a halt. When either occurred she was there in a flash emptying the appliance and depositing the contents on the nearest shelf, whether or not she needed the machine. I had one exchange with her and came away regretting the experience.
Our trip to Melbourne Airport was uneventful and we arrived with an hour to spare before boarding, which gave us enough time to accomplish the tasks that had to be completed before we could be sure that Chris would be sajely aboard.
After many dress rehearsals and discussions, Chris boarded his flight under the guidance of a stewardess, looking very nervous (Chris, not the stewardess) but bearing up pretty well (the stewardess, not Chris). Those remaining in the south went upstairs and waved like maniacs whilst the Airbus taxied out to the runway and took off. I must a.dmit, I didn't think the plane was going to get off the ground, so slow was it to reach rotation.
With Chris on his way, we decided to travel the extra distance into the City.
We explored Fitzroy Gardens and Cook's Cottage, until hunger pains took over ancl we felt the need to fill an empty space. Prior to that, Cook's Cottage was most interesting. The kids were surprised at the small proportions of the building and the furnishings. Sue explained that owing to poorer nutrition 200 years ago, people were much shorter. This was obvious from the height of doorways and the length and width of beds.
The other remarkable thing about these beautiful parklands was the number of weddings taking place. Correction: the number of wedding photo sessions taking place. In our wanderings, I think we saw five. The brides were all in superb gowns. Needless to say, Sarah was rapt.
About the time we were about to enter Cook's Cottnge, Chris rang from Sydney to convey his status to us. The news that the flight was much better than he had expected was well received by worried parents!
It was back to the car and off for a drive about the place, sighting the Melbourne Cricket Ground, National Tennis Centre, St Paul's and St Patrick's Cathedrals and innumerable trams. We ended up in the Victoria St Markets (thanks to the navigator), but eventually found our way out and back to Ballarat.
Another movie tonight for the kids. The only thing that gets to you at this park, is the likeness that the male proprietor has to Basil Fawlty. That is not to say there is anything about the park that resembles the carry on at Fawlty Towers, it is just the mannerisms of this guy (also called John). He even told me tonight, "it's so good to have people like you staying ... a better class of clientele." This last comment was said with a wink and a smile.
Our first day of touring Ballarat commenced with a walk down the main drag, Sturt St This is a six lane divided road, where the outside lanes are given over to parking (angle) and a bike track. In reality, it is probably nine lanes. The direction of travel is divided by a two lane grassed area which contains various statues and monwnents that trace the history of Ballarat.
The buildings in the main business district of the city are immensely impressive and the difference between NSW and Victorian provincial cities is quite marked in this regard. Many, many buildings were ornate in their decoration and featured turrets, towers and parapets. The facades have been lovingly restored and maintained.
Of speda1 note were the Post Office, Craigs Hotel, Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Town Hall, George Hotel and any of the churches.
After walking for some time, we visited the Art Gallery, which is the oldest gallery that has been in continuous use in Australia. It was started by a small group - led by James Oddie - with a penchant for the fine arts and has many outstanding features. It was established in 1884 but the foundation stone for this building was laid in 1887. Inside and facing the front doors, was a superb staircase that led to a landing and then separated into two sections going left and right. The ground floor has a Lindsay Family exhibition on permanent display, highlighted by the sitting room from the Lindsay family cottage that was at Creswick, 17 km west of Ballarat. It was in this cottage that the entire Lindsay family was born and raised. Of the ten children, five became well known and accomplished artists.
The most famous of these, Norman Lindsay, has fine collection of his work on show in the gallery. I wondered if any of the many naked women on display were my great Aunt Alice.
The sitting room was donated to the gallery when Mrs Lindsay died and the house was to be demolished. All of thefurniture, fittings, pictures etc. are as they were from 1895 until 1966. Amazing !
The gallery was said to be an inspiration to young Norman and he visited here often with his father, who was a doctor. He is said to have been inspired by one painting in particular, Alex and Cassandra and if you saw it, you would know why.
The other significant feature of the gallery is the ortgina1 Eureka Flag. It is rather worse for wear, but cannot be further damaged as it is protected behind glnss. Sue and I were not at all surprised to see that it had been unveiled in its permanent place by former Prime Minister, EG Whitlam! The remaining exhibits were splendid, with a vast variety of styles and ages. We would highly recommend a visit by anyone coming to Ballarat.
From the gallery, we went across the road to the Regent Cinema and saw The Lion King. What a great animated feature, in the true tradition of Walt Disney and following in the footsteps of Bambi, Jungle Book and the many other fantastic movies of that type produced by the Disney Studios over the past fifty years. The animation was brilliant, the story fun and moving and the voice characterisations wonderful. It featured the voices of Jonathon Taylor Thomas (Home Improvements), James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Broderick, Robert Guillame (the lead role in TV show Benson) and Nichelle Nichols. The music of Elton John and Tim Rice added greatly to the film and it was little wonder three of the five nominated songs at this year's Academy Awards were from this movie. A great family movie that young, old and tn between can enjoy.
After the movie, it was off to Lake Wendourie, located in Ballarat, itself. The lake was formed when it
was decided to clear the swamps in the area and create a recreation areafor the residents.
Today, it hosts a large number of water fowl, swans, ducks and silver gulls. The swans are used to being hand fed, as Sarah found out when she made the mistake of feeding one, resulting in about fifteen others demanding more from her for the next twenty minutes. It was a scream watching her throwing the food on the ground and then running away, only to have the swans gobble the offering and chase her for more.
The Lake has a paddle boat that takes passengers on a circuit of the water and a tram that traverses the western boundary.
W'ith a minor diversion to a camping specialist to investigate camptng tables, we went back to camp for a swim and spa before an early night.
No movie tonight for the children. as tomorrow is our biggest tourist outbreak for the trip - Sovereign Hill. Our visit to one of Australia's premier attractions will include a day at the attractions, dinner and a special show called Blood on The Southern Cross, which is a night time reinactment of the Eureka Stockade. It has rave reviews and we are looking forward to it. As long as we pay the money it will cost quickly, it shouldn't hurt too much.
Many parents take their children to theme parks, but we are not among them. If we have to break that rule, at least it will be all Australian and give the kids an overview of an important event in Australia's history.
Our mega day started with washing, but this time I was spared a confrontation with Atilla, who was not to be seen. However, the dog-eat-dog tactics that exist in caravan park laundries was evident again. in all its ugliness.
A young couple - innocent to the ways of the brutal world that is convenience laundries - waited patiently for the machines to finish, signalling the end of my laundry requirement and the availability of machines for their use. They enquired politely of me, had I finished. On finding out that this was so, they departed in gaiety to collect their dirty clothes.
In the ensuing two rminutes, a basking barracuda baying on the blood of the uninitiated, swept into the laundry, seized the machines and awaited their return. I even tried to intercede, only to withdraw, brutally irjured in the brief encounter. The young laundromat virgins returned, to be badly mauled when they presented their protest. I retired meekly to the clothes line, in as much to lick my own wounds, as to lamentfor the loss of innocence of my hopeful machine successors.
Some forward booking followed my return to the tent, with Lakes Entrance firmed as our destination after the Dandenongs. However, we were not so lucky with our attempt to book the night show at Sovereign Hill as it was booked out for the evening - that is, unless we wanted to go to the l0:30 pm show. With tomorrow being a pack-up day, this would have been a disaster for all of us.
Our entrance fee included all of the attractions in the park, a mine tour, daily demonstrations (musket firing, presentation of the troops, remote charge firing in mining, wood turning, mine battery among others) and entry into the Australian Gold Museum across the road from Sovereign Hill. The displays immediately inside the entry are excellent and tell the story of what you are about to experience. There are a vartety of ways in which the information can be assimilated - catering for different. learning styles - and finished by a fine audio/visual narrated presentation telling the story of a fictitious character coming to the goldftelds at Ballarat.
The presentation ends and the doors are thrown open, heralding your entry to the goldfields.
We toured the diggings first, looking at the way men and their families lived. Mine shafts and alluvial panning were clearly evident and it presented as a hive of activity. The ground and conditions were rough, but so they were in the 1850's. There was a lack of human characters in this section of the park and I felt that this was much to its detriment.
The Chinese village section was interesting, showing similar, yet different living quarters. The most significant difference was the temple, which was much grander than its surroundings and I wondered if this was a truthful representation of the times.
The highlight -for me - occurred next.
The mine tour is conducted through a completely authentic gold mine. The main shaft is 340 m deep and a variety of tunnels emanate from the central shaft. Water is keep from the tunnels by the use of a Cornish pump on the surface, powered by steam and driven by a system of levers and pulleys. The main section the tour takes place through is 30m underground but this is achieved without any ascent or descent as the tunnel goes into the side of a hill. Exhibits have been set up along the tunnels, showing different types of mining, procedures, tools etc. Knowing that you were walking through actual tunnels and looking down/up original shafts was awesome.
I would not recommend this for Goggy - definitely not within her capabilities!
From here, we headed for the township section of the park. This seemed to accurately recreate the buildings and aimosphere of the time and it was here that the majority of the human resources seemed to be concentrated. As visitors could spend money in this section, I would cynically suggest this may be the reason. Whatever the reason, it added a great deal more to the atmosphere of the section.
The wood turning display was sensational and Sam and I watched as an older gentleman turned down blocks into spinning tops. lt was here that we got an additional surprise, bumping into old friends from Armidale, Sue and Alan Murdoch and their two sons Travis and Jonathan. They were in Victoria for the Australian Open Tennis - both being outstandtng tennis players themselves - and had come to Ballarat for a few days leading up to it. Sue and I had taught together at Ben Venue and I had taught the older of the two boys, Travis, in Year 2.
We caught up on people and teaching and things appeared to be much the same at Ben Venue.
Our touring continued with more of the township, including the school, where Sam and Sarah tried their hands at writing with pen and ink and came away grateful for felt tipped pens!
We walked through the steam-driven gold battery, which crushes up the ore into powder in a suspended form. The suspending agent, water, is then moved across a vibrating table, where the heavier gold drops to the bottom and is separated out. The boilers were next and this was informative and warm! These particular boilers are over 80 years old. and still operating in perfect condition. They are checked by government inspectors every six months. Chemicals are used in the water that is to be boiled to prevent a build up of minerals on the inside of the boiler, which leads to corrosion. The same thing was done in the days before chemicals were discovered to be cleaning agents, by the burning of green wood.
I then separated from the main group and visited the pump house and poppet head. The poppet head is the large wooden structure often depicted above mine shafts and contains the large cable pulleys and an unloading platform for the mullock (the rock and ore brought up the shafts).
Whilst they went up there, I went to the centre of town and waited patiently outside the hotel. As I felt thirsty, it was only right and proper that I partook of the local refreshments. Sue also felt that this was a good move and joined me in a cold beer after finiding me propped up on a stool outside the hotel!
No sooner had she sat down on an adjacent but unrelated bench, than she was chatted-up by a very large Maori gentleman. Discretion proved to be the better part of valour and I allowed her to flash her wedding ring and speak to him whilst politely parrying his enquiries. I added some flattering lines about the All Blacks and their certainty to regain the Bledisloe Cup and then we were out of there quicker than fifteen Kiwis can do the Haka !
From here, it was out of the Sovereign Hill complex and across the road to a very informative Gold Museum. Unfortunately, as it was the end of the day, it only had a limited impact on us. We watched a good audio/visual of the Eureka Stockade Rebellion and saw some casts of the biggest nuggets found in
Australia. The largest of these, The Welcome Stranger, was discovered when two miners were riding along in their horse and cart and the wheel of the cart became stuck on a rock After dismounting, they discovered that the rock that had caught the wheel on was a solid nugget, the size of two and a half footballs, that was 99% pure gold! You can't help good luck This after years of digging !
Pizza for tea, as we were all too tied to do anything like cook or wash up. Moving day tomorrow, so an early night.
The Lake has a paddle boat that takes passengers on a circuit of the water and a tram that traverses the western boundary.
W'ith a minor diversion to a camping specialist to investigate camptng tables, we went back to camp for a swim and spa before an early night.
No movie tonight for the children. as tomorrow is our biggest tourist outbreak for the trip - Sovereign Hill. Our visit to one of Australia's premier attractions will include a day at the attractions, dinner and a special show called Blood on The Southern Cross, which is a night time reinactment of the Eureka Stockade. It has rave reviews and we are looking forward to it. As long as we pay the money it will cost quickly, it shouldn't hurt too much.
Many parents take their children to theme parks, but we are not among them. If we have to break that rule, at least it will be all Australian and give the kids an overview of an important event in Australia's history.
Our mega day started with washing, but this time I was spared a confrontation with Atilla, who was not to be seen. However, the dog-eat-dog tactics that exist in caravan park laundries was evident again. in all its ugliness.
A young couple - innocent to the ways of the brutal world that is convenience laundries - waited patiently for the machines to finish, signalling the end of my laundry requirement and the availability of machines for their use. They enquired politely of me, had I finished. On finding out that this was so, they departed in gaiety to collect their dirty clothes.
In the ensuing two rminutes, a basking barracuda baying on the blood of the uninitiated, swept into the laundry, seized the machines and awaited their return. I even tried to intercede, only to withdraw, brutally irjured in the brief encounter. The young laundromat virgins returned, to be badly mauled when they presented their protest. I retired meekly to the clothes line, in as much to lick my own wounds, as to lamentfor the loss of innocence of my hopeful machine successors.
Some forward booking followed my return to the tent, with Lakes Entrance firmed as our destination after the Dandenongs. However, we were not so lucky with our attempt to book the night show at Sovereign Hill as it was booked out for the evening - that is, unless we wanted to go to the l0:30 pm show. With tomorrow being a pack-up day, this would have been a disaster for all of us.
However, it was off to Sovereign Hill for the day and what a day it proved to be. Sue and I believe it was one of the best valuefor money days we have spent with the kids.
Our entrance fee included all of the attractions in the park, a mine tour, daily demonstrations (musket firing, presentation of the troops, remote charge firing in mining, wood turning, mine battery among others) and entry into the Australian Gold Museum across the road from Sovereign Hill. The displays immediately inside the entry are excellent and tell the story of what you are about to experience. There are a vartety of ways in which the information can be assimilated - catering for different. learning styles - and finished by a fine audio/visual narrated presentation telling the story of a fictitious character coming to the goldftelds at Ballarat.
The presentation ends and the doors are thrown open, heralding your entry to the goldfields.
We toured the diggings first, looking at the way men and their families lived. Mine shafts and alluvial panning were clearly evident and it presented as a hive of activity. The ground and conditions were rough, but so they were in the 1850's. There was a lack of human characters in this section of the park and I felt that this was much to its detriment.
The Chinese village section was interesting, showing similar, yet different living quarters. The most significant difference was the temple, which was much grander than its surroundings and I wondered if this was a truthful representation of the times.
The highlight -for me - occurred next.
The mine tour is conducted through a completely authentic gold mine. The main shaft is 340 m deep and a variety of tunnels emanate from the central shaft. Water is keep from the tunnels by the use of a Cornish pump on the surface, powered by steam and driven by a system of levers and pulleys. The main section the tour takes place through is 30m underground but this is achieved without any ascent or descent as the tunnel goes into the side of a hill. Exhibits have been set up along the tunnels, showing different types of mining, procedures, tools etc. Knowing that you were walking through actual tunnels and looking down/up original shafts was awesome.
I would not recommend this for Goggy - definitely not within her capabilities!
From here, we headed for the township section of the park. This seemed to accurately recreate the buildings and aimosphere of the time and it was here that the majority of the human resources seemed to be concentrated. As visitors could spend money in this section, I would cynically suggest this may be the reason. Whatever the reason, it added a great deal more to the atmosphere of the section.
The wood turning display was sensational and Sam and I watched as an older gentleman turned down blocks into spinning tops. lt was here that we got an additional surprise, bumping into old friends from Armidale, Sue and Alan Murdoch and their two sons Travis and Jonathan. They were in Victoria for the Australian Open Tennis - both being outstandtng tennis players themselves - and had come to Ballarat for a few days leading up to it. Sue and I had taught together at Ben Venue and I had taught the older of the two boys, Travis, in Year 2.
We caught up on people and teaching and things appeared to be much the same at Ben Venue.
Our touring continued with more of the township, including the school, where Sam and Sarah tried their hands at writing with pen and ink and came away grateful for felt tipped pens!
We walked through the steam-driven gold battery, which crushes up the ore into powder in a suspended form. The suspending agent, water, is then moved across a vibrating table, where the heavier gold drops to the bottom and is separated out. The boilers were next and this was informative and warm! These particular boilers are over 80 years old. and still operating in perfect condition. They are checked by government inspectors every six months. Chemicals are used in the water that is to be boiled to prevent a build up of minerals on the inside of the boiler, which leads to corrosion. The same thing was done in the days before chemicals were discovered to be cleaning agents, by the burning of green wood.
I then separated from the main group and visited the pump house and poppet head. The poppet head is the large wooden structure often depicted above mine shafts and contains the large cable pulleys and an unloading platform for the mullock (the rock and ore brought up the shafts).
Sue and the kids went back into town to watch the Red Coals march into town and be inspected by the owner of the United States Hotel.
The Red Coats then marched up to the flag and fired a salute
Whilst they went up there, I went to the centre of town and waited patiently outside the hotel. As I felt thirsty, it was only right and proper that I partook of the local refreshments. Sue also felt that this was a good move and joined me in a cold beer after finiding me propped up on a stool outside the hotel!
No sooner had she sat down on an adjacent but unrelated bench, than she was chatted-up by a very large Maori gentleman. Discretion proved to be the better part of valour and I allowed her to flash her wedding ring and speak to him whilst politely parrying his enquiries. I added some flattering lines about the All Blacks and their certainty to regain the Bledisloe Cup and then we were out of there quicker than fifteen Kiwis can do the Haka !
From here, it was out of the Sovereign Hill complex and across the road to a very informative Gold Museum. Unfortunately, as it was the end of the day, it only had a limited impact on us. We watched a good audio/visual of the Eureka Stockade Rebellion and saw some casts of the biggest nuggets found in
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Pizza for tea, as we were all too tied to do anything like cook or wash up. Moving day tomorrow, so an early night.
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