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Sovereign Hill

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Koentje3000
Koentje3000
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
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Editor Pick

Sovereign Hill Gold Mining Outdoor Museum

  • May 3, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Drever from Ayr
Sovereign Hill Gold Mining Outdoor Museum

Set on a former gold mining site, this award-winning outdoor museum recreates the hustle and bustle of life during the gold rush days in the 1850s. A living museum it sprawls across 60 acres. This area, once pock-marked with alluvial workings and two abandoned quarries, is now a vast outdoor stage representing life in the goldfields of Ballarat.

In the diggings you can pan for gold in Red Hill Gully Creek which is salted regularly with fine alluvial gold. The little specks of gold though proved elusive. A solid cube of shiny metal worth $50,000 is easier to see.

Among a fascinated audience I listened to a blacksmith at ‘Goldpour’ explaining the complex procedures needed to extract gold from crushed quartz rock. In a crucible "cooking" at 1200 degrees Celsius gold slowly became molten. For safety he wore a thick protective apron, elbow length gloves, sturdy boots, and goggles. Picking up the crucible with a long-handled pincer, he poured the molten liquid, a stream of thick, golden honey, into a mould.

It solidified within a couple of minutes, but just in case any of us considered a quick grab, he ran a metal rod across the block’s surface, and flames shot upwards. He immersed the nugget in a trough of water, where it sizzles and steamed. Picking it up he held it up for us to admire.

Elsewhere the wheelwright’s machinery and saddler’s tools are still in use, making and repairing equipment for Sovereign Hill’s team of 40 horses, the wagons, stage coaches, and gigs which carry guests.

At Red Hill Mine we went 13 metres underground on a tour of the workings. The miners excavated by pick, hoe, sledgehammer and crowbar as blasting was too expensive - the dust and noise must have been horrific. Although the miners were well paid—they made about $75,000 a year in today’s currency—many of them died early of lung disease, and because of mining accidents.

Eventually we came to a life-size, moving "hologram" a reincarnation of Cornish miner, Richard Jeffrey. He stumbled on what was the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Nugget - at 69 kilograms, still the second largest nugget in the world. Many were fooled by the hologram thinking it was a real person and they tried to photograph it using flash only to find that there was nobody there in their photograph.

Main Street was busy with people garbed in the clothes of the period and horse-drawn vehicles. Here miners and their families shopped for soap, spices, herbs and coffee at stores such as Clarke Brothers Grocery. The windows of the Criterion Store display the latest in Victorian style crinolines, bonnets and accessories. Robson & Wayne’s Apothecary Hall contains mysterious powders and some rather formidable surgical instruments. Speedwell Street, leading off Main Street, is residential.

We paid the Gold Museum across the road from Sovereign Hill a visit. It houses an extensive and valuable collection of gold products. Also it contains a large panoramic view of Ballarat taken in the early days of photography from the town hall tower.

I left details of my great grandfather here. He had been out in the goldfields here and returned home a wealthy man. I knew from the dates he was out in Australia that he must have worked in the Victorian gold fields but other than that I knew nothing. The Gold Museum offered a tracing service but so far they haven’t contacted me with any information – perhaps eventually!

Sovereign Hill presents its Australian mining heritage with pride and verve—and its buildings represent meticulous attention to accurate historical architecture and style. Both entertaining and educational, it takes a large part of a day to explore Sovereign Hill’s shops, displays and the Chinese quarter.

The museum is open 10am to 5pm every day except Christmas Day. The Gold Museum that is next to Sovereign Hill is open 9:30am to 5:20pm.
The ticket costs $32.50 for adults, and $15.50 for children.

From journal Exploring Ballarat and Melbourne

Editor Pick

Sovereign Hill

  • October 23, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill is a living museum representing Ballarat’s first golden decade following the discovery of gold in 1851. It is great. The museum is set outdoors on 25 hectares at the site of one of the world’s richest gold rushes, which proved to be a turning point in Australia’s development.

The attraction is set on a hillside overlooking Ballarat’s earliest gold diggings. Great attention to detail ensures that Sovereign Hill really does provide a glimpse of the vigour and excitement of life on the goldfields.

I found that there was plenty for me to do and looking around I saw families, singles, couples, and groups all enjoying themselves in various ways. It really seems to be a place for all ages and interests.

I recommend you first head for Main Street. Here there are working shops, a hotel, and a theatre, all based on original Ballarat businesses. You can see goldfields tradespeople in action and take a ride around the township in a coach or open carriage. Check out the blacksmith forging unique ironware, the confectioner making boiled sweets, and the tinsmith producing scone cutters and lanterns.

You can dress in period costume for a fun souvenir poster, have your own poster printed at the Ballarat Times, or dip your own candle at the candle works.

Now head to Red Hill Gully Creek where you can pick up a gold pan and search for gold. I found a few traces but decided that it was better to see the real thing at the smelting works where you can watch $50,000 worth of molten gold poured into a gleaming bar.

Next it was on to the Red Hill Mine where I did the 12-minute self-guided tour. This inspired me to book on the fully-guided Gold Mine Tour (extra cost). It was quite an experience to journey deep underground and see the conditions that the miners worked under. The tour concludes with a train ride to the surface.

After all this it was time to eat so I headed back to Main Street. It was a difficult choice deciding between the Hope Bakery, the Universal Transit Office, the United States Hotel Bar, or the New York Bakery. The latter with its café-style menu and table service won out.

We watched the Redcoat soldiers at 1.30pm, the musket firing at 3pm, and in between spent some time fascinated by the steam-powered machinery. Finally we went across the street to the Gold Museum where we took a journey beginning with a gold coin struck in 350BC for Philip of Macedon and ending in Ballarat. There is an ‘Inspired by Gold’ exhibition, a Gold Pavilion and a gift shop.

Sovereign Hill opens daily from 10am to 5pm except Christmas Day. Admission prices are A$35 adult, A$16 children, and A$90 for a family of two adults and up to four children.

From journal Ballarat's Gold History and Culture

Sovereign Hill

  • January 19, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Koentje3000 from Hamme, Belgium
Sovereign Hill

Dig for gold in this recreated gold mining town! It recreates the atmosphere of a town a hundred years ago. If you have some time to spare in Melbourne, it's definitely worth a day trip. It is a nice trip through the gold-mining history of Australia. Actually the town is set up as different stages through history. You start at the beginning of the gold rush, when a gold mining town consisted just of a few tents and some horse-drawn carriage. The gold dust was filtered right out of the river water with a sieve. Later on the tents were replaced by wooden and stone houses, and the town got a chapel, a bakery, a pub, etc. The sieve was soon replaced by more ingenious machines.

As time went by, the river ran out of gold dust, so better techniques were developed to be able to extract the gold from rocks and stones. Factories were built that offered those techniques. Around the small town there are plenty of activities to entertain yourself. You can try your luck washing the water in the river to find some gold dust, you can see the blacksmith at work or find out how the gold smelter did his job. In the factories you can see the machines battering the rocks and you can talk to the nicely dressed-up "locals" to find out what they are doing. There are a few places around where you can have a snack or a drink.

From journal Ballarat & Sovereign Hill

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