Bendigo

After Healsville we set off for Bendigo, one time home of the largest gold mine in Australia. Of course we had to go down this now disused mine.

The original mine shaft was sunk by Cornishmen working mostly with hand tools,

making a huge network of tunnels and shafts.

This portable air drill was a fairly modern piece of equipment!

And this is what they were all looking for, GOLD.

Above ground there is a selection of mine buildings and equipment that includes this working poppet head.

Once the gold mining was well underway thousands of Chinese labourers made the long journey to Bendigo to make their fortune. Some of them walked hundreds of kilometres to get there.

Bendigo remembers their effort in a Museum that includes ceremonial dragons used every year at the Easter Day Parade, this year just as they have been for over one hundred years. The Dragon above is the longest in the world and winds its way around the whole museum.

This is the oldest Chinese dragon in the world.

Bendigo also has some very modern features; to get from one end of town to the other, you could take a ride on one of the city’s trams.