Gold mine and talking tram

Sunday 28^th March, 2021

Today we have our Central Deborah gold mine tour and tickets for the Talking Tram. We arrive at the mine early enough to have a bit of a look around above ground. 

 

Far from an old gold rush mine, this mine operated from 1939 to 1954 but still managed to extract 929kg of gold, which would be worth about 50 million dollars in today’s money. Not bad! It’s deepest shaft is 412 metres. We went down 61 metres. Bendigo City Council purchased the mine site for $6,000 in 1970 after local lobbying to establish it as a tourist attraction. It has even had a visit from HRH Prince Charles. 

 

Our guide’s name was Baz and he made the tour very interesting without being just a bunch of dry facts. Hard hats and face masks mandatory under ground.

 

The mine is also the first stop for the Tram and we didn’t have long to wait until it arrived. The Chinese have a very long history in Bendigo, the Bendigo Chinese Association being formed in 1871. 

Statue of Shouxing (God of Longevity)

 

They imposed a levy on all Chinese residents to fund costumes and dragons to use in the Bendigo Easter Festival. So it seemed like the Golden Dragon Museum, apparently ‘the Chinese Cultural Centre of Australia’, would be an interesting place to visit. Opened in 1991, the museum houses Loong, the world’s oldest Imperial Dragon, and Dai Gum Loong, the world’s longest Imperial Dragon. It had an amazing collection and it really warranted more time. Bendigo warrants more time. 

 

We walked through a part of Rosalind Garden to get to the Golden Dragon, past a flying fox colony. A huge colony!! The sound wasn’t too bad but the smell!! Phwoar!!!!! 

 

As in all good colonial towns, there is a lovely fountain in the middle of town. 

We scurry back to the Tram stop to catch a ride to the end of the line and back, then head to base, very weary again. Pizza for dinner from ‘It’s Your Pizza’ at Eaglehawk shops, our ‘local’.