Sovereign Hill is a 'working museum' on a historic mining site close to the centre of Ballarat.
It is a re-creation of life during the gold boom and tells the city's story from 1851-1861.
The staff here are fantastic at being in 'character'. They spoke to us as if it was the mid 1800's which was quite funny at times.
There were lots of things to play with:
Not much gold here unfortunately..
Even an opportunity to pretend you are Indiana Jones...
Lots of impressive machinery to watch...
A gold pouring demonstration to enjoy again.
You can never say no to trying to lift a big brick of gold....
A horse drawn cart drive to enjoy around Sovereign Hill..
Ella and James up the front...
Bindi was very appreciative of course.
Any opportunity to pat the draught horses!!
Our other favourite animals were these pigs named Bob Jr. and Gutsy.
They both loved a good scratch and were like two frisky puppies!!
Watching boiled lollies being made using traditional techniques was fun..
Here are some finished lime drops just cooling off...
Old fashioned candle making was a fun place to hang out for a while....
We ventured under the earth to experience a couple of underground mine tours which were fantastic.
This combined with examining the living conditions of the miners gave the kids more of an idea of the hardships experienced in the 'olden days'.
When James came home he felt really 'strange' to be back in 'modern times' after his day in the mid 1800's.
Very funny!
It is a wonderful 'not for profit' historical attraction.
Our kids have just finished a term themed on the Gold Rush, and would be most envious of your Ballarat visit. Keep the wonderful photos coming, just love visiting these parts of our amazing country, even if only through your lens.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should comment today. My nanna was from Ballarat and we have a huge extended family in the area. Every second year growing up we'd make the journey to Sovereign Hill - I loved it as a kid. Reminds me I need to take our kids for a visit!
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