Sovereign Hill
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Sovereign Hill is a fabulous re-creation of life in the goldfields of Ballarat in the 1850’s, and is one of Victoria’s most popular tourist attractions. It is a living museum on the outskirts of Ballarat that offers visitors the chance to explore a unique part of Australian history, with plenty of things to see and do to get the feel of the times.
The whole complex is located on 25 hectares with over 60 buildings that have been recreated with historical details appropriate to the era and first opened on 29 November 1970. You can pan for gold, ride in horse-drawn vehicles, travel down a mine, buy boiled lollies or simply observe the living and working conditions of around 150 years ago.
The town’s goldfields produced an estimated 640,000 kg of gold before being exhausted in the 1920’s. The first diggers panned the creeks for alluvial gold and then began to work underground mines which became deeper as they reached the rich gold quartz reefs. Today visitors can pan for gold in a winding creek through the gold diggings, which is regularly salted with real gold.
You can go 13 metres underground in the Red Hill Mine and see moving holograms recreate the find in 1858 of the 69 kg Welcome Nugget by a Cornish miner. At the time it was the biggest gold nugget ever found and is still the second largest in the world and contains 99% pure gold.
The main street has a variety of shops, including two hotels and a theatre, and these are all run by people in period costume. There are also workshops where you can see traditional trades such as shoeing horses, wheel-making, carriage building and blacksmithing. There are period cottages to explore and schoolhouses where children in school groups can dress in period costumes and see what it was like to attend school in the 1950s.
There plenty of cafes, restaurants and picnics areas, as well as on-site accommodation. There is also a courtesy shuttle bus from Ballarat train station. Opposite the site is a Gold Museum with changing exhibits that focus on the uses of gold through history and its appeal.
Sovereign Hill is one of the best family attractions in the world, where you can learn as you have fun.