The Melbourne Reprise and Surprise (Part 6): Bendigo-go-GOLD!

- May 20, 2025, Tuesday.

- But of course, Bendigo! Bendigo - a city 2 hours north of Melbourne by train (VLine) - is a place worth visiting for the history and gold. I almost forgot about Bendigo until a friend suggested that I might want to consider visiting this city. While it was long inhabited by the aborigines, Bendigo became a city during the British colonial era because of the gold rush. Hence, a lot of Bendigo's history centered on the gold mines.

- Upon reaching Bendigo Railway Station, I walked towards Rosalind Park to see the Poppet Head Lookout. This lookout was installed in 1931, but was used prior in an actual gold mine. The tower today is a free attraction in the park that gives a nice view of downtown Bendigo.

Poppet Head Lookout.

- Just beside the park is the Bendigo Art Gallery built in 1887. I did not go around the gallery that much, but I was in time to catch the special exhibit on Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo was an eccentric Mexican artist who made surrealist works. I was not just happy to see her works in person, but I was happy to see her clothes exhibited as well. Frida often work colorful dresses inspired by traditional Mexican wear, as well as an eclectic collection of accessories.

Bendigo Art Gallery.

Frida Kahlo exhibit.

Frida Kahlo's sketch of her accident.

Frida Kahlo, in the middle, dressed as a man.

Frida Kahlo's dressed! (And these weren't eh only ones in the exhibit.)

Just to prove that I was in the exhibit.

I love the peacock design.

Her jewelry.

One of her self portraits.

- After seeing the Frida Kahlo exhibit I went across Rosalind Park to see the Golden Dragon Museum precinct. Before visiting the museum, I first went around the Chinese Garden and took some photos. It was a small garden but it was colorful and had a lovely red tree by the pond (I guess the leaves were red as it was autumn).

It was a nice cozy garden.

Very colorful too!! I'm happy I wore things that matched the garden.

Pretty red tree.

There was a small Guan Yin temple right beside the garden.

- The museum and the precinct were built in the 1990s but the artefacts exhibited go as far back as the 1800s when many Chinese went to Bendigo during the gold rush era. The museum had an impressive collection of lions and dragons for the lion and dragon dances, as well as Qing-dynasty robes brought by the Chinese.

This is one impressive Chinese museum.

Chinese qilin.

Formal/ceremonial headdresses and accessories.

No exaggeration but my jaw dropped when I saw these displayed. While, honestly, they could be displayed in a slightly more organized manner, but I guess it's the fact that they weren't behind some glass that makes them appear easier to access.

Dr. Sun Yat Sen.

- I had to walk through the downtown area on the way to my next stop, and saw historical landmarks such as the town hall and the Shamrock Hotel. I also had a simple lunch along the way. One thing I could say is that, because Bendigo did not have a lot of high rise buildings, it was a lot colder there than it was in the city. I was glad I wore something warmer.

Shamrock Hotel, built in 1854 and has been patronized by Bendigo visitors since its opening.

Another view of the older part of the hotel.

Bendigo Visitor Centre, which used to be the Bendigo Post Office from 1887 to 1997.

Old Bendigo tram, one of the earliest tram systems in Australia. Recently it's used more as a tourist tramway rather than a commuter one.

Bendigo Town Hall, built in the 1850s.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral. This church took around 80 years to be built, from 1897 to 1977, because of a lack of funding.

- My final stop in Bendigo was the Central Deborah Gold Mine. It opened from 1939 to 1954 and was one of the last gold mines to be closed down. It was named after the owner's daughter, named "Deborah." Currently it functions as a tourist attraction that allows visitors a look of how gold mines work above and underground. Visitors may also try their luck panning for gold at the panning shed!   

Tourist trams stopping at the Central Deborah Gold Mine.

Panning shed.

Poppet head.

Gold ores found in the mine.

Laboratory to test the quality of gold.

Model of how the mine operated before.

Underground, we had a tour of some of the tunnels, and here we are taking a short rest at the miners' eating area.

Old toilet (cannot be used now.) By the way, the tour does not have a toilet so we were constantly reminded to go to the toilet before we went down the tunnel.

It is daunting to think that the tunnels we walked through are but a tiny portion of the extended mines, which could go miles underground as well as horizontally.

Example of gold.

Other types of stones and minerals in the mine.

The kind of dynamite used back in the day.

Fool's gold (pyrite, I think?), which looks like gold but glistens in the light. Real gold does not glisten.

- Upon seeing flat ground again, I made my way back to the train station and found my way back to Melbourne CBD to have dinner with my friend Timothy at Il Mercato Centrale at Collins Street corner Kings Street. Because this place is new it doesn't get a lot of attention but I think it should! It's sort of like a food court with mostly Italian food served by various concessionaires. 

Sunset in the train.

Good Italian food and good company!

- I honestly think that I need more time - maybe a second day - to go around Bendigo, since there are lots to see and do apart from the main landmarks and attractions I visited. However, I'm glad I finally was able to visit this gold-rush city and learn more about the history of the state of Victoria!

** Check out my other adventures in Melbourne/Victoria here!

Part 1: Revisiting Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) - here

Part 2: La Trobe University Graduation - here

Part 3: Werribee - here

Part 4: Geelong - here 

Part 5: Melbourne Central and Titanic VR - here

Part 7:  The Lume and Dax Centre - here

Part 8: Hot Air Balloon, NGV, UniMelb, State Library, and Hello Kitty Cafe - here