Ballarat
Melbourne • Yarra Valley • Mornington Peninsula • Geelong • Ballarat • Bendigo • Gippsland • Western Districts & Shipwreck Coast • Northern & Northeastern Victoria • The Mallee
Like Bendigo, Ballarat’s main claim to fame was the 1850s Gold Rush and it has remained a large regional centre since then.
Sovereign Hill
Website • Google Maps • Wikipedia
A large, open-air museum/tourist attraction showing Ballarat during the Gold Rush back in the 1850s. They have a bunch of performers dressed up like redcoats, and miners, and there are lots of historical things on sale. They have a setup where you can try gold-panning, too. The advertising would have you believe that you can find REAL GOLD! Statistically though, the likelihood is probably about the same as winning the lottery.
Also includes a closed air Gold Museum which we’ve never visited as In this context, “includes” means ‘can include for additional fees’.
After dark, they have a sound and light show that recreates the Eureka Rebellion, which is called Blood on the Southern Cross and is quite good.
Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka
Website • Google Maps • Wikipedia
Museum to that time when miners staged an armed rebellion
Spoilers: Instead of being found guilty by a Jury and “hung by the neck until dead” like in the good ol’ days, the leader of the rebellion was instead found not guilty and soon elected to the Colony’s Parliament. He ended up Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (lower house.)