After the Redcoats fired their loud muskets into the air, they gave the crowd an opportunity to photograph themselves with a Redcoat soldier. My family & I instead chose to find a place to eat. In the end we chose the New York Bakery, a café-style restaurant with a traditional appearance. We were seated by a waitress dressed in a 19th century dress. I was surprised to see 21st century food & drinks on the menu. Or maybe Coca-Cola was available in Ballarat during the 1850s gold rush? I doubt it because the product wasn’t introduced until 1886. My lunch was two BLT wraps with French Fries which tasted very good.
With our stomachs full, we split up and continued exploring Sovereign Hill. My father & I decided to go see the Gold Pour demonstration at the Gold Smelting Works building. Surrounded by a full crowd, an older gentleman explained the smelting process and then demonstrated it by pouring an $80,000 pure gold ingot into a container. The gold was extremely hot, being able to instantly light a wooden stick on fire just by touching it. The older gentleman cooled the bar in water which steamed for a minute, then let the young children touch it. Adults were forbidden for obvious reasons (it was worth $80,000!).
The whole family met up at the entrance of the museum and decided to hop over to the Gold Museum next door. As stated in my previous post, the Gold Museum collections include: gold nuggets of various sizes, gold mining tools, Chinese & Aboriginal art, and of course, a gift shop. There’s also the Goldasauras exhibit which displays a 4.4 kilogram gold nugget found by a Tasmanian prospector in the Golden Triangle, an area between the towns of Ballarat & Bendigo. Goldasauras is worth $250,000AUD! Unfortunately, the museum does not allow cameras so I’ll just say that the collections are interesting to see and the gift shop is stocked with expensive items if that’s what you’re looking for. Looking at the all the gold nuggets made me think that I should have been a gold prospector instead of a teacher.
We returned to Sovereign Hill that night to see ‘Blood on the Southern Cross,’ “a multi-million dollar sound-and-light show” that retells the story of the Eureka Rebellion of 1854. And they do mean sound & light because there is no live action until the very end (a triumphant one man monologue). The performance would have been much better if there was live action but that probably costs too much. The show happens nightly, is expensive ($50 per adult), but worth it. There’s also the choice of having dinner at Sovereign Hill before the show but we chose to forgo that option.
The Eureka Rebellion was an organized rebellion by Ballarat gold miners who were protesting heavily priced mining terms, the expense of a Miner’s Licence, taxation without representation, and the oppressive actions of the police and military. The miners rallied around a blue Eureka flag bearing the Southern Cross and erected a stockade around their encampment. The flag was designed by a Canadian miner named Henry Ross. On December 3rd, 1854, the stockade was attacked by government forces in which 28 people died (including 6 soldiers). The battle lasted 10 minutes and 120 diggers were arrested. Only 13 were brought to trial and all of them were acquitted thanks to wide public support. Today, the rebellion is seen as the birth of Australian democracy.
The show begins in the Orientation Centre where you watch an introductory video on a big screen. You’re then led outside to the Gold Panning Area which looks like a movie set thanks to bright stage lights that are hidden in wooden shacks during the day. After watching and listening about the harsh life the miners endured, you’re then bussed to a secluded section of the museum that’s not accessible during the day. Once everyone is seated in a building, the wall in front of you opens and reveals a landscape occupied by 19th century buildings. It is here where the entire story is told. I must say that it’s quite an impressive set up. While sitting in the ‘audience’ building, you get the impression that the landscape in front of you is a huge soundstage.
After watching buildings light up, a hotel & carriage on fire, simulated rain, and loud gunshots, you’re bussed back to Main Street where a male actor gives one last monologue from the balcony of the Victoria Theatre, praising the miners for fighting for equal rights. I think there was one part in his speech where he paused for an applause but all he got was silence. And finally, if you liked the show so much you can purchase the ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ DVD in the gift shop.
Overall, I give the sound-and-light show a B+. Sovereign Hill as a whole gets an A from me. Should you find yourself in Ballarat one day, visit this place and enjoy.
End of Sovereign Hill mini-Series.
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