We got to look in all the English miners tents and houses and the Chinese miners ones as well. We got to go into the Chinese temple and learnt about how the Chinese had come to Ballarat in search if gold and how the English made them pay to many taxes because they believed they were stealing Queen Victoria's gold.
We got to hold the gold when he had finished making it. It was really heavy. It was worth more than $100, 000!!!
Then we went and booked in for an old time photo and went back for another tour this time about tips when you are mining. The guy was really funny.
Soon after that we did a couple of mine tours. I was really scared on the non-guided tour because it was really dark and silent. We learnt about the Welcome Nugget which is the second largest gold nugget and was found in Ballarat. It weighed 69kg and was very big. The largest nugget was called the Welcome Stranger and was also found somewhere in Victoria.
We had lunch at the bakery next to the photograph rooms. Lucky Harvey didn't spill any sause on his clothes!
Then we had our photo taken. It was an amazing experience! Dad wore a suit, Mum wore a massive floral dress, I wore a lovely blue and purple dress, Harvey wore a little suit and baggy hat and Milla wore a light purple dress. All the girls wore bonnets. Harvey asked if he could hold a cricket bat in the photo. We weren't allowed to smile, cause in those days they didn't smile in photographs. Not sure why.
Then we watched the troopers march up the Main Street and fire their guns at the end. I blocked my ears cause it was very loud. We also went for a horse and cart ride which was fabulous though really bumpy.
Then before we went home we had one last pan for gold and with a bit of help from the experts we ended up with about five tiny specks of gold! We put them in a little jar to store them. I had the best day ever!
Whoa!! Girls and Boys,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful experience for you all to-day!
It all looked fabulous, especially the photo where you all dressed up.
It makes me want to visit Sovereign Hill when we are down that way.
Continue having fun guys and soaking up all these life experiences.
You certainly are learning lots about our Australian history, heh!!
Love Pop
I loved seeing these pics! I went to Sovereign Hill when I was a little girl and remember panning for gold. I don't think we found any either!! A fun fact for you - there are a few theories as to why people didn't smile in old time photographs, one reason was believed to be the long exposure times of the old style cameras (it was impractical to try and hold a smile for that long, especially for children.) You often see children or animal's faces blurred in old picture as they were not able to hold their heads still for long enough! Another reason is that people back then (in the 17th/18th centuries) believed that smiling in photographs made them look stupid or silly. There is a famous quote from that time that says "only people who smiled broadly, in life and in art, were the poor, the lewd, the drunk or the innocent" WOW!!
ReplyDeleteHow much is 5 specks of gold worth? Better keep it safe
ReplyDelete