Ballarat
As described in the previous post, Ballarat was the site of the Eureka Stockade and is now home to a museum dedicated to the history of Australian democracy. I think I should mention that its showpiece tourist attraction is Sovereign Hill, an open air museum and recreation of a gold rush town in the 1850s. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in Sovereign Hill and it’s so big you could easily spend the best part of a day there, so we decided to leave this for another time when we could visit together.
After two very hot days in the Grampians, it was now freezing cold and wet anyway.
Looking round for something else to do, I noticed that the inaugural Ballarat Writers’ Festival was on at the weekend. The theme of the festival was democracy. I took the opportunity to go to one of the workshops on crime fiction at the Old Law Courts in town. It was run by local author Dorothy Johnston and was an enjoyable couple of hours discussing crime fiction with some like minded ladies.
The Amazing Mill Markets are well worth a stop where you can find antiques, books, jewellery, art and clothing amongst other things. Jonathan particularly enjoyed the stop as it has a large display of memorabilia from the movie Wolf Creek.
Clunes
This historic town was the site of Victoria’s first gold strike in 1851 and many of the original buildings line its wide main street. I was keen to visit, as nowadays it’s famous for its many secondhand bookshops and an annual book festival in May. Most of the bookshops are only open at the weekend. I couldn’t find anything worth buying at their overinflated prices though. Ironically, the library had been abandoned.
Talbot
Another interesting and historic town with impressive 19th century buildings indicating its wealthy gold rush past. It also has a privately owned observatory which is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday on clear nights. Jonathan commented that it was a shame his neighbour at the back has let a large tree grow, blocking the eastern night sky.
Maryborough
The sun was out again and we instantly felt relaxed at Maryborough Caravan Park which is next to Lake Victoria and within walking distance to the town. We could see why several people had written on Wikicamps that they came for a day and stayed for a week. The only downside is all the ducks which I think remind Winston of our chickens he used to round up.
The railway station is huge as Maryborough was seen to have an important central position geographically. Novelist Mark Twain visited the town in the 1890s and famously described it as ‘a railway station with a town attached’.
After the disappointment of Clunes, we discovered a little gem of a secondhand bookshop in Maryborough run by the Lions Club. All the books are in good condition and most are $1 or $2 with all proceeds going back into the local community. I came away happily with a bag of books.
