A rich vein of history in goldrush Victoria
THE explosions come as a jolt. The Eureka Hotel is on fire. The miners of Ballarat have taken their deadly revenge on corrupt landlord James Bentley, just acquitted of murdering one of their number. This is just the start. Nursing grievances over cripplingly expensive mining licences, heavy-handed policing and lack of a democratic say, the miners will end up swearing an oath of allegiance to the newly created Southern Cross flag.
They’ll barricade themselves into their camp. And many of them will be massacred in a pre-dawn attack by the better-armed authorities.
Fortunately for us, these are events that belong to the past, brought vividly to life for our entertainment. The Blood On The Southern Cross sound and light show in Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Victoria, takes visitors through the bloody story of the 1854 Eureka Rebellion.
It’s a tale barely known outside Australia, but one that forms a key part of the country’s history.
And it’s a superb spectacle. Pubs, hotels, camps and churches have been recreated; tensions are ratcheted up; flames and explosions are real. But this is entirely in keeping with Sovereign Hill as a whole, which vastly undersells itself as a living museum.
A 90-minute drive from Melbourne, Sovereign Hill is essentially a remake of what Ballarat was like during the goldrush of the 1850s. Horses and carts clatter through the dirt streets, kids pan for gold in the stream and shopkeepers wear period costume.
But Sovereign Hill is not stuck entirely in the past. At the chandler’s, the women dip candles into vats of wax to show how they’re made – but they also sell the candles in the real world. At the wheelwright’s, chaps show how cartwheels are hammered together – but also do repairs and commissions for new carts across the country.
This blurring of the lines makes it hearteningly difficult to tell what’s re-creation, what’s renovation and what’s basically a tackedon fake.But now, as then, the reason people come to Ballarat is gold. And that means going down the mine, now done via a novelty train.
The guides show off the ‘widowmaker’ drills that would churn up lethal quartz dust, tell of miners being crushed in rockfalls and point out the rich veins that made the risk all worth it. The gold, of course, went a long time ago.
But its part in Australia’s heritage will stay for ever.