Bendigo, VIC

We left Tocumwal on 19 March and arrived in Shepparton a couple of hours later where we visited the Art Gallery with its permanent collection of Australian ceramics as well as some paintings by McCubbin, Streeton and Boyd. However the highlight of our visit was taking photos of dozens of life-size ceramic cows in the nearby park in various guises and positions – we’ll let the photos tell the story! Shepparton is at the centre of the Goulburn Valley fruit industry with the Ardmona and SPC processing plants located nearby. SPC is short for Shepparton Processing Company – a little bit of trivia!




Soon after leaving Shepparton we passed the turnoff to Tatura where a prisoner of war camp was established during World War II. Coincidentally we had just visited the “Dunmeera Boys” exhibition at the National Library in Canberra the previous week. This exhibition told the story of the prisoners of war who had been transported from Britain to Australia in the early days of World War II on the ship “Dunmeera”. Many of them were first housed in a camp at Hay, NSW before it was closed down and the inmates were transferred to Tatura with its better facilities and milder climate. We had also read about their experiences during our visit to Hay last year.

We arrived in Bendigo mid-afternoon and checked into a caravan park approx 4km from the city centre. The following morning we collected some info from the Tourist Information Office before checking out the small Bridge Street markets and then walking along Pall Mall towards View Street where we visited the Bendigo Art Gallery. The gallery contains a broad collection of Australian art and works by Australian artists as well as collections of ceramics, china and silverware – well worth the visit. After coffee in the gallery café Richard climbed the nearby observation tower for a 360o view over the city – unfortunately the dense tree plantings obscured much of the vista.




We then walked down through Rosiland Park to Bridge Street where we visited the Golden Dragon Museum. This museum is a living history of the Chinese people in Bendigo from the gold rush era of the 1850s through to the present day. In the 1860s the Chinese comprised 20 percent of the Bendigo population and they are still well represented in the city. The museum contains an incredible array of items including processional regalia and costumes, carved furniture and screens as well as an extensive Chinese coin and note collection with coins dating back to 221BC. The highlight of the collection are the two Imperial Dragons, “Loong” and “Sun Loong”. “Loong” was purchased in 1892 and is now the oldest surviving imperial dragon in the world. “Loong” was retired in 1970 to be replaced by “Sun Loong” which at approx 100 feet is the world’s largest imperial dragon and is most impressively displayed snaking its way around the interior walls of the museum. “Sun Loong” requires a team of 108 people to operate it – 54 people at a time with the others stepping in to relieve as necessary. He stretches his legs annually at the Bendigo Easter Festival which attracts over 100,000 people to its street parade. We also visited the nearby Yi Yuan Classical Chinese Gardens and Kuan Yin Temple which include traditional Chinese architecture, decorative marble sculptures and colourful hand painted murals.

That afternoon we visited the Bendigo Joss House, a Chinese place of worship, constructed in the late 1860s. Comprised of three buildings – caretaker’s residence, temple and ancestral hall, built with locally hand made bricks and painted red it is one of the few remaining original buildings of its type in Australia. We were fortunate to receive a very informative guided tour of the small complex which left us more impressed than we had expected.

We also visited the Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral which, with its soaring spires, dominates Bendigo from its hilltop position and would easily rival St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney in size. The interior is surprisingly light with dozens of tall windows recessed into soaring stone walls which support intricately carved wooden ceilings and full sized angel-like wooden figures which project from the walls over the central aisle. We counted at least five chapels besides the main altar and the organ was also of impressive proportions.




The following morning we drove south-west of Bendigo to Maldon where we boarded a steam train run by volunteers of the Victorian Goldfields Railway for the 2hr journey to Castlemaine and return. We travelled in the 1st class wooden carriage at the rear of the train which was very well appointed with its pressed steel ceilings, comfortable wicker chairs and carpeted floors leading out to a small rear observation area. The locomotive was run by an oil-fired boiler instead of coal which at least saved us from being covered in black soot but in turn lacked a little authenticity. Upon returning to Maldon we found that this old goldmining town retains much of its original streetscape from the 1890s and now houses a variety of shops and eateries catering mainly to tourists. Driving back to Castlemaine we found a much larger town also retaining many old buildings but without the small cosy atmosphere of Maldon.