Okay, no we didn't take a wrong turn and it's not pictures of Bendigo. We were wandering around Bendigo and I found out that I still had pictures leftover from our Simpson Desert trip. So being lazy, I've simply added them in with Bendigo.
(Notice the windstorm? ) This was a park, believe it or not...nothing for miles and the creative person who did this brought some fun to the desert. I didn't bother getting out of the truck. It was like getting sandblasted and my skin is rough enough thanks.
(When you go to "more photos'', you'll see some more of these blended in with Bendigo shots.)
But back to Bendigo....where the temperature has finally cooled down making it a nice day to tour the city.
We started off on a Talking Tour on the Bendigo Trams.
Bendigo is a gold mining town and as you will see in the photos it was a very PROSPEROUS town! Gold was originally discovered by two women who were out visiting the shepherds in the area and accidentally found gold. The town swelled to 30,000 in two years. But it seems that the people of Bendigo also put a lot back into their town.
The fountain, the gardens, the government buildings, and the churches were built to rival their European counterparts.
There are so many of the original houses here and the people are still living in them today. Normally, in most towns you would see one or two of the original homes, but here it's house after house after house.
The Chinese culture is very strong here too. We dropped in to the Golden Dragon Museum which is one of the best museums on Chinese history. The Chinese came to Australia, not only to escape their own warring country, but they were forced to stop into Adelaide and WALK back to Bendigo because of taxes imposed on them. And then when the mines started dwindling off, they started up market gardens from which they prospered. My admiration is their artistry in their woodworking skills and sewing skills.
Yes,..there's just so much to see, that it's almost overwhelming. It's like ''living'' history. Bendigo is a wonderful city, rich in cultures from all around the world. I'm sorry we have to leave tomorrow as this is a place that's worth exploring a little more.
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