The Mighty Murray River

The Murray River is our largest river. It's 2,575 kilometres long and starts in the alps, forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria, then heads south into South Australia and ends at the mouth, Lake Alexandrina.

It's been 48 degrees on the Murray River at Echuca and Moama for 3 days and another 44 day is forecast tomorrow. It actually went up to 49 on the Jeep temperature gauge this afternoon but dropped to 48 before I could get the camera out. One side of the river is the big town of Moama in the state of New South Wales and across the river is the town of Echuca in Victoria.

The Mighty Murray isn't mighty anymore, it's dying a slow death. Introduced European Carp are the scourge of the Murray, they are like vacuum cleaners, bottom feeders who suck up everything in their path and blow out what they don't need and in the process make the water muddy. They cause bank erosion, uproot vegetation and destroy the breeding habits of native fish because they eat their eggs. It is estimated that over 90 per cent of the fish now in the Murray-Darling basin are carp and have been declared a pest fish.

An enterprising company decided to turn dead carp into an award winning garden ferilizer called Charlie Carp. Their commitment to turn an unwanted environmental pest into a sustainable product has been awarded the prestigious national Banksia Environmental Award.

But we humans, probably more than the carp and the drought, have destroyed the Murray. Our obsession with clearing the land and stealing the water for our own selfish use has led to a huge salinity problem. In 2003 two thousand tonnes of salt reached the Murray mouth which equals 82 semi-trailer loads of salt every single day.

Hundreds of trees have been planted but we need to plant hundreds more but most importantly, we need good rain so the Murray can be Mighty once again.

Central Deborah Gold Mine, Bendigo

The Central Deborah Gold Mine in Bendigo was in operation from 1939 and closed in November 1954 due to rising costs, fixed gold prices and water problems. In its fifteen years of operation 375 men worked here and the weekly wage for a miner was $22.80 per week in 1952.

Bendigo goldfields were the richest in Australia and at one stage had 6000 gold mines and produced almost 700,000 kilos of gold. But in 1988 Kalgoorlie exceeded Bendigo's production.

The mine is 411 metres deep, has 17 levels but the bottom 4 levels are completely flooded. The tour today only went down to 82 metres.

You get to use the drill.

The dynamite used in the olden days (top) compared to that used today.

The function room was constructed as a 'work for the dole' project and has been the venue for weddings and last November The Underground Opera Company made a very successful return performance here.

The mine can be reopened at any time, depending on world gold prices, as they believe there is plenty of gold still down there.

Be prepared to climb 6 ladders. The tour costs $68 and includes a pastie and cup of tea or coffee for lunch underground in the convention centre and the tour takes two and a half hours.

It is 42 C outside today but in the gold mine it was about 20.

Bendigo Architect, William Charles Vahland

German born Carl Wilhelm Vahland who later changed his name to William Charles Vahland made a huge contribution to Australia and Bendigo in particular.

When he heard about the discovery of gold in the Victorian goldfields, he set sail on the ship “San Francisco” arriving in Melbourne in 1854 and set off for the Bendigo diggings with three friends. But his gold prospecting wasn't very successful so he started work as a carpenter in Bendigo, fitting out the Crown Hotel in Hargreaves Street and went on to set up his own carpenter’s shop making miners’ cradles.

In 1857 he opened chambers at 2 Pall Mall with another German architect, Robert Geetzschmann and they were partners until Geetzschmann’s death.
Just some of the buildings he designed and directed in Bendigo: the Town Hall, the Shamrock Hotel, the hospital, The School of Mines, The Mechanics Institute, the Princess Theatre, the Masonic Hall, the Cascades, the Alexandra Fountain in the centre of town, the Sandhurst Club and many private homes, some very grand and some very simple.

But for all his outstanding accomplishments, I like his little miner’s cottage the best. In 1870 he wanted to design cheap accommodation for the average family and came up with the classic miner's cottage with four front posts on a verandah, a door in the middle and windows either side.

It was easy to erect and could be mass-produced. You can see these quaint little cottages all across Australia where large families were raised in a very small space and they played a very important part in our history, thanks to William Charles Vahland, Bendigo Architect and Freemason.

The Old Boundary Hotel, Bendigo

If you are a tourist you might miss this old pub, I think the locals are trying to keep it a secret. I was told it was the best pub in town (and there are quite a few) and we enjoyed a very good Australia Day lunch here. Good food, well presented and generous sized meals.

Eureka Stockade, Ballarat

Because Eureka Stockade was such an important event in our history, a visit to the Eureka Centre in Ballarat is a must.

Gold was discovered at Ballarat in 1851 and thousands of men and women with an adventurous spirit flocked to the goldfields to live in tents and pursue their dream of striking it rich.

In September 1851 the Victorian government introduced a gold licence to pay the wages of police and other essential services like roads. The licence cost 30 shillings a month and miners were fined 5 pounds for the first time you were found without it, 15 pounds the second time and up to 30 pounds the third time. Many were living in poverty and couldn’t afford a licence and would head for the hills when police came around checking to see if you had one.

The miners finally got organised and voted Peter Lalor, an Irishman, as their Commander in Chief. They drew up The Ballarat Reform League and made a list of demands.

The removal of the gold licence;
The right to vote for the people in power;
The right to be represented in government;
To scrap the rule that you had to own property to be a member of Parliament.

The authorities refused all demands and more soldiers were sent and licence inspections were increased to twice a week instead of once.

Frustrated, and with the newly designed flag of the Southern Cross flying above them, the diggers, led by Lalor, knelt and took a solemn oath - “We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties”. They then left to construct the stockade.

At dawn on Sunday 3rd December 1854, 296 well armed soldiers and police attacked approximately 150 diggers. Of course, it was an absolute route, 30 men, most of them diggers, died at the battle.

Peter Lalor’s arm was damaged in the melee but he escaped to the home of Father Smyth in Ballarat where his arm was amputated, he was then taken to Geelong where he was cared for by Alicia Dunn who he later married.

A reward was placed on Lalor’s head but was later revoked and the 13 diggers charged with “high treason” and placed on trial in Melbourne were found not guilt and released. This bloody event brought about major reforms which were then introduced.

Ironically Peter Lalor ended up on the other side - in politics. He held the seat of North Grenville and later stood for and won the seat of South Grant. In 1875 he became Commissioner for Customs in the Berry government and in 1880 he became Speaker.

Strolling through the Eureka Centre I was taken with the photo of Bridget Hynes, an eye witness to the event.

Born Bridget Nolan at Monivea County, Galway, Ireland
Arrived Point Henry Geelong 5th June 1852 on the Mangerton
Married Thomas Hynes 2/10/1854 at St Alipius Church, Ballarat East
Priest: Patrick Smythe (the same priest who helped save Peter Lalor's life)
Best man Patrick Gittins (died at Eureka).

She was 23 years old and lived in a tent at Black Hill, close to the Stockade. At 4am on Sunday 3/12/1854 she hid her husband's pike (home made weapon) and his pants and ran towards the sound of gun fire at the Stockade.

She and some other women screamed "He's dead" as they threw themselves across the bodies of the wounded diggers, protecting them from the bayonets of the soldiers.

She and her husband Tom went on to become farmers and reared eleven children.

Quite a story.

Heathcote Winery

The Heathcote Winery has kudos in spades. Why? Because the Melbourne Cricket Club have Heathcote wines on their wine list. An enjoyable lunch with carefully prepared food and excellent wine.

Where is it? 50 kms from Bendigo.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo

Double click picture to enlarge image.

My photo doesn't do this magnificent building justice, I couldn't get the spires into the shot, they are just so high. Everyone is welcome to come inside and be inspired.

The Cathedral was built in two stages, the nave and the side aisles were built first and opened in September 1901 and then in 1954 work restarted and it was finally finished in 1977.

Bendigo Pottery

Bendigo Pottery are Australia's oldest potters, so there's lots of history here. I wasn't inspired enough to buy anything, I think they are making pieces for the mass market with rather run of the mill things like coffee mugs all the same boring colour and their Commemorative Plate celebrating 150 years was just plain awful, I think they must have sacked anyone with an ounce of artistic talent a long time ago.

But the potter at work today was happy to help the children get started on a piece of clay and had the patience of Job.

Bendigo, fossicking for gold

Many people still come to Bendigo looking for gold which is allowed in some areas of the Greater Bendigo National Park surrounding Bendigo.

But we still can't get away from government red tape, you have to get a Miner's Right which is a permit to 'prospect for minerals on unreserved crown land or private land where the permission of the land owner is given'. It will cost you $26.90 and is valid for two years.

But wait, there's more, you can only use hand tools and metal detectors and any soil or rocks displaced must be put back and any holes filled in.

Bendigo, Talking Trams

We don't have trams in Sydney, so it was a bit of a novelty to hop aboard a Talking Tram in Bendigo city, population 100,000. Trams stopped running here years ago but some enterprising person suggested they restore some old ones and maybe tourists would come and enjoy a ride on one, see the sights of the city and listen to a running commentary of the history of the town all at the same time. It's working very well.

The old tram you see in pieces is a 'Work For the Dole' project' - young people come here to work on restoring this old tram, originally from America.

Bendigo, a town built on dreams

Gold was discovered in Victoria in August 1851 at Buninyong, near Ballarat, two months later it was discovered in Bendigo. In 1853 60,000 diggers from all over the world were on the goldfields, 23,000 of these were at Bendigo.

There is some confusion about where the word 'digger' comes from, some say the name came about because the First World War Aussie soldiers were forever digging trenches and tunnels. The version I like is that the word comes from the goldfields and the heroic show of the miners' rebelliion at the ridiculous cost of thirty shillings a month for a licence to mine for gold, whether you found any or not.

The now famous Bendigo Petition in 1853 was drawn up with a list of the miners grievences but it all came to nothing and was denied. The diggers were furious and some time later this fury was played out at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, which is another interesting story about our rebellious past and our innate dislike of authority.

Seymour, Victoria

After the lush green alpine forests of Warburton, it was a bit of a let down when we arrived at Seymour, we landed right in the middle of the drought belt of Victoria. It's depressing to see all the surrounding paddocks with pasture burnt to a crisp, not a patch of green anywhere.

I picked Seymour because the caravan park was on the Goulburn river front, I'm quite partial to rivers but we landed in the middle of heatwave and are locked away in the caravan with the air conditioning on full pelt. I only ventured out to go to Woolworths and back again, we had 38 yesterday and it's even hotter today, at least 40.

When I feel like whinging about the heat, I think of the endurance of the tennis players at the Australian Open in Melbourne today.

Our caravan at Warburton

This is our caravan at Warburton Caravan Park. When we got up this morning, there was no water. Mystified, we thought it unlikely that the council would cut the water supply of hundreds of people in the park and it suddenly dawned that the water was frozen in the pipes. That couldn't be, we thought, it's in the middle of summer but sure enough by 9.30, it had thawed out and we could have our vegemite toast and a cup of tea.

This is our caravan site, as you can see we must have body odour, because we are the only ones on this patch. The kids are still on holidays and there are lots of campers still here but they are mainly in the unpowered area on the river bank, a little way from here.

The River Walk, Warburton

I think Warburton is one of the prettiest towns I've ever seen. The River Walk follows the Yarra River, about 7 km return, along both sides of the river.

Rainforest Boardwalk, Warburton

Alpine Retreat Hotel, Warburton

We had lunch here in the courtyard of the Alpine Retreat Hotel. I had rack of lamb with home made mint sauce (just like mother used to make) and Dennis had lambs fry and mashed potatoes, both meals were very good.

The township is 20 minutes drive from Mount Donna Buang which is covered in snow in winter but one very unusually cold summer holiday I’m told that this courtyard roof was covered with a light fall of snow.