Tuesday August 27, 2019

Road video and map – Echuca to Melbourne, VIC

Today’s four hour road trip into Melbourne was broken up  by three stops that were nicely spaced along the route and very different from each other.

In the 1850s this part of Victoria experienced a gold rush second only in size to the California gold rush. The gold mined here made the colony the richest country in the world for a few years and brought about the rapid development of Melbourne to become Australia’s biggest city at the time. My first two stops explored different aspects of this boom.

Bendigo, VIC was the site of one of the largest gold finds and attracted optimistic miners from all over the world including a large contingent from the Canton region of China due to the economic and political challenges there at the time. The strength of the Chinese culture in Bendigo is celebrated at the Golden Dragon Museum. The exhibits are focused on ceremonial and artistic items and, in particular, on the Chinese dragons that have taken part in the annual Easter Fair in the town since the 1870s. The current dragon, shown in a photo below, is the longest in the world.

My next stop, the town of Maldon, was the site of a smaller find but remains much as it was in the mid to late 1800s. On weekends it is, apparently, bustling with visitors but on this Tuesday morning it was very quiet and most of the shops were closed. Nevertheless it was great to see the original buildings along the high street still in use.

My final stop was at Hanging Rock where I made the climb to the summit. I had planned to stop at the cafe to pick up a drink and a cookie to take to the top where I would have my own “Picnic at Hanging Rock” but I was foiled. Although the website says the cafe is “open 7 days” the sign on the door reveals that, for some mysterious reason, it is closed on Tuesdays from May to August. I guess it is a place of mysteries and I should just be thankful I was able to arrive safely back at the car to finish my drive to Melbourne.

The dragon head seen in this photo at the Golden Dragon Museum belongs to the longest Chinese Dragon in the world.
The museum also features outdoor sculptures and Chinese Gardens.
Maldon high street appears much as it would have in the 1860s (except for the paved road, cars and telephone poles).
The Kangaroo hotel first opened in 1851 although this brick building probably dates from around 1890. It is now a restaurant.
Although the buildings have been preserved very little remains of the town’s three mines. This chimney and foundations are all that can be seen of the Beehive Mine which operated from 1859 to 1918.
Hanging Rock was formed by successive flows of magma through a crack in the Earth’s crust about 6 million years ago.
It gets its name from this rock hanging in a fissure.
The view from the summit.