Sovereign Hill
Encyclopedia
Open air museum
An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as...
in Golden Point
Golden Point, Victoria
Golden Point is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia located south east of the CBD. It is one of the few original suburbs of Ballarat that was established during the Victorian gold rush days. At the 2006 census, Golden Point had a population of 2,147...
, a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Sovereign Hill depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
there in 1851. It was officially opened on 29 November 1970 and has become a nationally acclaimed tourist attraction. It is one of Victoria's most popular attractions and Ballarat's most famous attraction.
Set in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 1850s, the complex is located on a 25-hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
site that is linked to the richest alluvial gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
in the world. The site comprises over 60 historically recreated buildings, with costumed staff and volunteers, who are able to answer questions and will pose for photos. The recreation is completed with antiques, artwork, books and papers, machinery, livestock and animals, carriages and devices all appropriate to the era.
History
Sovereign Hill is located on the site of one of Ballarat's major gold diggings. The discovery on August 21, 1851 by James Dunlop and James Reagan that sparked the Ballarat Gold Rush was at the base of the hill a couple of hundred metres from Sovereign Hill park and the "Welcome" nuggetWelcome Nugget
The Welcome Nugget was the name given to a large gold nugget, weighing 2,217 troy ounces 16 pennyweight. , that was discovered by a group of twenty-two Cornish miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site at Bakery Hill in Ballarat, Victoria, on June 9, 1858...
—found by a group of Cornish miners in 1858, and being the second largest gold nugget in the world—was also found in Ballarat in the Red Hill mine which is recreated in Sovereign Hill. The Welcome Nugget weighed 69 kg,(2,200 ounces) and contained 99% pure gold, valued at about 10,500 pounds
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
when found, and worth over US$3 million in gold now, or far more as a specimen.
The idea of Sovereign Hill was floated in Ballarat in the 1960s, as a way to preserve historic buildings, and to recreate the gold diggings that made the city. The complex was officially opened to the public on Sunday 29 November 1970.
Main street is loose reconstruction of Main Street, Ballarat East
Ballarat East, Victoria
Ballarat East, is a suburb of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Ballarat East covers a large area east of the CBD. It is the oldest area in Ballarat and was once also a municipality known as the Ballarat East Town Council between 1859 and 1921...
which was once the settlement's main street consisting of timber buildings it was consumed in a large fire during the 1860s and a more substantial town centre planned around Sturt and Lydiard Street in Ballarat West.
Attractions
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. This area is surrounded by tents and buildings contemporary to the early years of the gold rush. A recent addition to Sovereign Hill is the Gold Pour where pure gold valued at over $100,000 is melted and poured into a three-kilogram bullion bar.
There are two mines which have guided tours at regular intervals. The Red Hill Mine is a self guided tour that tells the story of a group of Cornishmen and their discovery of the Welcome Nugget
Welcome Nugget
The Welcome Nugget was the name given to a large gold nugget, weighing 2,217 troy ounces 16 pennyweight. , that was discovered by a group of twenty-two Cornish miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site at Bakery Hill in Ballarat, Victoria, on June 9, 1858...
. The Sovereign Quartz Mine runs 40 minute guided tours and features several underground displays. Above ground it also features steam-driven machinery for pumping water and processing the ore. More recently an attraction titled "Trapped" has been added. This underground exhibit tells the story of the mining disaster at Creswick
Creswick, Victoria
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
in 1882 in which 22 miners died due to the collapse and flooding of the New Australasian No 2 Mine. This is still considered Australia's worst mining disaster.
The Main Street is lined with shops, two hotels and a theatre. Among the shops on Main Street there is also a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
's workshop, stables, photography studio, apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
, bakery, jeweller's shop, grocer, tentmaker, tinsmith
Tinsmith
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...
, bank, post office, nine-pin bowling saloon and library. Behind the Main Street there are a number of cottages which are open for visitors. There are also four schools where children in school-groups dress in period costume and attend as a child of the 1850s.
A number of workshops at Sovereign Hill, display traditional trades such as coachbuilder, wheelright, tinsmith, blacksmith and farrier.
Blood on the Southern Cross is a show depicting the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
story of 1854. Run at night for a length of 90 minutes, using only sound and lights.