steve_irwin
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:37 am Post subject: Searching for Gold |
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Shortly after the California Gold Rush, when the Americans had begun to settle down after the excitement and establishing their West Coast cities, the Australian province of Victoria also begun a similar Gold Rush (many foreign miners, in fact, went straight to Australia after seeking their luck in the US).
One of the largest towns involved in the Gold Rush is Ballarat, around 2 hours by car from Melbourne. The city of Ballarat is still quite small, less than a million people, but it hosts some of the largest range of museums, mines, and tours for those interested in the gold rush.
During my visit to Ballarat a few weeks ago, they even allow tourists to pan for gold (yes there's still gold left, although I reckon they just throw some in to get the tourists). I did end up with some gold, little specks dug into small rocks probably worth a few dollars.
If you're down in Melbourne and want to check out the gold rush days, head off to Ballarat to take a look. Even if you don't have a car, trains depart for Ballarat from Melbourne every few hours. |
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