Sovereign Hill - Ballart

Today we took a step back in time, to the Gold Rush. The kids learnt what it was like to live in Ballarat 170 years ago, before electricity, in little tents which slept 10, the muddy roads and drinking the water you bathed in. I think the thing that stuck in the kids heads the most though was the cost of sugar 170 years ago! They were shocked to find out that lollies were for adults, and children only got ONE hard boiled lolly on a Sunday if they were lucky and completed all their school work, had gone to church and completed their chores. I suggested we start this rule, the kids were not impressed.

Alcohol was banned on the gold fields however it could be bought from underground distilling operations which then used women dressed as mothers holding babies to dispense the potent beverages by replacing the baby with a bottle of plonk and discreetly pouring it into thirsty gold miners cups for a very hefty price. Some very unique ingredients were also added to the alcohol including opiates and even gun powder for that extra kick 💥

We all got to experience going down in the gold mine, and what a small dark space it was to work in.

We tried our hand at gold panning, let’s just say we probably would not have survived the gold rush, and may have starved to death.Read more