bendigo - Gold and Iron Bark tour
Day tour of the Goldfields in the Rushworth and Whroo Forests
In 1853 a group of desperate miners from the Bendigo fields decided to pack up and travel across land to the Beechworth gold fields. Along the way they encountered some aboriginals in the Rushworth region who showed the Europeans some ‘coloured stones’. This sparked the biggest gold rush in history. The next year, gunpowder was used for the first time in Australia. When they blew up Mt Balaclava the gold was everywhere. Was this the mountain of gold that had brought the world to Australia?
In 1870, there was an estimated 100,000 miners living in appalling conditions at Graytown, then after over 5-inches (125 ml) of rain one night in September, flooded the mines that lead to the end of the first rush. All departed except the Chinese, who waited for the water to go down, and there was more gold. The Chinese cashed in and invested in business’s in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. Many ancestors still run the establishments today.
Rob Asplin proprietor of River Country Adventours will escort the group
Tour itinerary
| 0900 | Courtesy motel collection from Bendigo. |
| 0930 | Visit World Famous Bendigo Pottery. |
| 1030 | Morning tea at Bickly’s Barn at Goornong. |
| 1200 | Rushworth, old mining town. Browse old shops many classified. |
| 1230 | Lunch available from many outlets, inc. pub counter meals. |
| 1330 | Whroo Forest, Balaclava Mine, escorted tour available. |
| 1415 | Whroo Gold Cemetery and Aboriginal Site. |
| 1530 | Tahbilk Winery, oldest in region 1860. |
| 1730 | Return to Bendigo via Heathcote, tour ends. |
Price
Coach Tour |
$77.00 per person Inc. GST |
| Minimum 30 |
River Country Adventours reserves the right to alter or amend any part of this tour due to environmental and other factors, however the cost will remain valid until March 31, 2009.
