Our trip step by step
In order to share our goals and vision of this trip, here is the sequence of our trip, as we will live it:
Kilometre 0, Wednesday 27th of November 2009. We start our walk at the Burke and Wills expedition monument located in the Melbourne Royal Park. It is from there that on August 20th 1860, the 18 expedition members as well as their 25 camels, 22 horses and 6 bullock wagons carrying 20 tonnes of material left Melbourne. We quickly exit Melbourne thought its Northwest suburbia and start the crossing of the Australian continent by walking on the land of earliest colonies in Victoria.
Our first deviation compared to the original Burke and Wills’ track starts here. We choose to cross the gold rush region where most mining relics remain to this date to remind us of the birth of the Victorian colony. We will get back to the Burke and Wills track in Castlemaine, about 150km north.
In Woodlands Historic Park, we visit a prefabricated homestead built in 1840. This was a preferred construction technique for most first settlers because of its fast set up and relatively low cost.
The Organ Pipe National Park is our first vision of the typical vegetation of the colony before the modification of the landscape by the settlers. The organ shape of its rock formations inspired the park’s name.
We soon arrive at Goona Warra winery, one of the first piece of land cleared and exploited in the region in 1836, this first farming land was soon extended with the creation of Olde Winilba vineyard in 1863. We spend 2 days in these domains to meet with the Barnier and Carmody families, the landlords of these estates where we of course sample their products.
We are now walking toward Toolern Vale. At the Dingo Discovery Centre where we learn more about the lifestyle and behaviour of these typical Australian wild dogs that we may encounter somewhere later in the Outback.
We arrive now in the small historic town of Bacchus Marsh 8 days after our start. We spend 3 days to visit “The Manor”, Captain Bacchus residence built in 1846, which gave its name to the town. Its first buildings were erected between 1850 and 1880, the Millbank in 1855, the historic court house and lock-up built in 1859, the stone villa, J. Young residence and the express newspaper office built in 1865, the blacksmith's cottage built in 1877, Saint Andrew Presbyterian church and the Holy Trinity church of England were respectively built in 1865 and 1877. This sample will give us a first outlook of the urban landscape of the colony at its foundation.
Bacchus Marsh is also the native town of Peter Carey, the famous writer. His most well-known and awarded novels include Bliss, Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda, and The True History of the Kelly Gang.
This is also the place where Frank Hardy grew-up, he was a journalist who actively supported the aborigines land right demonstrations of the 1960’s. His youth spent in this little town during the great depression of the 1930’s has probably shaped his communist political ideas.
We are now leaving the bitumen roads and start walking on the “Great Dividing Trail”, a trek of about 180km that traverses different natural reserves and national parks. These parks protect the hills and canyons of the Great Dividing Range, from Bacchus Marsh to Bendigo.
During the first 3 days, we follow the gorge of the Lerderberg River until we reach the village of Blackwood; a small historic town, which was a thriving settlement during the 1850’s. Its cemetery is the last witness of the miner’s passage. We also visit a homestead built in 1855 and the All Saint Church of England built in 1863.
3 days later, we reach the spa town of Daylesford built in a Swiss Italian architectural style by some European settlers. We learn more about the Victorian colony development around the goldfields at the Historical Society Museum. We also visit the post office built in 1867 and the town Hall built in 1882.
We pursue our hike toward the Mount Franklin and Hepburn Spring thermal centres. Along our way, we can observe different mining equipment ruins of the years 1850-1870 and the camping sites of the Chinese during this period.
In fact, Chinese played an important role in the development of Australia’s colonies; they participated actively in the settler movement side by side with European colons. They often specialized in providing services such as gardening and small retail. Others were directly involved in the search of gold, which created many conflicts of interests and some violent struggles in between the different ethnic groups.
We then take a greedy break at the Chocolate mill, in Jennifer Gregory and Chris Weippert’s place. They built an interesting house made of straw bales and other recycled materials just outside Mount Franklin.
Our next step is Vaughan Springs and its renowned mineral spring water. Then, we visit the gold rush ghost town of Fryerstone and its numerous ruins.
We are now arriving in the Diggings National Heritage Park and stay 4 days in Castlemaine, another historical town in the area.
In Castlemaine, we catch up with Burke and Wills original trail. A monument was erected there in their honour in 1864. Many historical buildings are the reminders of the city important status during the gold rush.
It is also here that the famous bushranger “Mad Dog Morgan” was arrested for the first time in 1853. He did end up his criminal carrier shot in the back by a cowboy following a hostage taking in Peechalba farm in Victoria in 1865.
Finally, we also take the Victorian goldfield railway steam train that so many miners and pioneers used to ride in the days of extensive mining.
Our last stage in the gold rush era ruins pass by Chewton and the remains of building and equipments of the Duke of Cornwall mine, an 1850-65 operation that folded in 1880. We also see the surprising portable log lock-up which could be transported to various locations according to the arrests.
We also traverse Eureka village ruins. In Fryerstone, we study the architecture of a prefabricated Methodist church and we visit the oldest botanical garden of Victoria.
We then pass by the “expedition path”; we are not sure which expedition, if it’s not ours? We reach later Mount Alexander, which was considered as the centre of the 1853 gold rush. Next, we reach the Sandhurst water reservoir and its surprising “Coliban” irrigation network designed to service the different mines.
We now enter Bendigo, “the jewel of the goldfield” after 36 days of walking where we stay for 7 days. Across a territory of approximately 35km x 11km, up to 5500 mines were exploited. This was at some point the highest concentration of deep shafts on earth, some descending down to 1400 meters bellow ground. We are guided through the Central Deborah mine where we can understand better the living standards and working conditions of the miners. We also learn more about the Chinese collaboration to this great adventure at the Bendigo Chinese Golden Dragon Museum.
Bendigo wasn’t only the physical centre of the mines, but also a major entertainment city due to its numerous places of interest; we visit the famous Shamrock Hotel built in 1854, the performing art centre, a classical architecture built in the 1870’s where artists used to come in purpose from Europe to perform their latest shows.
It is also at Bendigo that in 1900, a Russian immigrant created the Myer’s store, which since became one of the largest luxury department stores chain in Australia.
At Eaglehawk, we also visit several historical buildings if they have not been damaged or destroyed by the early 2009 bush fires.
Before leaving the goldfields area, and following our deep mining exploration, we will fly above ground using a balloon flight. This will be a unique opportunity to discover through a totally new angle where we come from and where we are heading to.
For the next 5 days, we traverse the Greater Bendigo National Park, formed by the grouping of the Whipstick Forest, the Kamarooka Forest and other previously private land. This park not only houses a rich flora and wildlife but also protects numerous aboriginal heritage sites. We aim to discover and interpret them together with the members of the aboriginal association Dja Dja Wrung based in Bendigo. They are responsible for the protection and preservation of these important sites.
Later we pass by the small railway stations of Old Dingee and Old Mitiamo Bendigo, located along the Bendigo – Swan Hill track.
