Bendigo

Bendigo [7] is a large regional city in Victoria, Australia, population 100,000 (making it the 3rd largest settlement in the state). Bendigo is located some 140 km (105 miles, 1.5 hrs drive) north-north-west of Melbourne.

It is a beautiful city with grand Victorian architecture, more opulent than that generally seen in country Australia. This is as a result of the Gold Rush.

Understand

Bendigo grew to a bustling town during the Gold Rush Era of the 1850s. The wealth created during this period resulted many fine Victorian era buildings in the down town and surrounding areas. This type of architecture is not common to most country towns in Australia.

An influx of people from the city has brought the population of Bendigo to just over 100,000. Even so it still retains a friendly country atmosphere.

The town has more sunny days per year than Queensland. Being north of the Great Dividing Range, it has also far less rain than Melbourne. Summers are hot and dry, up to 40 degrees Celsius or more on some days. Winters tend to be mild; with lowest temperatures around -5 degrees Celsius overnight and around 15 during the day.

Sheep, cattle, fruit, wine and cereal crops are the most common products of the area. Gold is being discovered again in large quantities at deeper levels in the old mines with new technology.

History

Before European settlement the are was occupied by the clans of the Dja Dja Wrung people. They were regarded by other tribes as being a superior people, not only because of their rich hunting grounds but because from their area came a greenstone rock for their stone axes. Early Europeans described the Dja Dja Wrung as a strong, physically well-developed people and not belligerent. Nevertheless the early years of European settlement in the Mount Alexander area were bloodied by many clashes between intruder and dispossessed.

Major Mitchell passed through the area in 1836. Following his discovery, the first squatters arrived in 1840 to establish vast sheep runs. Bendigo Creek was part of the Mount Alexander or Ravenswood sheep run.

It is generally acknowledged that Mrs John Kennedy and Mrs Patrick Farrell, wives of workmen on the Ravenswood run, found gold at ‘The Rocks’ - now an identified location that can be visited at the junction of Bendigo Creek and Maple Street.

The first ‘rush’ took place in November 1851 when miners at Castlemaine (Forest Creek) heard of the new discovery. Alluvial gold was found in the area of its first discovery (present day Golden Square) and then the miners followed the gold down the creek to what is now Epsom and up the creek to the present suburb of Kangaroo Flat. Further discoveries were soon made in the tributary creeks at Eaglehawk and Diamond Hill.

As a result of the rush of people to the area, the Gold Commissioner’s Office, the Police Barracks and the courts were erected on Camp Hill, now the present Rosalind Park in central Bendigo. The “diggers”, as the miners were called, numbered as high as thirty thousand and came from all over the world; from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland – along with Germans, Italians, Swiss, French and Americans. The Chinese population reached many thousands in the early gold rush period but their numbers dropped rapidly as the nineteenth century progressed.

Bendigo quickly grew from a “city of tents” to become a substantial city with great public buildings. The first hospital was built in 1853 and the first town plan was developed by 1854. A municipality emerged and the first Town Hall was commissioned in 1859.

Bendigo was connected to Melbourne by telegraph in 1857 and it was from here that the first message reporting the deaths of Burke and Wills was sent in 1861. Frequent Cobb & Co coaches ran to Melbourne until the railway reached Bendigo in 1862.

In the following decade it made the transition from small mining town to large and wealthy city, and becoming established as a key centre for surrounding settlements.

Water supply was always a problem in Bendigo. This was partly solved with a system harnessing the waters of the Coliban River, designed by engineer Joseph Brady. Water first flowed through the viaduct in 1877.

Architect William Charles Vahland left a major mark on Bendigo during this period. He is credited as innovating what was the most popular residential design of the period, low cost cottages with verandahs decorated in iron lace which became a popular style right across Victoria. He transformed the Bendigo Town Hall between 1878 to 1886 into a grand building and designed more than eighty more public and private buildings, including the Alexandra Fountain, the Masonic Temple (now the Capital Theatre) and the Mechanics Institute and School of Mines (now the Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE), 'Fortuna Villa' in Golden Square, (which was the home of 'Quartz King' George Lansell), the Law Courts, former Post Office and the expanded Shamrock Hotel in Pall Mall.

A tram network began in 1890 and was used for public transport.

Get in

By car

Bendigo is just over one and half hours drive north of Melbourne on the Calder Freeway (Highway). The freeway is now all dual carriageway. The final stretch of the Calder duplication project opened to traffic on 20th April 2009.

If you are coming from Sydney, take the Shepparton exit from the Hume Freeway, and then follow the signs from Shepparton to Bendigo.

By plane

While Bendigo does have a small airport, it will likely be much more convenient to fly into Melbourne. From there, hire a car and take the M79 (Calder Freeway) which starts just by the airport. If you do not wish to drive, take the Skybus into Southern Cross Station and get the train to Bendigo. Alternatively take the shuttle [8] direct to Bendigo from the airport.

By train

Bendigo is served by trains which run from Melbourne's Southern Cross Station into the south of Bendigo. These usually run about once an hour. The journey takes approximately two hours from Melbourne. As the route is used by many commuters trains may be more crowded in the early morning and late afternoon/early evening on week days. From the station, most of the CBD is within walking distance. Alternatively buses run into the centre of the city and other parts of Bendigo from the station. In addition to the main station, the trains also often stop at the outer Bendigo station of Kangaroo flat. It is unlikely to be a better option than the main station due to having less connecting public transport and little of interest in that area.

Vline also operates a coach twice daily from Adelaide direct to Bendigo.

Get around

Bendigo has a local bus service. Services on some routes may be infrequent on weekends, sometimes as little as once an hour. There is also a tourist hop-on/hop-off tram running up and down the main street.

Parking is metered in most parts of downtown. Expect to pay about $1 per hour for parking, and to have parking limits of 1-2 hours in the city centre. Because of these restrictions parking is generally easy in the city centre. Parking is free on Saturdays however time limits do still apply. You can also find free parking at some larger shopping centres.

See

• Chancery Line An eclectic mix of food, fashion and art has awakened one of Bendigo’s most endearing laneways. This little charmer was once known as Dispensary Walk in recognition of the busy pharmacy that was once located on the laneway. From here remedies and medications were dispensed to locals for decades. The lane is a tiny jewel that sparkles to the beat of global wines, boutique beers, coffee aromas and inspired food. This European-style hub has transformed into one of Bendigo’s not to be missed nooks. Find some of Australia’s emerging brands in fashion and cosmetics as you delve into the salons and boutiques that set the pace. Street ever changing art and regular foodie events add to the buzz and Melbourne feel.
• The tourist information centre is housed in the old post office building on Pall Mall (the main through road) - opposite the Shamrock Hotel. It also has an interesting exhibition of Bendigo Heritage.
• There is a Chinese Arch, Chinese Garden, and Chinese Museum which has tours and one of the original Joss houses is open to the public. You can get to this by taking the Tourist Talking Tram Tour from the Central Deborah Gold Mine, which is close to the city centre, or it is just a short walk east along Pall Mall from the town centre and the visitor information centre. Access to the arch is free. Access to the museum, garden and shrine has a small charge. The museum has many old Chinese exhibits. The garden has goldfish, is Chinese styled, but has a fair bit of concrete to detract from the effect.
• Rosalind Park is just behind the visitors centre. It has the potential for a river to flow through it, but this usually only happens after rare storms. Otherwise a basic garden with a fountain and a memorial. From the main section of the park it is a short but somewhat steep walk up to the Poppet Head Lookout or to the Bendigo Art Gallery.
• Bendigo Mosaic and Poppet Head Lookout. At the high point of Rosalind Park, you can climb a lookout created from an old mine shaft. From it there is extensive views over the region. There is a mosaic of tiles explaining the heritage of Bendigo at the base of the tower.
• Sacred Heart Cathedral. Quite a spectacular cathedral for a town the size of Bendigo. It is used by the local catholic community. Set on the high point of the town, it is a short walking distance from the town centre.
• Art Gallery is located on the edge of Rosalind Park, between the Poppet Head Lookout and the Cathedral.
• The Easter fair procession, is the oldest continual festival in Victoria. The imperial dragon called Sun Loong takes pride of place each year at the festival needing over 50 strong members of the public to carry it. A variety of other activities take place over the Easter weekend including markets and carnivals.

Do

• Visit the wineries [9]. Bendigo is the centre of a thriving wine area - a number of nearby wineries are well worth the visit. Bendigo Shiraz is generally very full flavoured and big.
• Central Deborah Mine, (2 minutes drive or a short walk towards Melbourne from the town centre). There are three variations on the mine tour. There is the surface tour where you can look around the mine workings, which have been reconfigured a little for tourism. There is gold panning available, and you can climb the poppet head and follow the overhead link to the battery crusher. THe standard underground tour goes underground into the old minue workings. There are various types of drilling rigs, and other demonstrations making for a very interesting tour. This tour also includes the self-guided surface tour. The third adventure tour does all that the first two tours do, but also includes about 30 minutes on level 3 of the mine. This involves going down ladders, and seeing a section of the mine that hasn't been extensively modified for tourism use. It also includes a lunch or cornish pasties back in a function room that has been built back on the main level of the mine.  edit
• Browse the antique shops and second hand shops of View Street, opposite the Bendigo Art Gallery.
• Bendigo Tramways, [1]. Ride the historic Bendigo tourist tramway  edit

Buy

Pottery from The Bendigo Pottery.

• Robe- an independent fashion & lifestyle store in Chancery Lane, stocking an exclusive range of premium Australian designer labels. Intimate, vibrant & unsuspecting, all the while embracing the ever shifting direction of vogue, in a portrait that reflects the season.

Eat

• Clogs - a famous local restaurant on Pall Mall in Bendigo. It has a wide selection of Pizza / Pasta and other dishes (modern Australian)

• Bull St - There are many casual restaurants in this small street of Bendigo, uncluding The Match.

• Malayan Orchid - an excellent restaurant specialising in Asian cuisine.

• GPO - modern Australian cuisine impressively presented opposite the historic General Post Office Building.

• Typhoon - Thai cuisine in a casual and friendly atmosphere.

• Guards Room @ Wine Bank - Fine dining upstairs at the Wine Bank.

• Bendigo Original Pie Shop - Established in 1950, and the original location of the nation-known Four'n'Twenty's Pie

• Whirakee - Lovely restaurant in centre of Bendigo with view of Alexandra Fountain in city centre.

• The Dispensary - Chic new eatery in Chancery Lane off of Pall Mall, fine food and great wine list in funky atmosphere.

• Wild Mint - cafe under the new Bendigo Bank headquarters in the main CBD. Asian inspired light lunches and more substantial evening meals.
• Masons of Bendigo, 25 Queen Street, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Breakfast/Brunch, Reservations, After-hours  edit
• Sim R Cafe, 236 Hargreaves St, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, ☎ 0354435733.  edit
• The Woodhouse, 101 Williamson Street, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, [2]. $15 - $62.  edit
• The Brougham Arms Hotel Motel, 150 Williamson Street, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.  edit
• Axedale Tavern, 105 High Street | Axedale, Bendigo, Victoria 3551, Australia, ☎ 03) 5439 7377, [3].  edit
• Bouchon, 61 High St, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. $13 - $36.  edit
• piyawat thai restaurant, mollison street, Bendigo, Victoria 3550, Australia. Romantic, Business, Outdoor seating $14 - $23.  edit
• Borchelli Ristorante, 105 View Steet, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, ☎ 03 5441 4455, [4]. Friendly restaurant specialising in Italian style cuisine. Good food and reasonably priced $17-29.  edit

Drink

• Bendigo Shiraz - some good Bendigo wineries are: Chateau Leamon, Waterwheel, Balgownie, Mandurang Valley, Harcourt, Blackjack, Connor Park. Many other small wineries are in the district.

• The Rifle Brigade Brewery - located on picturesque View St Bendigo. This local micro brewery pumps out some very nice beers and meals too.

• Wine Bank - in View Street. A great selection of wines, both local, Australian and imported, in the relaxed atmosphere of an old bank building from the Gold Rush period - ornate ceilings and architectural detail are just part of the experience.

Sleep

The Shamrock Hotel provides luxury accommodation.

• Shamrock Hotel, [5].  edit
• Kenrode House, 94 Abbott Street, Bendigo, ☎ 0400 580 498.  edit
• A-Line Holiday Park, 5615 Calder Highway Kangaroo Flat Bendigo, ☎ 03 54479568, [6].  edit

Stay safe

Bendigo is generally a safe city, although like anywhere it is important to take common sense safety precautions.

Get out

Bendigo is an ideal place from which to explore the Goldfields region of Victoria. From Bendigo you can visit neighboring Castlemaine and Heathcote. The train from Bendigo to Melbourne stops in Castlemaine. It takes approximately 25 minutes to reach Castlemaine by train

Routes through Bendigo

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→ Castlemaine → Melbourne

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