Chinese in the Goldfields and the Grampions

Starting Week Four -and almost halfway through our trip, we decided to go to the Chinese museum Gum San. The first gold strike in the area was in 1854 by American miner Joseph Pollard. Three years later a group of Chinese miners on their way to the Central Victorian Goldfields discovered the world's richest shallow alluvial gold at the Canton Lead, where Gum San now stands. This find marked the beginning of the growth in the area. A visit to Gum San is really worthwhile. It tells the story behind the why the Chinese walked from Robe, South Australia to the Central Victorian Goldfields, why they kept secret their find, the animosity towards the Chinese by other miners, etc. A really great display with hands on games, dress-ups, gold panning, calligraphy, and Chinese computer games. The view from the second floor was good and the roof of the building is special – all hand made tiles. I liked the ROOSTER on the roof.

The cost is only $8 and we spent almost 3 hours in this building. 

The next day we decided to go to Halls Gap in the Grampions. We did loop, leaving Ararat and visiting Cathcart, Moyston, Pomonal, Halls Gap, Stawell, Great Western, and back to Ararat. Not far out of Ararat we came to Pinkey Point. This is the site where Joseph Pollard found the first alluvial gold in the area.

The area still has some of the mines visible.

Cathcart was only small, and Moyston, only 15 mins from Ararat is the birthplace of Australia Rules Football. A memorial to Thomas Wentworth Wills is on display in a park across from the recreation grounds. Wills was born in Paramatta, NSW in 1835. His family moved to the area in 1839 and started a merino sheep run. It was Thomas Wills who played a game with the local Aboriginal children, and that was the forerunner of Australian Rules Football.

Gold was found in the Moyston area in 1857, and this was the beginning of the development of the town. Pomonal is another lovely village. Only a short distance is Halls Gap and the Grampions National Park. The park is famous for walks and scenery. We started at the Halls Gap info centre, which is located in a large building, but the info area is very tiny. We were able to get a small map of the area. Halls Gap is a small village with heaps of walking tracks, cafes, and wineries. We headed down to the Lake Bellfield and then started on a circuit back to Halls Gap, only to find part of the road was a one way – the other way. Would have been good if the fellow at the info centre had informed us of this when he suggested the route.

Anyway, back to Halls Gap and a stop at The Pinnacles. It is one road in and the same road out. The carpark was large and almost full. Peter and Jon walked down to have look. Back on the circuit again, we next stopped at The Balconies. What a spectacular view. There is also another walk, so Jon started and Peter followed. I love these times in the car with my crosswords and Sudoku.

MacKenzie Falls was to be our second last stop. We parked the car and had to wait for three emus to move away before we could get out.

The walk to the falls was a bit long, so we decided to go to look at Lake Wartook. While having lunch at Lake Wartook, a young couple, got their car bogged in the sand somewhere in the bush, so we gave them a lift back to Halls Gap.

Stawell is only 20 mins from Halls Gap and has a rich gold mining history. The Lynn family also lived in Stawell, but I had no time to research, so another visit is needed. There is a big gold mine still there. Gold mining ceased in Stawell in 1920, but recommenced in 1982 and continues today. We went up to Big Hill and had lovely views of the Grampions and surrounding area.

Great Western is a wine growing area and famous for the Seppelt winery. It is situated between Stawell and Ararat and was first settled as a sheep run in 1840, and then gold was discovered.

There is so much to see in and around Ararat, friends went to the J-ward and said it was worth a visit – we will go next time. The Langi Morgala Museum was originally a grain and wool store and an old water trough is located outside. We stayed a few more days and just relaxed by the lake, although I did spend one day in the Regional Library looking through some family history records. I didn't find Matthew Lynn, but I did find the death of one of his children, at 9 years of age, so he did live here. Ararat is larger than we expected, not as big as Ballarat, but it has many supermarkets, cafes and fast food.

A short drive away...

After a short drive around Lake Burrumbeet and along the Western Highway, we arrived at our next camp – Green Hill Lake. Originally called Warrayatkin Swamp, it was deepened and cleared into a recreational reserve by volunteers, local council, and prisoners from the nearby gaol.

It is great that local communities provide these types of facilities. We had a drive along the campsites, and still being a long weekend there were many others there. Located about 4 km from Ararat, Green Hill Lake is an area of 260 hectarces, so there were many sites to chose from. We found one right on the water, other campers said someone had left this site earlier in the day. This is a donation camp and has hot showers in the amenities block, which we were not far from, and provides fishing, swimming, and boating. Potable water is available in a few spots, and the dump point is easily accessible in Ararat. We even saw a camper with chickens in a coop, so he gets his fresh eggs – great idea. We did see some BBQ's around the lake and there is a playground and a couple of boat ramps.

We had a drive around the town. The house where Matthew Lynn lived is no longer there, but the house across the road was probably what the Lynn house looked liked. We ended up at the information centre located in the old railway station. We met a lovely fellow, Grant who was most helpful and told us a lot of history. He gave us a historic walk and drive booklet, and suggested a few places to look at so off to the lookout we went. One Tree Hill lookout forms the western boundary of Ararat. It has a monument in memory of the pioneers of the district, and transmission towers. We also went to Alexandra Gardens, and were keen to look at the Asian Garden. We had high expectations when we walked across the bridge to the Asian Garden island, but I think it is still a work in progress. It will look really beautiful and tranquil when complete and maintained. We had a walk around the park. It is approximately 800 metres around the lake and there is a cafe located in an old section of the garden with an interesting water feature – sadly no water. The land was put aside as a botanical garden in 1860 and early work was done by prisoners of the nearby gaol. Today there are play areas, bbq's, herb garden, and a swimming pool. It is close to the shopping areas.

The area was first inhabited by the Tjapwurrong people. European settlement began in the 1840's in the Grampions, which we will visit. Major Thomas Mitchell surveyed the area in 1836, and in 1841, while taking stock south, Horatio Spencer Wills stopped to camp by a large mountain. He wrote in his diary 'like the Art, we rested' and he named the mountain Mt Ararat. The Town Hall was originally converted market sheds in the 1860's and they were demolished to make way for the current Town Hall in 1899. It was built in the Roman Revival style by James Irwin, who later became Mayor. Externally little has been changed. Internally, changes were made to accommodate more of today's offices and an art gallery.

The fountain in the front of the Town Hall is a memorial to the Boer War. Most of the buildings are from the late 1890's and early 1900's. A lovely town to walk through, and it has all the shops one could want.