Bendigo

Thursday 6th November 2014
Before we left Maldon for Bendigo this morning we drove to the top of Mt. Tarrangarro to the lookout over the town and Laurie climbed the tower which allowed him to see up to 100kms away.

We then headed north through Porcupine Flat to Bendigo getting there around lunch time. After parking the car we checked out where we’re staying for the night – the historical grand Shamrock Hotel right in the heart of the city, where famous people such as Dame Nellie Melba and Prince Charles and Princess Diana among many others have stayed.

We saw a photo of the royal couple on the stairs above. We decided to take a trip on the tourist tram and stopped off to visit the largest tram workshop in the Southern Hemisphere where they repair and restore old trams. It was a very interesting tour and we saw some remarkable workmanship go into the restoration. We rejoined the tram and went to see the Chinese Joss House which was built by the Chinese during the initial Goldrush years and is still used by some Chinese families today. A Joss House is where the three major Asian religions come together for worshipping without any antagonism towards one another unlike some other religions.

After the tram tour we just meandered around the beautiful parks and visited the catholic cathedral and War Memorial. We thought Bendigo was a very attractive city and possibly worth another trip sometime.