Following the arduous ride to Ballarat I felt that another "rest day" was well deserved, and there were plenty of things worth seeing there so it was well worth staying an extra night. Ballarat's history, like that of so many Victorian towns, is linked with the huge gold discoveries in the region during the 1850s. It was here that the Eureka Stockade, a pivotal event in Australian history occurred, when a group of miners rebelled against the licence fee system. The rebellion was crushed by armed troops and there was a considerable loss of life.
There is a well marked walking trail leading from the town centre to the site of the stockade, which follows the route taken by the troops on their way to attack the rebels. It starts at the excellent Art Gallery where the original Eureka flag is on display. I wasn't able to get a decent photo as it is kept in a fairly dark room to preserve the dyes used in it. However it was great to be able to see it well displayed and there was a lot of fascinating background information about it.
The actual site of the Eureka stockade is about 3kms away from the town centre. There's a big museum of Australian Democracy there which sadly wasn't open, and 2 memorials, a new one recreating the stockade, with the Eureka flag flying above it:
- and an earlier monument dating from 1886:
The trail leads to the old cemetery where there are memorials to both the rebels and the soldiers who died during the battle:
Back in the town centre, there's a statue of the miners' leader Peter Lalor who survived the battle and went on to become an MP:
The main street, Sturt St, is an impressively wide boulevard lined with many well-preserved colonial era buildings, and with a central strip of parkland that has many statues and monuments:
This monument celebrates the centenary of the first gold discovery in the region:
After an enjoyable day in Ballarat it was time to hit the Midland Highway again continuing in a northerly direction, and again into a headwind. The destination was Daylesford, where I am going to follow another route in the Lonely Planet Cyclng Australia guide - a circular route through the goldfields and spa country.
The journey to Daylesford was fairly uneventful; the only noteworthy place on the route was Creswick, which had some nice old buildings and a scenic lake:
It got increasingly hilly as I approached Daylesford, and also quite hot, around 30C so I was relieved to arrive there. I found accommodation in a very nice guest house, had lunch at a good bakery, then went for a scenic walk around the lake, which has a fountain from which you can drink the excellent spa water.
The town centre is very attractive with lots of heritage buildings, and many good bars and restaurants. It's a very popular holiday resort, being only an hour's drive from Melbourne.
Today's distance 60kms, total so far 1499kms.
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