Sovereign Hill is an incredible slice of history preserved in timber, steel and brick. It’s even more amazing when you realise that this bustling historic ‘town’ has only five original buildings and that none of them are original to the site. Someone with a passion for history and a love of the detail has spent a lifetime preserving this part of the Australian story.
Wandering the streets and exploring the buildings was heaps of fun. As was chatting to the costumed storekeepers and craftsmen (yes, they were all men back in those days). I visited Dawson & Ash, the undertakers, where I viewed the latest in after death technology – the safety coffin. It had a rope attached to a bell that could be rung in case of accidental burial.
At the post office I bought a nib pen and composition book so Miss Thirteen could practice her penmanship once she went back home. At the printers I refrained from buying a wanted poster with my name on it although I was very tempted. I have a thing for graphic design, vintage style and personalised objects – it must be a hold over from my childhood and never being able to buy anything with my name on it because it's so unusual. Instead I snapped lots of photos of all the advertising posters pasted up around the town.
I popped into the bowling alley but didn’t get to go back and try my luck.
I visited little houses that looked as if someone had just ducked out to go to the shops. There were even woodpiles and chickens in their gardens.
On the goldfields I bought a miner’s licence (they were expensive and mandatory back in the day) and little jars filled with water to hold all my gold. I had high hopes of filling one with gold flakes to take home to Miss Seventeen and was briefly infected with gold fever. Luckily (or unluckily depending on which way you look at it) my legs weren’t up to the rigours of crouching by a stream for long periods of time so she is now the proud owner of an empty glass jar!
Of course the highlight was the lolly shop with all those boiled sweets in jars. Not surprisingly it’s Sovereign Hill’s biggest money maker. Unsurprisingly I didn't get any photos of the lolly shop because I was too busy choosing my next flavour! Instead you'll have to make do with some interior shots of other shops.
In a separate building they hold lolly making demonstrations three times a day. The room was always packed and at the end they handed out tastings of what they had just made (mmmm, raspberry drops). The mould used to make the sweets is 175 years old. Of course they’ve replaced the lead plates with brass and made a few other minor alterations such as the heated table to work the sugar on but most of it is original. Sadly they now use artificial colours. Back in the day it was all natural with charcoal for black, grass for green, bark for brown and rusty water for orange and yellow. Hmmm, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all!
They also had live demonstrations at the blacksmith’s and wheelwrights. Seeing a forge being worked is always fun. And it’s warmer than elsewhere as well. I learnt that smithys were always dark so you could see the colour of the steel and know when to work it. The wheelwright’s set up was all steam powered belts and pulleys that drove the machines. The beginning of the industrial revolution side by side with the hand fired forges of the past.
I had an enjoyable half an hour talking to Brett in the saddlery section where he had the best range of leather craft tools (all period of course!) and a sweet set up. I wanted to hop over the counter and go in a play!
All the staff were in period costume and the building’s exteriors and interiors lovingly recreated so it felt just like you were stepping back in time. I could have spent a week here but I am super grateful that I had two whole days to explore. It was so much fun!
The first day was wet and muddy underfoot as all the streets are made of dirt. I wandered in and out of buildings having the time of my life. When I got weary, I found an old pub with carpeted floors and lots of chairs that was completely empty and sat down and read. It was warm and toasty inside.
On the second day it was fine and sunny with clear blue skies. Braziers with fires were set up in the streets to warm yourself. Costumed characters wandered the streets putting on performances. There was the night soil man looking for a new apprentice to muck out his wagon once a week. The mad inventor demonstrating a failed battery. A woman with a parasol arguing with a man on the first floor balcony of the theatre. A teacher shouting at the troopers as they marched past. So much life and colour!
Even though I had two full days at Sovereign Hill, I didn’t get to do a whole heap of things including a tour of the diggings, a performance at the theatre or the parlour games. We decided not to make a candle because we’ve done that at home and theirs were made from paraffin. Not the best as it’s derived from petroleum. In the olden day they would have used tallow which I think is rendered animal fat and I am sure it would have smelt disgusting.
I tried my hand at panning for gold, went on a mine tour deep underground and took a Cobb & Co carriage ride down the main street. I also saw gold being melted and turned into an ingot. They’ve done that particular demonstration over 90,ooo times, reusing the same gold over and over again. Its currently worth $275,000.
There was a small nod to the Chinese presence on the goldfields in the form of the Chinese Protector’s house which had information panels about the lives and trails. Unfortunately the Chinese encampment was being refurbished and the Joss house was closed. I found only one mention of the Indigenous Australians as the Native Police in the goldfields area as well as the obligatory Welcome to Country sign at the entrance to the site.
I can’t believe it took me so long to come here. Next time I’ll have to bring the whole family!
