Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill Recounts

On the bus and here we go. As we travelled along I waited patiently to arrive at Sovereign Hill. The movie 'Dolittle' was playing on the screen and Kiera and Isla were playing Slap in the background. It took two hours. Once we arrived at Ballarat we ate our lunch and dragged our bags into a shed. Everyone was excited to go shopping. I hung out with Zara while running towards the Lolly Shop. 

Abbey

It all started with a bus ride, that was two and half hours of continuous movement to the town of Australia, so full of customs and history, Ballarat. This is the place where they struck gold. They persevered till they found nuggets of wealth at Sovereign Hill. Somehow they trapped a vortex at their gates, creating a timewarp full of people from 1854.

Bethany

On the first day of camp we were able to explore the Historical Town for one and a half hours. I bought four jars of raspberry drops, one toffee apple and a long black toffee. We headed back to our cabins. I was in a cabin with all of my friends. The food was good and dinner was butter chicken which was really good. It was a fun camp experience.

Liam 

There was a chill in the air but excitement and anticipation hovered, as students dressed in 1854 period clothing. They instantly took on the character and disposition of children from this historical time. They lined up in two's, holding their wrist in the hand and addressing their teacher as 'Marm'. Not a word was to be heard in class as they carefully followed instructions, stood to answer a question and sat up straight in the old wooden desks. Their cursive handwriting was beautiful and their manners were impeccable. Girls learnt to sew as the boys learnt to read. 

Dear Diary,

Today Marm asked 'Who's father is a doctor?' I raised my hand and she told me to stand and asked me if he came home with a dirty or clean apron. I said that it was clean and she seemd pleased. She told the class to visit my father.

We practiced our times tables. The bubs did their 12 x tables and then we read about the rules of Arithmetic. The girls started to sew. Mine was coming along well but I pricked my finger. It wasn't too bad so I kept on sewing. We were making the Eureka Stockade Flag.

Elizabeth

We were all on the bus, waiting patiently to arrive at our destination, Sovereign Hill. I was sitting with Abbey, watching for a sign that said we had arrived in Ballarat. After we all put put bags in the rooms we ate our lunch. After we finished lunch we all got a chance to go shopping by ourselves. I went to the lolly shop with Abbey and bought raspberry drops and umbrellas.

Zara

Other highlights included:

• Visiting the Gold mine and travelling underground
• The Sound and Light Show, with bubbles and snow
• Candle making
• Gold Pour
• Watching the blacksmith at work
• Attending the Costume School
• Aura Show - follows gold from its creation through to its discovery right up until the current day. The Eureka story is told as part of this within the context of a much larger story incorporating the history of the local Aboriginal people.