Sovereign Hill

Travelling Back in Time

 On the 9th of October, (Monday) coming back from the school holidays, we had a late departure and left at 8:50am. Once reaching Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, we unpacked in our assigned cabins and got ready for an action packed day.

 We were separated into groups (classes) and had different activities consisting of: the Gold Rush, Red Hill Mine and Gold Pour. Gold Rush was a game based around mining. The aim of the game was to make the most money which was achieved by giving gold to the bank and getting it exchanged for money. 1 ounce of gold was worth 20 shillings and 20 shillings was worth 1 pound. The way the bank made money, was to take 10 shillings away every time they had to weigh the gold. We learned that the police could be very annoying and understood the life on the gold fields better. At the Red Hill Mine, we listened to a story about finding gold while having the experience of being in a mine. In the Gold Pour, we were explained why gold was so special and were shown how gold could be melted and recasted into ingots. Anytime between the 3 activities stretched across the 2 days, we were allowed to spend the maximum 20 dollars that we brought, at shops. We were also allowed to do any of the other activities like gold panning and being at the chinese village.

 After dinner, we went to the ‘Blood On The Southern Cross’ show, where they told us about what happened in Ballarat over 150 years ago. As some people understand things better visually, they demonstrated things with props and lights as well as sound like a movie.

 We finally arrived back at school after a long 2 hour drive at around 3:40 and were glad to head home for a well-earned rest.

 Overall, it was a great 2 days, panning for gold and learning all about the gold fields with a hands on experience.

                                                                                               By Kai 5/6W