08 Oct 2011
What a terrific excursion! Very busy, very exciting, and very educational!
The boys and girls were interested, attentive and very well behaved at all the venues.
Mrs McNeill, helper and Mrs Read, class teacher, reported they were very happy and proud of the group of students who attended the excursion.
Students had the opportunity to investigate the Gold Museum and saw real gold nuggets, rode in a horse drawn stage coach, panned for gold, had lessons in the School Room with Ma'am, went down Red Hill Mine (twice), bowled with a heavy wooden bowling ball, climbed the tower, saw the Gold Pour and shiny new ingot, walked up Main Street, went to the Blacksmith's, saw Blood on the Southern Cross (Eureka Stockade), participated in the Hall of Debate enquiry, representing characters from the goldfields and the government and toured the beautiful Chinese Museum, gardens and temple at Bendigo on the way down to Ballarat.
On the way home, they drove into the crater of Mt Franklin, an extinct volcano. The kids enjoyed sandwiches, fruit and prima's there and fossicked for lava rocks. A lovely end to the excursion, especially because lava flows bring up gold from the centre of the earth.
