Rock formations and a scarred tree at Mount Barker are significant Aboriginal sites.
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| Aboriginal domestic scene. The etching was executed by German artist Gustav Mützel, who worked from the sketches of German explorer Johan Wilhelm Theodor Ludwig von Blandowski |
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| Aboriginal fire making, Gustav Mützel - Australia – William Blandowski’s Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aborginal Australia, January 1857 |
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| Dja Dja Wurrung bark etching. British Museum's collections |
1836
Major Sir Thomas Mitchell and the members of his expedition were the first Europeans to travel to the area of Bendigo in 1836. Mitchell named the Campaspe River and Barnard River (now known as the Coliban River). His favourable reports on the
pastoral qualities of the land led to squatters heading to the region.
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| Engraving of Major Sir Thomas Mitchell |
Immigrants from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland took up sheep and cattle runs after 1840.
1851: Gold
Two women, Mrs Kennedy and Mrs Farrell, were among the first people to find gold at what is now Bendigo.
The women, workers from the Mt Alexander North pastoral property (occupied since 1840), were washing clothes, when they
discovered alluvial gold in Bendigo Creek.
On 13 December 1851, the Argus newspaper announced that gold had been found at the Alexander North property. About 600-800 diggers from the Forest Creek diggings then made their way to the
property to try their luck.
In 1852, while searching for stray horses, Joseph Crook found a gold nugget in Eaglehawk Gully (Red Hill) and soon, thousands were leaving their jobs and homes and rushing toward the goldfields.
Within a year, more than 15 000 people had
descended on the area around Bendigo Creek, digging up the ground,
hopeful of finding riches that had the potential to transform lives.
With 12 months, 23 tonnes of gold was extracted from the ground around Bendigo. One miner wrote how "......during eight successive days we washed out six to eight pounds weight of gold daily".
The area known as Rosalind Park, was designated a Government Camp in 1852. The Government Camp area of 66 acres would later have police barracks, gaol, lock-up and a courthouse.
In 1852, Gold Commissioners were appointed to regulate the gold licensing system, oversee the diggings and collect licensing fees.
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| Little Bendigo, Forest Creek Diggings. Painted by Samuel Thomas Gill in 1852 |
The Next Phase
After the original alluvial gold was worked out at the area that would later be known as Golden Point, miners began digging in
the surrounding gullies. The country all about was pulverised in the pursuit of riches.
Some of the mines, named after the gullies and areas around Bendigo, are now suburbs of Bendigo. Such as Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk, Golden Square, Long Gully, California Gully, Ironbark, etc.
Quartz mining, using hammers or picks to smash the gold free of the quartz, was employed after 1853.
Bendigo’s first newspaper
was printed in December 1853.
On 18 January 1853, Governor La Trobe announced that the township would be called Sandhurst.
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| Elevated view of settlement of wooden houses, some in the process of construction, couple on dirt track in foreground, paddocks in background. Sandhurst (bendigo), VIC, circa 1853 |
The Bendigo Gold District General Hospital was established in 1853.
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| The original Bendigo Hospital |
In 1853, Christopher Ballerstedt, an "eccentric German" dubbed "Father of the Hill", and his son, bought a claim for £80 from two disappointed African-Americans and soon, had a fortune of gold in the bank.
Going against the geological orthodoxy, that the gold content of reefs would diminish at depth, they
worked their quartz reef to two hundred feet and when this was exhausted, they sunk the mine to a depth of three hundred feet. With their great success, the Ballerstedt's built Bendigo's grandest mansion, "Fortuna".
The Red Ribbon Movement was centred around the Bendigo goldfields in 1853. The Bendigo Goldfields Petition was signed by around 5000 diggers on the Victorian goldfields against the mining licence fees and regarding other grievances. See
here
Fortuna Villa
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| Fortuna Villa, home of Christopher Ballerstedt, Sandhurst, VIC |
Land Sales
The police quarters on High Street, Golden Square, was constructed in the late 1850s.
The first land sales began in 1854 after the Surveyor General and his team laid out a plan of the town.
Before gold was discovered on Victoria Hill in 1854, the area was used as a hideout by bushrangers. Later, it became the deepest mine in the world. One miner exclaimed:
"Victoria Hill is passing belief and inviting incredulity; it is like an eastern tale, within so small an area there should have been extracted a plethora of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice."
The first Cobb and Co. coach ran to Forest Creek (Castlemaine) and Bendigo on 30 January 1854, from Melbourne.
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| Shows three-storeyed building on corner with three different signs saying "Shamrock Hotel" (top), "Cobb and Co. Booking Office" (middle), and "Theatre Royal" (bottom). Circa 1861. State Library of VIC |
Interestingly
Officially known as Sandhurst until 1891, the city of Bendigo is believed to be named after an Australian boxing hopeful, who adopted the nickname of an English bare-knuckle boxer, as he wanted to increase his own profile as a boxer. So he adapted the middle name of English boxer William Abednego Thompson. However, as few people could pronounce "Abednego", the name was corrupted to"Bendigo". The name Bendigo stuck and Sandhurst faded away.
Just a few years into the gold rush in 1854, Bendigo had the largest goldfields in Victoria. An impressive town had also developed, with schools, churches, theatres and civic buildings.
Caroline Chisholm, who had been travelling about England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland telling people about Australia,
arrived back to Australia in 1854 and noticed
all the people heading off to Bendigo for the gold, and sleeping on the side of the road. Concerned by the family breakdowns caused by the greed and rush for riches, Chisholm was instrumental in
getting the government to construct shelters where people could stay for little cost.
The Sandhurst District was formed in 1855, and the first Municipal Council held in 1856.
The Miner’s Right enacted in 1855, after the 1854 Eureka rebellion, entitled the miner, for the sum of £1 per year, to dig for gold, to vote at parliamentary elections, and
to reside on land claimed for mining purposes.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was built 1855.
Anne Caudle founded the benevolent society in Bendigo, which was non-denominational and for all classes and races. Anne
organised a ladies committee in May 1857, which raised a substantial amount of money towards the establishment of the asylum.
Dr Edward Caudle was a surgeon and medical officer from Southwark, London. He and his wife Anne emigrated to Australia aboard the Negotiator, arriving in Melbourne in 1852. Dr Caudle worked as a medical practitioner at Bendigo but died in 1861 after an accident in a buggy near the slaughter yard hill, Epsom.
The first Town Hall
was completed in 1859.
The Bendigo Gasworks were constructed from 1859-1860. At first, supplying gas for street lighting and later for light
and cooking in homes.
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| Bridge Street, Sandhurst with the Bendigo Hotel in the background. There is a bridge over Bendigo (?) Creek in the foreground and a lantern on the bridge. Negative - Bendigo, Victoria, 1857, Museums Victoria, 1857 |
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| There is a stone cottage in the foreground and the Bendigo Creek behind it. The Bendigo Hotel is among the buildings in the background. Pall Mall, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1857. Museums Victoria Collections |
The original Bendigo Town Hall was two stories, designed by the Town Clerk, George Avery Fletcher, in 1859.
Migration
Thousands of migrants rushed to Bendigo. Cornish and German people, Swiss –Italians, Chinese and Irish escaping the potato famines, to name but a few of
the groups, to arrive during the gold rush.
In 1857, 1,266 Germans were recorded on the Bendigo goldfields. There were many prominent German architects and builders.
Bendigo
was connected to Melbourne by telegraph in 1857. This revolutionised communication throughout the colony.
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| Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), Wednesday 11 February 1857 |
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| Bridge Street, Sandhurst with the Bendigo Hotel in the background, circa 1857, Museums Victoria |
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| Bendigo, Victoria, 1857, Museums Victoria |
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| There is a stone cottage in the foreground and the Bendigo Creek behind it. The Bendigo Hotel is among the buildings in the background. Pall Mall, circa 1857, Bendigo, VIC, Museums Victoria |
The Irish lived in various areas around Bendigo, including Tipperary Gully and the area of Irishtown.
The Chinese mostly workied over the remains of the alluvial gold (tailings), in abandoned mullock heaps discarded by the ore crushing batteries and pyrites works.
1860s
A second gold boom
came with the mechanised deep shaft mining methods in the 1860s.
Bendigo Police Barracks at Rosalind Park was erected in 1860.
Robert O’Hara Burke came through the Bendigo municipality en route to the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1860.
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| Victorian volunteer defence forces in Pall Mall [Bendigo], circa 1861, State Library of Vic |
Bendigo Gas Works were established by the Bendigo Gas Company in 1860.
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| Shows Gold Office, William Harris' Medical Dispensary, Medical Hall, Oriental Bank Corporation, Jackson's Iron Yard, Finlay and Company. 1861. SLVIC |
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| Shows Victoria Hotel with coat of arms over doorway on left and S. Jones, Bird and Co.'s Hall of Commerce on right. 1861. SLVIC |
Bendigo's Joss House temple was built in the 1860s by Chinese miners.
The Melbourne to Bendigo Railway opened in October 1862.
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| Sandhurst now Bendigo Station, Bendigo, VIC, circa 1861 |
The building of HM Prison Bendigo commenced in the 1850s but did not open until 1863.
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| Bendigo Gaol, VIC, 1861 |
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| Pall Mall, Bendigo, Circa 1861 |
The Bendigo Stock Exchange was founded in the 1860s as the Sandhurst Mining Exchange.
Abraham Roberts opened the United Iron Works in 1861, an engineering shop in Williamson Street, Bendigo. The business expanded and moved to Mitchell Street. By 1880, the business had absorbed an entire block covering three acres (1.2 ha) in the heart of the town and employed nearly two hundred men.
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| The foundry of A. Roberts and Sons; the United Iron Works, is situated in the heart of the city, covering fully 3 acres of ground, Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), Tuesday 1 January 1901 |
In 1868, at Essendon, Aboriginal clans from Ballarat and Sandhurst performed a two hour corroboree for a large audience.
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| Workers outside the Bendigo Tin Shop, operated by T.J. Connelly. Museums Victoria, circa 1868 |
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| Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Tuesday 2 March 1869 |
In 1869, The Bendigo Easter Fair and Procession commenced to raise funds for the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum.
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| The Bendigo Easter Fair, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 3 April 1902 |
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| F. Stuckenschmidt & Family in Front of his Shop, 'Cornish Stores', White Hills, Bendigo, Victoria, circa 1860s, Museums Victoria |
1870s
Bendigo became a city in 1871.
The discovery of another gold reef in 1871 set off another gold rush.
George Lansell, who was born in 1823 in Kent, England, was a mining manager who made miners go deeper than ever before and was
at one time the richest person in the world.
By the 1870s, Lansell, had accumulated a large fortune from the Garden Gully Mine. He then purchased the 180 Mine, where payable gold was found below 2,000’ (600 m). Lansell
purchased the mansion Fortuna in 1871.
The Bendigo Hotel was established in 1871 as the Collingwood Arms Hotel and renamed the Bendigo Hotel in 1888.
In 1871 the Chinese community joined the Bendigo Easter Procession.
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| Criterion Hotel, Bendigo, Victoria, Circa 1872 |
The Masonic Hall in View Street designed by William Charles Vahland was finished in 1873.
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| New Masonic Hall, Sandhurst, circa 1875, State Library of VIC |
Antony Trollope, the famous author who visited Bendigo, had some very critical things to say about the town, in his book,
Australia and New Zealand (1873):
"As a city, when I was there, it was neither handsome nor commodious. It had the appearance, which is common to all new mining towns, of having been scratched up violently out of the body of the earth by the rake of some great infernal deity, who had left everything behind him dirty, uncouth, barren and disorderly'. Sandhurst was "repulsive". Everything was 'crowded, unfinished and uncomfortable."
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| The Bendigo benevolent asylum and industrial school in 1875 |
The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Bendigo in 1876 from Ireland and began the education of Catholic girls.
By 1877 the population of Bendigo was 35,000.
The Camp Hill Central School was built in 1877 on the Police Camp site in Bendigo.
The fortunes
made on the Bendigo stock exchange from the 1870s to 1890s were responsible for the grand and opulent Bendigo Boom style buildings of Bendigo.
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| National Bank of Australasia, R. & C. Hansen's saddlery and the City Family Hotel, Sandhurst (Bendigo), dated, 1870-1875 |
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| Bendigo flat as seen from Wattle Hill, Victoria, Circa 1875 |
The Bendigo School of Mines was established in Bendigo in 1873, to provide technical education, predominantly for the mining industry.
1880s
In 1881, in Sandhurst, about one in every four houses were occupied by Cornish families.
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| Black and white photograph of a man, woman and child in front of a stone cottage in Clarke Street, Harveytown, also now known as Eaglehawk, near Bendigo. This stone cottage was built in about 1875 by Eliza and Thomas Harvey, who, according to the donor of this photograph, the township of Harveytown was named after. Museums Victoria |
The largest and most ornate municipal fountain in Victoria, the Alexandra Fountain, was built in 1881.
St Mark's Anglican church was built in 1881.
The Cohn Brothers of Bendigo were brewers and soft drink makers. Their Excelsior Lager, produced in 1882, was Australia's first successful commercial lager.
In less than 30 years, Bendigo had transformed from a tent city, to
an established township, with churches, schools, banks and many grand buildings.
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| "The fountain, Bendigo" (1880s-94), or, 'The fountain, Sandhurst'; a view south over Pall Mall showing the fountain by J. W. Lindt, Bendigo, VIC |
Bendigo's old post office was built between 1883 and 1887.
Bendigo Art Gallery which was founded in 1887, is one of Australia’s oldest regional art galleries.
Bendigo was connected to Heathcote by rail in 1888.
St Kilian's Catholic Church was opened by Bishop Crane in July 1888.
In the 1880s, Bendigo was one of the richest cities in the world.
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| View of Elizabeth Street, looking towards Collins Street showing the Beehive Clothing Company and the Beehive Chambers, corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, circa 1888?, SLVIC. The Beehive Chambers (corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, Bendigo), was a building which once housed Australia's first mining exchange |
Thousands of Chinese came to Bendigo in the latter half of the 19th century. The area around Bridge Street was the centre of Chinese activity. In 1880, leaders in Bendigo's Chinese community placed a levy on all Chinese people
in the region, which would enable them to buy costumes, which could be worn in the annual Easter Parade. Some of this original collection is on display at the museum today.
1890s
Bendigo Tramways began operation in 1890.
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J. Rea Gunmaker Shop, Bendigo, Victoria, 1890, Museums Victoria
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| Bendigo, Victoria, 1890 |
The name of the town was changed from, The City of Sandhurst to The City of Bendigo, on 8 May 1891.
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| A group of men and women and a coach outside the Bendigo Town Hall. The men either wear kilts or have tartan sashes and a boy carries a drum. Two men appear to be carrying bagpipes. Bendigo, Victoria, circa 1895. Museums Victoria |
Bendigo in 1891 had a population of about 100, 000 people.
Battery trams were replaced by steam trams in February 1892.
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| Workers outside the factory of Edward Munzel, Builder. Charles Munzel (son of Edward) is second from the left. Bendigo, Victoria, 1892 |
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| Chinese dragon at Bendigo Easter Fair, VIC, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 11 April 1896 |
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| Bendigo Easter Fair, VIC, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 11 April 1896 |
The Queen Elizabeth Oval, once home to AFL in Bendigo, dates from 1897.
The Bendigo Fire Station building was constructed in 1898.
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| J.H.Abbott & Co's employees picnic at Cherry Tree, Bendigo, Vic - March 1898, Aussie~mobs |
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| Workers outside the H. Sanneman & Son coach factory & showrooms, Bendigo. There are a number of vehicles on display and the one in the foreground appears to be a reel and may have been fire brigade equipment. circa 1899, Museums Victoria |
1900s; A New Century
Sidney Myer was born in Russia in 1878. He opened the first Myer store in Bendigo in 1900. Myer migrated to Australia in 1896.
Martha Farquharson (1847-1929), who was appointed Matron at Bendigo Hospital in 1902, made her rounds in Bendigo with a white cockatoo perched upon her wrist.
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| The Alexandra Fountain, Bendigo, Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), Tuesday 1 January 1901 |
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| Loong dragon, at Federation in 1901, Bendigo, VIC |
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| Bendigo jam factory, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 30 January 1902 |
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| Employees of Bendigo jam factory, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 30 January 1902 |
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| At Bendigo Races, VIC, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 2 April 1903 |
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| Stallholders at the Bendigo Bazaar, VIC, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 24 July 1902, |
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| The annual Easter fair, with Loong, the famous Chinese dragon, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 9 April 1904 |
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| Bendigo tram, VIC, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 17 June 1905 |
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| Inside George Lansell's "Fortuna," Bendigo, VIC, Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), Thursday 11 February 1904 |
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MAYOR AND MAYORESS OF BENDIGO,WITH DEBUTANTES
AT MAYORAL BALL HELD IN THE BENDIGO TOWN HALL ON TUESDAY, 4th JULY.
Top Row.—Miss K. Lascelles, Miss C. Rettie, Miss Mary Hunter, Miss Ethel Pearce, Miss Mary Kirby, Miss Marjorie Vahland,Bottom Row.—Miss Ivy Boyd, Miss Ethel Honeybone, Mayor A. Dunstan, Mrs. A. Dunstan, Miss Ada Brown. Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), Thursday 13 July 1905 |
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| Mining Bendigo, VIC, circa 1906 |
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| The Catherine Reef Mine, Eaglehawk, pay day, Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), Saturday 21 December 1907. Eaglehawk is now a suburb within the City of Greater Bendigo |
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| Mining operations Bendigo, Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), Saturday 21 December 1907 |
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Quartz Crushing Battery in Bendigo, Victoria - 1908, Aussie~mobs
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| Bendigo Boot and Shoe factory, Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), Thursday 1 December 1910 |
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| Pall Mall in Bendigo, Victoria, circa 1911 |
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| John Duigan Flying his Biplane Before a Crowd at Bendigo Racecourse, Victoria, 3 May 1911, Museums Victoria |
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| The hotel owner and his family in front of H.J. Jones ' Shamrock Hotel. There are two people in a horse and cart on the left while the owner and his son (?) Both hold greyhounds. There is a large street light attached to the corner of the hotel.Epsom, Bendigo, Victoria, 1912 Epsom, Bendigo, Victoria, 1912, Museums Victoria |
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| FRANCE, C. 1916. NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (NCOS) AND GUNNERS WHO SERVED AT GALLIPOLI. IDENTIFIED FRONT CENTRE IS INDIGENOUS SOLDIER, 2141 PRIVATE ALFRED JACKSON COOMBS (Enlisted 19-May-16 Bendigo). THESE MEN PROBABLY SAW SERVICE AT GALLIPOLI IN THE AUSTRALIAN HEAVY BATTERY, A JOINT UNIT MADE UP OF AUSTRALIANS AND ROYAL MARINES ISSUED WITH TWO 6-INCH HOWITZERS AND ONE NAVAL 4.7-INCH QUICK-FIRING GUN. THE BARREL FROM THE 4.7-INCH QUICK- FIRING GUN IS HELD IN THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL. |
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| Band from Pre-enlistment Training Camp, Bendigo, Victoria, World War I, 1915, Museums Victoria |
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| Teams leaving Jeffery's Quality Store Hargraves Street for the military camp, Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 2 September 1915 |
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| Bendigo, VIC, Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 18 November 1915 |
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| At the Bendigo Camp, VIC, Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Saturday 21 August 1915 |
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| Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), Saturday 30 October 1915 |
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| Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 27 April 1916 |
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VISIT OF THE FAMOUS FRENCH SOLDIER, GENERAL PAU, TO BENDIGO ON THE 28th INST. Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 31 October 1918 |
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| THE MAYOR OF BENDIGO at the TownHall announcing the signing of the Armistice in Gernany. Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 14 November 1918 |
William Carl Vahland left Germany and arrived in Bendigo in 1854. He designed more than one hundred buildings in the city. He redesigned the Bendigo Town Hall between 1878-86. And he designed the Fountain in Golden Square, the Masonic Temple (now the Capital Theatre), the famous Shamrock Hotel, Fortuna Villa and the School of Mines and Institute. In 1914, when war began, the 86-year-old Vahland was forced to surrender his passport as an enemy alien.
Post-war |
| SNAPSHOTS AT THE RACE MEETING HELD AT MITIAMO IN AID OF THE BENDIGO HOSPITAL AND BENEVOLENT ASYLUM. Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 4 April 1918 |
The Golden Square Baths opened on Saturday 2 February 1918.
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| Carnival at Golden-Square baths, VIC, Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 7 February 1918 |
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| Dress section, Beehaive Stores, Bendigo, VIC, Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 19 September 1918 |
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| YWCA swimming carnival, Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), Thursday 21 February 1918 |
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| Bendigo, VIC, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 14 June 1919, |
1920s
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The Bendigo East Football Club, premiers in 1922. Museums Victoria
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Workers at Bendigo Pottery, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 4 November 1922
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| About a dozen horse-drawn vehicles waiting outside Bendigo Railway Station, VIC. Several drivers pose beside their vehicles. The single-storey brick station building features a decorated veranda and arched windows. Circa 1925, Bendigo railway Station, VIC |
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| Crowds surrounding the car containing the Duke and Duchess of York. Bennett 's Arcade stores in the background, with people standing on the awning. Bendigo, Victoria, 1927, |
1930s
Bendigo's Princess Theatre first opened in 1874 as Albion Hall. In 1936, the theatre was redesigned in the Art-Deco style.
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| Looking west down Pall Mall showing Law Courts and Post Office tower, cars and shops. SLVIC |
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| Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 13 October 1934 |
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| BENDIGO WOMEN RACEGOERS, Mesdames R, B. Scwell, J. F. McLean, J. J. Martin, and Miss J. Watson. Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 20 May 1939 |
WWII and 1940s
In 1942, Fortuna Villa was acquired by the Commonwealth Government for use by the military during World War Two, primarily for military map-making.
In 1941 a site in Finn Street, North Bendigo, was acquired by the Commonwealth Government for the establishment of an Ordnance Factory. More than 1,400 people were employed there engaged in munitions production, with about a third being women.
The Ordnance Factory Bendigo began operating in 1942 producing heavy artillery and naval guns. Also stamped out ball bearings for later finishing at Echuca and forged races.
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| Ordnance Factory Bendigo, Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), Monday 20 November 1944 |
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| Food preserving at Bendigo, VIC, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 31 May 1944 |
After |
| Albert Hayes, aboriginal from Lake Tyers, gained the most popular victory of the day in the Sandhurst 75 yards sprint. Hayes won by a foot. In the semi-final he defeated E. J. Cumming, who was favoured early to win the final. Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 11 March 1947 |
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TWO BENDIGO GIFT CANDIDATES and a fighter who will appear at the Melbourne Stadium tonight, are in this picture taken at the Westgarth home of Mr. Doug Nicholls, ex Fitzroy footballer; and former champion sprinter. From left: Bevan Nicholls, Elley Bennett, Queensland bantamweight boxer, Harold Bux, Doug Nicholls and John Cameron, ex-rodeo rough rider, now a tracker stationed at Bundoora. They are examining a cup presented to Dough Nicholls when he won the Warracknapeal Gift. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Saturday 21 February 1948 |
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| A group on a footbridge in the Bendigo gardens., Bendigo, VIC, circa 1949, Museums Victoria |
1950s
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Looking North Along Pall Mall, Bendigo, Vic.Includes Ramage & Draper, menswear, Allen's Piano's etc., Mark's London Pharmacy, Dad & Dave Cafe, Maples, Myers and the Shamrock Hotel. Circa 1954, SLVIC |
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| Baby Health Centre Committee, Bendigo, VIC, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 30 August 1950 |
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| Rotary Club Board, Bendigo, VIC, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 30 August 1950 |
1960s
1970s
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| Bendigo Health Lab, VIC, in 1976, Matt W |
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| North Bendigo Terminus, talking tram No.30. (Photo taken by Peter Sage), circa 1977 |
1980s  |
| Bendigo, VIC, in 1981, Matt W |
The Town Built on Gold
Much of the distinctive and ornate architecture of Bendigo's boomtime period is well preserved, making Bendigo a distinctive town which is historically and culturally significant.
Around Bendigo
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| Bendigo Police Barracks, Rosalind Park, were erected in 1860, The barracks served as the first law courts on the Bendigo goldfields |
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| Bendigo. Corner of colourful historic buildings near the Chinese Golden Dragon Museum. denisbin |
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| Bendigo. The amazingly ornate Shamrock Hotel in Pall Mall. Architect was William Vahland of 1860 part now painted white.This current hotel was built 1897. This is the third hotel on this site. denisbin |
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| The French Empire style Law Courts. Architect was the government architect George Lawson. Built 1896. Bendigo, VIC, denisbin |
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| The former Bendigo Benevolent Asylum Barnard Street was established 1860. It catered for destitute families. An Industrial School from 1868 till 1885 |
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| The Bendigo Joss House Temple was built in the 1860s using locally handmade bricks and painted red - symbolising happiness, strength and vitality. The site of the Golden Dragon Museum museum in Bendigo is the area in which of one of Bendigo's Chinatowns was located |
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| Bendigo from the Botanic Gardens, 2016 |
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| Charing Cross, Bendigo |
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| Brian Boru Hotel, Bendigo |
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| Rifle Club Hotel, Bendigo |
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| Bendigo Post Office, built between 1883 and 1887 | | | |
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| Bendigo law Courts, built between 1892 and 1896 |
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| Shamrock Hotel Bendigo, 1854 |
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| Rosalind Park, Bendigo. This photo of Rosalind Park is courtesy of TripAdvisor |
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| Capital Theatre, Originally Masonic Hall, Bendigo |
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| Queen Victoria monument, Bendigo |
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| Building at Golden Square, Bendigo |
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| Sacred Heart Cathedral of Bendigo |
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| Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo |
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| Eaglehawk Town hall, Bendigo |
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| Dudley House, Bendigo |
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| Bendigo Fire Station was constructed in 1898-9 |
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| Bendigo’s Marlborough House, circa 1869 |
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| Circa 1890, designed by architect William Beebe |
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| St Paul's Cathedral, Bendigo, Victoria |
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| The former Beehive Store built in 1872. Stockbrokers met in this building and formed the Bendigo Stock exchange |
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| Remnants of Cornish settlement at Harvey Town, a heritage precinct in Eaglehawk, Bendigo, VIC |
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| The grand Camp Hill state school, Bendigo, VIC, built 1877 for one thousand students. denisbin |
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| The historic buildings occupied by the Bendigo Woollen Mills were built in 1901 by the Bendigo Electric Supply Company, Bendigo, VIC |
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| Bendigo Cemetery's historic chapel, constructed in 1872 |
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| The Grimbsy roller flourmill. Part was built in 1873. A second stage was built in 1887. It ceased operations in 1970 and has been converted into offices. Bendigo, VIC, denisbin |
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| National Trust-listed Gold Mines Hotel, uilt in 1872 and owned by Bendigo mayor David Sterry and his family for 140 years, Bendigo, VIC |
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| Fortuna Villa, Bendigo, VIC |
Things To Do and Places To Go
Historic Walking Tours Bendigo
Bendigo City Walk
Bendigo Tramways Vintage Talking Tram
Bendigo Art Gallery
Bendigo RSL Military Museum
Golden Dragon Museum
Heritage Buildings of Bendigo
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