We were not sorry to leave Riverglen Holiday Park this morning, especially after it becoming so very congested yesterday afternoon. Happily the hi-di-hi caravan club group did quieten down relatively early and were all in top form to farewell us this morning. We would not recommend that camp to anyone, however in all fairness we have used far worse in our year of travels.
The road toward Melbourne took us away from Geelong, and then we turned north west toward Ballarat, once more confounding those who are waiting in Melbourne for us to call for a cuppa or more. I had set the Tomtom for Gheringhap, concerned correctly that we might well miss its existence if we were not alerted as we shot by. It was here not much more than ten kilometres past the modern city boundary of Geelong that my great great grandmother Emma Lake was born in 1859.
Looking at this place today that has only the remnants of a railway station and a rural homestead, one does wonder where exactly her mother gave birth to her, and what they were doing there. Her parents had immigrated to Australia in 1862, and in 1856 her father was working as a carter out of North Geelong. Perhaps the family had gone along for a jaunt in the cart and Emma decided to arrive at an inconvenient time? There are so many unanswered questions in my genealogical research; however I do now know where Gheringhap is. I also had noted that there was a Perrett Road on the Bellarine Peninsula, and it seems that Charles and Louisa Lake had come out with the support, perhaps only moral, of Louisa’s family, the Perretts. So perhaps we have a road named after our family after all?
We arrived in Ballarat and were set up in our camp here on the eastern side of the city by lunch time. Shady Acres was chosen because it is a CMCA Friendly camp and with the member discount we are paying just $25.10 per night, a far cry from the rip off prices along the southern coast. You may well object to this comparison, given that we are now well inland, however peak prices are peak prices all over and anything much under $40 at the moment seems like a gift! Perhaps we shall have to spend next January in New Zealand?
The camp here is five kilometres from the city centre, has many gums for shade and dropping unwanted branches, has large sites, excellent television reception, is a little jaded but absolutely spotless. We are very happy with our choice and at this stage would thoroughly recommend it.
After lunch we drove back into the city centre, heading for the Information Centre when we saw the Art Gallery. We popped in to check out opening times, and found ourselves just in time to join a free guided tour. What a wonderful gallery it is! We drifted around the many galleries with the guide for about an hour and a quarter, stayed a little while afterwards and decided that we needed at least another half day to do it all justice. Across the street at the Information Centre, we found an eager young assistant offering answers to all our questions and complained that we would not be able to see everything within the two days we had set aside for Ballarat. Obviously we will have to book at least another two nights beyond the two already paid for.
The short distance walked up through the city to the gallery and Information Centre from the car park we found gave us a taste of the beautiful architecture of this lovely city. With a population of 96,000 or more, it is a significant centre. Gold was discovered here in 1851, and the Rush was on. In fact, when one thinks about the Australian Goldrush, Bendigo and Ballarat are the two places that leap to mind before any others. I read today that one in four Australians can trace their origins to the goldfields, and that I can well believe; I am sure all of my own ancestors who came through Australia were drawn by the wealth that was to be generated either directly or indirectly from the discovery of gold.
By 1860, just nine years after the discovery, Ballarat’s streets were lined with some of the finest buildings in the colony and they still stand proudly today. We are looking forward to learning more about Ballarat, its history and its natural attractions. I actually don’t think that four days will do it!
This morning I thought about yesterday, Australia Day, a big celebration here in this country. Last year we had been in the country just a few days when this was celebrated and we were staying in the south of Brisbane. We drove down to the Gold Coast and then spent the next few days still in the Brisbane area. We were amazed at the frenzy of patriotism exhibited; flags on cars and houses, hats, shirts and other apparel designed with the flag as the centre piece and the absolute wild festivity. This year, here in Victoria, everything is much more subdued, a matter I have particularly noticed since warning the French tourists the other day to be prepared for this hysteria. It just has not happened the same. Chris and I have discussed this and now believe that last year’s exhibitionism was an escape valve for the Queenslanders after having gone through so much grief with the floods of the preceding six weeks. Or maybe Victorians are simply far more conservative and discreet, even if no less patriotic?
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