Ballarat, where we are now, was founded in 1851 when gold was found here. The biggest nugget in history, weighing about 70kg, was found here. For a while it was the richest town, per capita, in the world. You could get anything you wanted: ice for your drink was brought from Boston, Massachussetts.

The whole experience has been re-created at Sovereign Park, an open air, working museum, staffed by folks in period dress who will pose for photos, while professing never to have seen a camera before “prithee, what strange phenomenon is this?” The pic above gives the flavour.

A man, in period dress, showed us around ‘his house’. He hailed from Swindon, originally, and asked us if we would excuse him briefly as he had to go and shout abuse at some school kids. There is an exhibition where the same gold bar, weighing 3kg and worth $22,000, is endlessly melted down, poured, and re-set, for an audience.

The whole place has been carefully reconstructed – anyone who has seen the TV series Deadwood will get the picture – apart from the whorehouse, obviously.

Apart from the above, not much to report - Ballarat renowned for what it was not what it is now. In the morning, on to Albury, NSW.