Days 228-230- International Exchange Teacher's Association Weekend in Bendigo

Days 228-230- Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 12- Bendigo, Victoria

Colleen and I had registered for the International Teacher's Association Bendigo weekend and we headed out of the city on Friday night as quickly as we could. We were joined by Julie Frei, a young American on exchange from Washington State. She teaches near where we live.
The three of us rolled onto the Monash Freeway and north through the city on the Calder Freeway, arriving in Bendigo shortly after 7 pm. We had been invited to Annika Pint's, another young teacher from Toronto, who had arranged a "naked eye astronomy" night with a fellow from the planetarium. The sky was unbelievably transparent and the southern Milky Way, Large and Small Megellanic Clouds, and other gems of the southern sky thrilled all of us.
Colleen and I stayed at the home of Catherine Jerome, who had only last year been on exchange to Glasgow, Scotland. It turned out that she had travelled to Hawaii at the same time as we , while she was returning and we were starting our exchange. She lives in Castlemaine, another historic town just south of Bendigo.
Bendigo is Australia's largest inland city. It has more gold rush historic buildings than any other location and has a rich architectural beauty. We toured the downtown by foot after meeting all the exchangees and hosts at the Chinese Museum.
Late afternoon, we headed to the arena where Josh Kilgour, son of Toronto exchange teacher Cam Kilgour, and wife Cathy, was playing hockey (real man's ice hockey!). Many of us attended to cheer on Josh's team. It was surreal to be in a hockey arena in August! It was a beautiful mid-winter day in Bendigo, about +14 C.
A number of the gang went to the Shamrock Hotel for afternoon refreshments, where the original building's external historic facade disguised the modern gaming centre inside. Colleen and I first visited the amazing stone Catholic Cathedral, which is a very magnificent building. We prayed for the souls of those who went straight to the Shamrock for drinks.
We drove to a small community centre in the country for the evening meal and traditional Australian "Bush Dance." The dancing was fun and included many traditional Irish and Scottish group dances which were very similar to American Square Dance.
Sunday morning, we walked the streets of Castlemaine, as well as its lovely Botanic Gardens, bid goodbye to our host Catherine, and drove back to Bendigo. The Bendigo Pottery factory is the oldest in the country (1859). Offering tours, sales and lunches, we shopped and tasted the local pumpkin soup.
Soon, it was time to head home, and we picked up our passenger and made our way down the M79 towards Melbourne.
We really enjoyed catching up with our fellow exchangees, meeting old and new Australian exchange teachers, and seeing such an historic city. Everywhere we go in Victoria, the influence of the gold rush on history and arhictecture are apparent, but never so obvious as in Bendigo. This was one of the richest gold fields in the world, and it changed Australian history. I will never be able to think of anywhere else when I hear the age old saying, "There's gold in them thar hills!"


See our Photocast at this link here:
http://photocast.mac.com/rod.murray/iPhoto/bendigo/index.rss