Sovereign Hill is a ‘living museum’ in the Ballarat suburb of Golden Point. This open-air attraction beautifully depicts the 1850’s goldrush story of Ballarat, putting visitors right in the heart of the action. Explore the meticulously restored streets, interact with costumed characters and see some of the traditional trades of the era.
Some of the many activities include the popular Sovereign Hill Mine Tour, panning for gold on the diggings, the Australian Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades and the Australian Centre for Goldrush collections featuring over 150,000 objects. Wander into the confectionary shop and watch the making of the famous raspberry drops.
Gold was discovered in Ballarat in 1851, triggering the greatest alluvial gold rush the world had ever seen. Award-winning Sovereign Hill pays respects to those who played a part in this important time in Australia’s history. It’s the next best thing to actually being there!
Visitors walk the dusty, bustling main street, lined with authentically recreated 19th-century homes, buildings and shops. There are daily demonstrations of various trades, and you can get your hands dirty and try your luck at panning for gold with the help of friendly characters.
Sovereign Hill is not just about mining; it’s a full-scale representation of life in the 1850s. Visitors can explore the intricacies of early settler life through demonstrations of traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, candle making, and pottery. It’s worth taking the time to visit the memorial of the 1854 Eureka Stockade Rebellion where miners and officials clashed in a bloody battle.
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Sovereign Hill’s dedication to authenticity and immersive experiences makes it a fascinating destination for history enthusiasts and families alike, providing an engaging way to understand and appreciate Ballarat’s rich history.
Sovereign Hill has recreated the Red Hill Mine where the second-largest gold nugget in the world was found. The nugget named The Welcome Nugget weighed in at a whopping 69 kilograms and was 99.2% pure gold. Its value at the time was 10,596 pounds. Today, the nugget would be worth close to 4.5 Australian dollars.
The Sovereign Hill Gold Mine Tour to The Red Hill Mine is a self-guided tour telling the story of a group of Cornish miners and their amazing discovery of the Welcome Nugget. The Sovereign Quartz Mine also runs a 40-minute guided tour featuring several underground displays. Another attraction ‘Trapped’ tells the story of the Creswick Mine Disaster in 1882 where 22 men died.
Sovereign Hill covers 25 hectares, featuring over 60 historically recreated buildings. The recreation is completely fitted out with everything you’d expect to see in a goldrush town of the 1850s - transport, machinery, antiques, artwork, equipment and animals.
Day trips from Ballarat include interesting destinations like Daylesford, Creswick and the fabulous Creswick Woollen Mills, Grampians National Park and Warrnambool with plenty of spectacular scenery along the way.
Several workshops at Sovereign Hill demonstrate traditional trades such as Blacksmith, Wheelwright, Coachbuilder, Tinsmith and Farrier.
Sovereign Hill began as an idea in the 1960s, as a way to preserve historic buildings and recreate the gold diggings for visitors to experience. Sovereign Hill officially opened in 1970.
Our team is always happy to help if you have any questions about us or our tours. Fill out our form and we will get back to you soon.
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We are a Green Travel Leader. This is awarded to businesses which have consistently proven their commitment to sustainable tourism management over ten years.
As a Sustianable Tourism accredited business, we are proud to offer engaging tourism experiences that follow sound sustainability practices and environmental appreciation.
Quality Tourism accredited businesses like Fun Over 50 lead the way by offering the highest industry standards of customer service, satisfaction, reliability, and ethical practices.
We are committed to operating in ways that respect and reinforce Indigenous cultural heritage and the authenticity and integrity of living cultures of Indigenous communities.
We have incorporated strategic climate change responses across all relevant levels of our planning and operations. We are working towards becoming carbon neutral.
With Advanced Ecotourism certification, we offer outstanding experiences which let you get back to nature, help conservation, and minimise environmental impact.
We are a credible, well trained, and professional business. We conduct business in compliance with Australian Consumer Law and in accordance with ATAS Charter and Code of Conduct.
The Council of Australian Tour Operators represents tour operators and wholesalers. As a full CATO member, we provide authentic and original holidays with sustainable travel.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them, their cultures, and to the elders both past and present.
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