Everything about Bendigo totally explained
Bendigo is a regional city in central
Victoria, Australia, located in the
City of Greater Bendigo. The Greater Bendigo municipality is home to around 140,000 while the city has a steadily growing urban population of about 100,000 people which places it as the third largest regional centre in Victoria after
Geelong and
Melbourne. Residents of Bendigo are called Bendigonians.
Originally known as
Sandhurst, the city grew quickly out of the
Victorian gold rush and became established as a major provincial hub and minor financial centre, being home to Australia's only provincially headquartered retail bank, the
Bendigo Bank and the
Bendigo Stock Exchange (BSX).
Bendigo is notable for its
Victorian architectural heritage and
gold mining.
History
In 1851 Mrs Margaret Kennedy and Mrs Farrell, wives of two farmhands from the Ravenswood sheep run, found gold in the Bendigo creek. Word of the discovery spread quickly and soon after the township of Sandhurst was established, a Post Office opening on
July 1,
1852 as Bendigo Creek (renamed Sandhurst on
January 1,
1854 and Bendigo
June,
1891).
Official town planning commenced in 1854 and by 1857, Sandhurst was connected by
telegraph to Melbourne. The grand Town Hall was commissioned in 1859 and the Melbourne to Sandhurst railway commenced operations in 1862. Less than a decade later, in 1871, Sandhurst was proclaimed a City. By the 1880s, the city was considered the richest in the world due to the size of the local goldfields. It wasn't until 1891 that the city's name was changed to Bendigo, in honour of the bare knuckled boxer, William "Abednego" Thompson, whose name had been lent to the creek where gold was first discovered.
Features
Architectural heritage
As a legacy of the gold boom Bendigo has many magnificent ornate buildings built in a late
Victorian colonial style, contributing to a picturesque "French" cityscape. Many buildings are on the
Victorian Heritage Register and registered by the
National Trust of Australia. Prominent buildings include the Bendigo Town Hall (1859, 1883-85), Post Office, Law Courts (1892-96), Shamrock Hotel (1897), Institute of Technology and Memorial Military Museum (1921) all in the
Second Empire-style.
Architect Vahland, encouraged european artisans to emigrate to the Sandhurst gold fields and so create the Vienna(Wien) of the south.
Bendigo's
Sacred Heart Cathedral, a large sandstone church, is the third largest cathedral in Australia and one of the largest cathedrals in the
Southern Hemisphere. The main building was completed between 1896-1908 and the soaring spire between 1954 and 1977.
Fortuna is a large surviving Victorian mansion, built for mine owner George Lansell.
Many other examples of Bendigo's classical architecture rank amongst the finest classical commercial buildings in Australia and include the Colonial Bank building (1887) and the former Masonic Hall (1873-74) which is now a performing arts centre.
Bendigo's
Joss house, a historic
temple, was built in the 1860s by
Chinese miners and is the only surviving building of its kind in regional Victoria which continues to be used as a place of worship.
The historic Bendigo Tram Sheds and Power Station (1903) now house Bendigo's tramway museum.
The Queen Elizabeth Oval still retains its ornate 1901 grandstand.
Image:Sacred heart cathedral bendigo.jpg|Sacred Heart Cathedral
Image:Sacred_heart_bendigo_interior.jpg|Interior of the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Image:bendigo post office.jpg|Bendigo Post Office
Image:bendigo courthouse.jpg|Bendigo Court House
Image:Shamrock hotel bendigo.jpg|Shamrock Hotel
Image:Bendigo buildings 1.jpg|A diverse range of pre-war building styles at Charing Cross
Parks and gardens
The central city is skirted by
Rosalind Park, a Victorian style garden featuring statuary and a large
blue stone viaduct. The main entrance corner of the park is on the intersection known as the
Charing Cross, formerly the intersection of two main tram lines (now only one). It features a large statue of
Queen Victoria. The Charing Cross road junction features the large ornate
Alexandra fountain (1881) and is built on top of a wide bridge which spans the viaduct. The park elevates toward
Camp Hill, which features a historic school and former mine
poppet head.
Further from the city is
Lake Weroona, a large ornamental lake, adjacent to the Bendigo Botanical Gardens.
Industry
Bendigo is growing rapidly whilst small surrounding rural towns (such as
Elmore,
Rochester,
Inglewood,
Dunolly and
Bridgewater) are in steep decline. The 2005 Bendigo Council Annual Report indicated about 13% of the workforce are employed in manufacturing.
Tourism
Tourism, based on the old gold industry, is important and includes prominent attractions such as the
Central Deborah Goldmine,
Discovery Science and Technology Centre and the Bendigo
tramways (all three of which make up the Bendigo Trust, a council-intertwined organisation dedicated to preserving Bendigo's heritage). There have been several plans to enhance tourism in the area, including a theme park and extensions of the tourist tram around Lake Weeroona.
Commerce
The main retail centre of Bendigo is the central business district, with the suburbs of Eaglehawk, Kangaroo Flat and Strathdale also having shopping districts.
The city is home to Australia's only provincial
stock exchange, the
Bendigo Stock Exchange (BSX), founded in the 1860s.
The city is the home of the headquarters of
Bendigo Bank; established in 1858 as a building society it's now a large retail bank with community bank branches throughout Australia. The bank is headquartered in Bendigo, which is a major employer in the city (it also has a regional office at
Melbourne Docklands).
Telecommunications provider
AAPT has its call-centre based here, as is the home of Bendigo Community Telco (founding subsidiary of
Community Telco Australia).
Manufacturing
After the
gold rush Bendigo developed a manufacturing industry. Little of that now remains but there's a large foundry which makes train and vehicle parts and there's also a rubber factory. The
Thales Australia (formerly ADI Limited) is an important heavy engineering company. Australia Defence Apparel is another key defence industry particpant making military and police uniforms and bullet proof vests.
Intervet (formerly
Ausvac) is an important biotechnology company, producing vaccines for animals.
Human Services
The major industry in Bendigo is now health, with a Base Hospital, and a very large old people's and rehabilitation home (The Anne Caudle centre) with about 600 beds.
Psychiatric services are notably inadequate. The medium security gaol
HM Prison Bendigo was located in the city until closure in mid January of 2006.
Education
Bendigo Senior Secondary College is the largest VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) provider in the State.
Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE
.
Catholic College Bendigo follows close after, which ranges from years 7-9 at the first campus and 10-12 at the second campus. Girton Grammar School is Bendigo's only private school. The Bendigo campus of
La Trobe University is also a large and growing educational institution.
Farming & agriculture
The surrounding area, or "gold country", is quite harsh rocky land with scrubby regrowth vegetation. This "box-ironbark forest" is used for timber (mainly sleepers and firewood) and beekeeping. It is proposed to divert it to
ecotourism, but there's considerable scepticism about its potential in this respect.
Sheep and
cattle are grazed in the cleared areas. There are some large
poultry and
pig farms. Some relatively fertile areas are present along the rivers and creeks, where
wheat and other crops such as
canola are grown. The area produces premium wines, including
shiraz, from a growing
viticulture industry.
Salinity is a problem in many valleys, but is under control. There is a relatively small
eucalyptus oil industry.
Gold Mining
One of the major revolutions in gold mining (during the
gold rush) came when fields like Bendigo but also
Ballarat,
Ararat, Victoria, and the gold fields close to
Mount Alexander turn out to have large gold deposits below the superficial alluvial deposits that were previously (partially) mined out. Gold was found in these basaltic deposits called "blue stone", or were washed away into channels of ancient rivers. Tunnels as deep as 2000 or even 3000 feet (
Stawell) were possible.
Until overtaken in the 1880s by the
Western Australia goldfields, Bendigo was the most productive Australian gold area, with a total production of over 20 million ounces (622t). There is a large amount of gold still in the Bendigo goldfields, estimated to be at least as much again as what has been removed. The decline in mining was partly due to the depth of mines and the presence of water in the deep mines. With modern technology, Bendigo Mining NL has resumed mining and will likely be a large producer within 10 years.
Transport
Bendigo is about 150 km (93 miles) or less than two hours drive by car from Melbourne on the
Calder Freeway. The residual dual carriageway roads (currently about 100 km) are progressively being replaced by freeway.
Regular rail services to Melbourne operate over the
Bendigo railway line that was upgraded as part of the
Regional Fast Rail project completed in 2006. There are also additional train services to and from
Swan Hill, and
Echuca.
Bendigo is serviced by
Bendigo Airport, which is just north of the city.
As a regional city Bendigo also includes the following suburbs and localities: Ascot, Big Hill, California Gully, Deborah Triangle, Eaglehawk, Eaglehawk North, Epsom, Flora Hill,
Golden Square, Ironbark, Jackass Flat, Junortoun, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Huntly, Maiden Gully, Mandurang, North Bendigo, Quarry Hill, Sailor's Gully, Spring Gully, Strathdale, Strathfieldsaye, West Bendigo and White Hills that are served by buses.
Culture and events
Bendigo Art Gallery is one of Australia’s oldest and largest regional art galleries. The collections of Bendigo Art Gallery include Australian Art from the 1850s to the present day, a special collection of art from the Bendigo goldfields and 19th century European and British paintings, sculptures and decorative arts.
Each year Bendigo Art Gallery presents an exciting program of exhibitions and events. This includes guided tours, workshops, talks by arts professionals, films and much more.
Bendigo Art Gallery's collection is constantly growing and the Gallery enjoys the support of an enthusiastic Friends of the Bendigo Gallery membership, the City of Greater Bendigo and Arts Victoria. The Bendigo Art Gallery hosts Australia's richest painting prize, the
Arthur Guy Memorial Prize, worth $50,000, which was launched in 2003.
The Capital Theatre is located next to the art gallery in View Street and hosts
performing arts and live music.
The city hosts the Bendigo National Swap Meet every year in early November. A must for all car enthusiasts, it's regarded as the biggest in the southern hemisphere, and attracts people from all over Australia and the world
The
Bendigo Easter Festival is held each year and attracts tens of thousands of tourists to the city over the Easter long weekend. Attractions include parades, exhibitions, and a street carnival.
Media
Bendigo is served by three newspapers:
The Advertiser, The Bendigo Miner and
The Bendigo Weekly, five locally-based radio stations:
Star FM,
3BO FM,
ABC Local Radio, two national radio stations
Triple J and
ABC Radio National and the community stations
The Fresh 895 and
KLFM and five television stations:
WIN,
Prime,
Southern Cross Ten,
ABC and
SBS. Prime and Ten maintain sales offices in the region, but don't produce any local programs.
Music
Through great demand, live music venues such as
The Newmarket,
The Pub, and
The Golden Vine, independent music promoters like
Bendigo Bands,
Bendigo Events Guide, and
Launch! Bendigo, the City has eventually created a vibrant and exciting music scene. With
Independent music artists like Bang!Bang!Aids!, Cement Pig, The Monotones, The Peter Hunters and Jordan Allen,
Bendigo has built up a reputation of housing exciting and promising new music. Australian Idol Winner
Kate DeAraugo grew up in Bendigo where her family still live.
There also several adult choirs and a notable children's choir which often performs overseas, a community Symphony Orchestra, several brass bands and two pipe bands.
Sports
Cricket and
Australian rules football are the most popular sports in Bendigo. The
Queen Elizabeth Oval hosts both sports. The
Bendigo Bombers are a semi-professional Australian Rules team that competes in the
Victorian Football League. The Bendigo region is also home to the historic
Bendigo Football League, a strong local
Australian rules football competition. The Bendigo Cup is a famous
horse racing event. The
Bendigo and District Cricket Association is the controlling body for ten senior cricket clubs within the Bendigo area. The
Bendigo Madison is a large prestigious cycling event, attracting international calibre cyclists.
Bendigo hosts the richest prorunning 400m in the world called the Black Opal. It is held early in the year and usually sees thousands of people at the venue with professional running races as well as cycling events over a 3 day carnival. The Bendigo Madison is held over this period.
Tennis is popular in Bendigo with the the
Bendigo Tennis Association (BTA) hosting local and national tournaments at its many court locations throughout the city. The
Bendigo Indoor Sports & Leisure Centre (BISLC) (5 synthetic hard courts) in Strathdale is the only indoor tennis complex in the region, and the huge 30 synthetic hard court
Coca-Cola Tennis Complex, next to Lake Weeroona, being one of the largest in the southern hemisphere. The
Bendigo Lawn Tennis Club also boasts 16 natural grass courts, one of the largest in the region.
Basketball is popular in Bendigo, the city is home to the
Schweppes Centre, home of the
Bendigo Braves. The stadiums hosted basketball during the
2006 Commonwealth Games. The city is also home to the
Bendigo Basketball Association. Bendigo also has a team in the WNBL, the premier national female basketball competition, The Bendigo Spirit.
Bendigo was the host to the second
Commonwealth Youth Games, held from
30 November to
3 December 2004.
Bendigo Amateur Soccer League organises and manages soccer for over 2000 juniors and seniors in Central Victoria.
Rugby Union - The Bendigo Fighting Miners are the only team in Bendigo, it completes in the Victorian Country Rugby Union Competition and has won the premiership for the last four years in a row.
Hockey - The CVHA Blazers represent Bendigo at State level in both male and female competitions.
Bendigo Raiders Ice Hockey Team competes at both junior and senior levels within the Victorian
Ice Hockey Association and is the only team to play that's located outside
Melbourne. The
ice rink in Bendigo is one of only two running in Victoria and is currently under renovation by volunteers of the Bendigo ice sports and ice users groups. The aim is to sustain use at this stadium for a period of 4 -5 years while a new ice sports development is built to ensure that Bendigo becomes the heart of Victorian Ice Sports. Bendigo also has a very active figure skating club called the Ice Skating Club of Bendigo which includes both beginner and national skaters. This group is instrumental in organising regional and state skating competition. Skaters are coached from tiny tots through to senior levels through the skate development program of Aussie Skate. Affiliated organisations are Ice Sports Victoria ans Ice Skating Australia.
(External Link)
Curling - Bendigo will host the Australian national curling championships on July 22-23 2007.
Judo/
JuJutsu
Baseball - There are 5 running clubs in the Bendigo area:
Eaglehawk Falcons, Bendigo East, Maiden Gully Scots, Bendigo BLS Bushrangers and
Strathfieldsaye Dodgers. All of these clubs have been struggling for players for the past 5 years in both senior and junior sides. Bendigo participates in the annual VPBL state championships held across the state. This year Bendigo has won the U/18 event held in
Wangaratta, and the U/12s came 2nd in
Mildura.
Orienteering – Bendigo hosted the 1985
World Orienteering Championships (September 4-6, 1985).
Climate
The climate in Bendigo is typically dry and mild temperate with cold winters. The mean minimum temperature in January is 14.3 Celsius (57.7 degrees F) and the maximum 28.7 Celsius (83.7 F), although temperatures above 35 Celsius (95 F) commonly are reached, and the highest temperature ever recorded was 47.4 degrees Celsius (117.4 F) in January 1862. The mean minimum temperature in July is 3.5 Celsius (38.3 F), and winter minima of below zero Celsius (32 F) have been recorded frequently. Mean maximum winter temperatures in July are 12.1 C (53.8 F). Most of the city's annual rainfall of 582.1 mm falls during the winter half of the year. Snowfalls are virtually unknown, however frosts can be a common occurrence during the winter months.
The dryness of the area, drought and population continually puts pressure on the local water supply and the city has had some of the harshest water restrictions in Australia, with no watering outside the household, though two hours of watering are now allowed (December 07). Local water storages have fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded and this is forcing the Victorian state government to build a "superpipe" which will connect Bendigo and
Ballarat to a larger supply of water before the town runs out of water. The superpipe was delivering water by September 2007 and work on the Ballarat section of the pipeline is due to be completed in June 2008.
Tornadoes have been seen around the area of Bendigo and, although rare, the
2003 Bendigo tornado passed though
Eaglehawk and other parts of the city causing major damage to homes and businesses.
Climate Table>
| |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
ear |
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)(1961-1990)
| 28.7 |
28.8 |
25.5 |
20.8 |
16.1 |
13.1 |
12.1 |
13.8 |
16.4 |
20.0 |
23.5 |
26.5 |
20.4
|
| Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)(1961-1990)
| 14.3 |
14.9 |
12.8 |
9.4 |
6.7 |
4.3 |
3.5 |
4.6 |
6.0 |
8.2 |
10.6 |
12.7 |
9.0
|
| Mean total rainfall (mm)(1961-1990)
| 37.2 |
26.4 |
36.4 |
47.9 |
59.9 |
52.4 |
62.5 |
70.1 |
58.1 |
55.9 |
35.2 |
40.1 |
582.1
|
| 9am Prevailing Wind(1991-2008)
| SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE |
SSW |
SSE |
SSE |
SSE
|
| 3pm Prevailing Wind(1991-2008)
| SSW |
SSE |
SSW |
SSW |
NW |
NNW |
NNW |
WNW |
WNW |
W |
SSW |
WSW |
WSW
|
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology |
Sister cities
Notable people
Kate DeAraugo - 2005 Australian Idol winner
AFL players: Nick Dal Santo, Nathan Brown, Wayne Campbell, Troy Selwood, Adam Selwood, Colin Sylvia, Joel Selwood
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe - New Zealand artist
Craig White - English cricket player
Colleen Hewett - Singer and actressFurther Information
Get more info on 'Bendigo'.
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