Bendigo: A nugget of the Gold Rush

It is 25 degrees in the shade as the station wagon draws up outside the Comfort Inn Bendigo Central Debra. Isn’t it a little too hot for March, asks Anne fanning herself. Sue who’d wanted to meet this psychic in Bendigo had dragged us along. The soothing environs of the Comfort Inn, however, puts all misgivings at rest. I am willing to forgive Sue for embarking on such a foolhardy enterprise. “Tomfoolery”, Anne who worked with us in the same office had scoffed. Poor Sue, always the butt of jokes and ridicule. But she seems to take it rather well.

A nice cool shower later we walk across the street to the Pizza Hut Restaurant. We order a large family-sized pizza I forget which, and colas. I pick on my lunch listlessly, it being too hot to eat. I am too tired to drive so Anne takes over at the wheel after lunch. She wants to view the Sacred Heart Cathedral, she says, despite our protests. But getting off I am quite delighted with I see. To be sure, it isn’t like the churches I have seen in France but its façade is impressive nonetheless. The soaring stained glass from Birmingham and the seven-meter cross cast in bronze are pretty fetching.

Next, we drive past the Alexander Fountain over the main Bendigo Boulevard into Emu Point. To tell the truth, I like the Chinese Joss House more than the cathedral; it has such a lively ambience

Later we drive back to the Alexander Fountain- our first encounter with a gold rush relic. We learn that it came up in 1881 and is one of the famous landmarks of Bendigo along with, of course, the Shamrock Hotel.

We drop Sue off at her ‘psychic’s’, after much good-natured ribbing of course. Anne and I spend the rest of the day shopping at Myer at Pall Mall. The Myer story, we are told all began here. Although smaller than the Melbourne store, the varieties are pretty interesting.

It gets quite late as we repair to the Beechworth Bakery on High Street waiting for Sue to return from her psychic. One tip: don’t miss the cakes here, they are heavenly!