Bendigo is the ultimate combination of historic attractions, beautiful architecture, and modern-day food and culture.
The city was made famous in the Gold Rush era, when hopefuls from around the world descended on its underground mines in the hopes of making it big. Nowadays, it is also a gastronomical hub, named the first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in Australia. Whether you’re looking to explore the past, or eat your way through the many streets and alleys, Bendigo is the perfect destination for your next holiday.
Food, glorious food
For more than a decade, Indulge Chocolates has been a purveyor of handmade Belgian-style chocolate in Bendigo CBD. It regularly collaborates with local producers for delicious treats, such as the recent partnership with Lake Tyrell Salt to create a smoked salt chocolate bar. At the flagship store, you can enjoy rich hot chocolates, chocolate shots, and silky coffee.
Chocolate is only the start of the dining adventure in Bendigo, whose food scene continues to expand. Held on the second Saturday of ever month, the Bendigo Community Farmers Market is a guaranteed source of fresh local produce. Bridgeward Grove has perfected the art of picking olives and transforming them into various oils and preserves, while Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese handmakes aritsan cheese with local milk and traditional cheesemaking techniques.
The city is also packed full of great restaurants. In atmospheric Chancery Lane is The Dispensary, a chic and modern bar serving up cocktails, wine, and more than 100 types of beer. The food menu is designed to be shared, with a special focus on Australian cusine. BendiGo Wholefoods is another local favourite, combining a wholefoods greengrocer with an edible garden nursery and kitchen cafe. The seasonal menu is constantly changing, with current standouts including baked pumpkin with chipotle hummus, and a coconut curry broth bowl.
Where to get your cultural fix
The city’s cultural pride and joy is Bendigo Art Gallery, which regularly hosts exclusive exhibitions from international artists. These shows have covered subjects such as Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe, with a recent blockbuster featuring portraits of British royalty. The gallery is set to close later this year for a $45 million redevelopment, but will emerge as one of the best regional galleries in the country.
Another cultural drawcard is the Ulumbarra Theatre, set within the walls of a former prison. The venue’s name means ‘meeting place’ in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, and it fulfils that function admirably with a diverse program of music and plays.
The gold rush and Chinese heritage of Bendigo
Bendigo was swept up in the gold rush fever of mid-19th-century Victoria, and visitors can explore this fascinating era at the Central Deborah Gold Mine.
A real gold mine, visitors are invited to discover the real conditions faced by miners, and how they managed to extract 929 kg of gold. On the Mine Experience tour, you will be taken 61 metres below ground, where you will explore tunnels, get up close to traditional equipment, and see gold in its natural state, all while dressed in miners’ gear.
In Bendigo, a large number of miners arrived from China, hoping to strike it lucky on the goldfields in the face of considerable discrimination. The Golden Dragon Museum tells the story of the city’s Chinese community using fascinating exhibits. The ceremonial dragons that give the museum its name include newcomer Dai Gum Loong. Stretching an impressive 120 metres, it is the longest in the world. Each year, the dragons wind through the city streets for the annual Easter Festival.
Outside the museum is another highlight, the Yi Yuan, a ‘garden of joy’ based on the design of the gardens of the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Within its grounds are a Buddhist temple, and there’s a tearoom if you fancy a cuppa.
Art and heritage combine
For a fun attraction that threads together the city’s biggest destinations, hop aboard the tourist tram operated by Bendigo Tramways. One line remains from Bendigo’s original tram system, which ran from 1890 to the 1970s, and today it plays host to a range of vintage vehicles.
At one end of the route is the Central Deborah Gold Mine. From here, the tram heads east along High Street and Pall Mall, past the elegant Alexandra Fountain. At its eastern terminus is Bendigo Joss House Temple, a Chinese place of worship surviving from the gold rush era. Tram tickets are valid all day, and allow passengers to hop on and off at stops along the way.
An extra drawcard is the monthly Groove Tram, a rolling pop-up bar that features live music and drinks as it drives along the rails on a Saturday evening.
On the edge of town, in Epsom, is Bendigo Pottery. Founded in 1858, it features a museum showing off historic wood-fired kilns and equipment used over the decades. Be sure to spend time shopping at the wide selection of tableware and cookware made on the premises, and galleries selling the work of local potters. The most enjoyable activity is to throw your own pot. Visitors can book a pottery class and be expertly led through the art of moulding a ceramic creation.
Soak up the sun
After indulging in the foodie and cultural highlights of Bendigo, wind down with a stroll through Rosalind Park. This beautifully landscaped space lies between Bendigo Art Gallery and the Visitor Centre. Its grassy slopes are criss-crossed by paths and the Bendigo Creek. The park’s lookout tower is within an old mining frame. It’s the perfect place from which to take a parting photo of this memorable regional city.
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Getting to Bendigo
Bendigo is less than two hours drive from Melbourne, making it a lovely weekend getaway.
For flights from Melbourne across Victoria, check out the current Rex deals here.
