Bendigo, Victoria: The Place Neil Young Was Talking About
I began the walk from my home to the train station about 15 minutes away. It was a cool, overcast October morning at approximately 6 am. Normally on a Saturday, I would still be in bed, but we had big plans. Me and Iwan met up just outside the train station and realised we were slightly too early for the train and also too early for the café. We waited, got our large lattes on oat milk and hurried back to the station climbing aboard in time for the train to depart. Our trip would come in two parts, first, we needed to get to Southern Cross Station in the CBD, the Hub for out-of-town travel. Our train on the V-Line was set to leave in 10 minutes, no time for a quick McMuffin. I had no desire to run, so a fast walk was required to ensure we would make it in time. There was confusion as to which carriage to get on, but the helpful station staff made our choice clear (the one attached to the locomotive).
Pagoda in the Yi Yuan Gardens.
The train lurched forward and began its close to 2-hour journey at 8 am, I had the privilege of sitting backwards for the trip, but the form-fitting seats made the journey quite pleasant. We watched as the city turned to industrial, to suburban and finally to the countryside, the view that would be speeding past our window for much of our trip. Each station we passed saw us leave the chaos of the city and the dreary day that accompanied it further and further behind, and once we passed the Macedon ranges it was nothing but blue skies and fine country living. The quaint towns scattered across southern Victoria created a tremendous temptation to hop off the train and explore but our ultimate destination was Bendigo. This is a city known for the underground spoils, a place where thousands have sought their luck in finding gold. Our intentions were to find a good meal, a cheap pint, an understanding of Bendigo and most importantly a few good stories.
The train began to slow into Bendigo Station at around 10 am, we disembarked eagerly as soon as the doors were opened. Our first stop on the list of things for us to do in Bendigo was the Bendigo Conservatory Gardens, which were in full bloom during our visit. The garden played host to an array of coloured Tulips, contrasting perfectly with the manicured gardens surrounding them. This garden led into the Yi Yuan Chinese Garden where we admired Chinese architecture and sat, being embraced by the warmth of the morning sun, by a pond, home to many Koi.
Iwan, the logistical glue holding this trip together informed me of a secondhand bookstore a few kilometres away from our next stop. Bendigo Book Mark is both a cute name for a bookstore and home to a brilliant selection of secondhand books. I always look at the photo book section of a bookstore, but nothing caught my eye until I wandered over to the Australiana section and found a book by Bill Bachman called Local Colour. The owner of the store offered to hold onto the books so we could explore uninhibited and some information about the town. He saw I was a photographer and suggested a few local landmarks that I should photograph.
Pleased with our purchases we could finally satisfy the hunger we had been dealing with all morning and visit Ghosty’s Diner on View Street. I had grabbed a coffee from this place the year before, when it was a café and film camera store, and was surprised to see how much it had changed. I was slightly disappointed that I was not surrounded by camera history right up until my chicken burger contacted my tongue. This was one of those burgers that looks pretty stock standard but has a taste that exceeds every single expectation you had about a location. The burger was so good that it rewired my taste buds making me enjoy the combination of fries and Ketchup (I have a burning hatred of ketchup normally). Fueled and ready for more sightseeing, we headed to the Bendigo Art Gallery which is the home to some stunning classic artworks. Apparently, the residents of a gold mining town in the 1850s could afford an impressive art collection. Seeing classic oil paintings Is a great inspiration for my own work.
Having seen the spoils Bendigo’s early industry provided for the town we wanted to see where it all happened and how. We walked from the CBD to the Central Deborah Gold Mine a non-active gold mine and heritage-listed landmark. For $5 (probably as much as a gold mining license cost in the 1800s) we were given access to the surface-level attractions which included fossicking. We did this for a while and thought we were getting a decent amount of gold until we realised it was pyrite, which to be fair does look more impressive than gold. All this demanding work had us thirsty and in the spirit of the miner's life, it was time for a pint. We hopped on the tram (which we had just learned existed) and made the bumpy trek across town to the Shamrock Hotel. I am from Queensland, and I will tell you what, it was refreshing to pay less than $12 for a pint and of my favourite, Great Northern at that. We lounged on the balcony throwing back a few pints and reflecting on the day as the sun began its final descent below the horizon.
Time to see some nightlife. We had our cheeky Maccas in preparation for the liquid punishment we intended to put our bodies through. We ventured to a couple of bars, both turning out to be duds, although extremely promising. We happened upon a Pub that was perfect, but I will not mention it due to how the night concluded. We made friends with a local and his friend who happened to also be from my hometown of Logan. He had a taste for double IPAs and was more than eager to provide them to new friends. Being the gentleman I am, I happily took him up on the offer a few times. On the last beer, I looked at the back of the can and noticed, that each can was two standard drinks. This was the moment the downward spiral began. I went to the bathroom as one does when drinking heavily, I came back to the table, sat down and then decided, I needed to rest my head because it was spinning too much. Without going into too much detail, the contents of my stomach decided that it liked being outside of my body more than inside and made its way back out the way it came in. This concluded my night, A quick Uber ride back and I was in bed.
I had a lot of time to reflect on my trip the next day on the train trip home, a stop-in at Castlemaine had to be cancelled as standing was off the table for me. We had our meal, we had our pints, albeit too many, and we had an abundance of stories. While I may have put a strain on mine and Iwan’s friendship and caused some irreversible damage to my liver and brain cells, we had seen Bendigo a town full of beautiful, accommodating people and a city that I believe is underrated, purely because of the shadow cast by it’s big brother Melbourne.
