1 Day Sovereign Hill Tours from Melbourne
Sovereign Hill, an outdoor museum and re-creation of the town of Ballarat after the first discovery of gold in 1851.
from $174
Tour Highlights
About This Experience
- Departs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from Melbourne
- Group Size 20
- Vehicle Coach
- Mobile ticketing accepted
- No credit card fees
- 7 days a week support
Inclusions
- Entrance to Sovereign Hill
- Entrance to Gold Museum
- Entrance to Red Hill Mine tour
- Entrance to Ballarat Wildlife Park with a VIP wildlife experience (available only on the 1 Day Sovereign Hill Tour with Wildlife Close Encounter)
- Free Wi-Fi on coach
Select date and guests:
Tour Overview
What do you get when you combine the west, gold and history? Sovereign Hill, an outdoor museum and re-creation of the town of Ballarat after the first discovery of gold in 1851. Wandering around Sovereign Hill really does take you back in time and is exemplary as an outdoor museum that reflects Ballarat‘s history with gold discovery in the 1850s. Take a town tour of Ballarat en-route to Sovereign Hill where you will spend the majority of your time seeing and experiencing the gold rush era. The original shops are a real treat such as the blacksmiths and a favourite for many is the lolly shop where you can purchase homemade boiled lollies. Enjoy the rustic and western atmosphere of your lunch (optional-extra cost) venue at the New York Bakery in Main Street.Â
- Departing Melbourne Travel the Western Highway, a stagecoach route of the 1850s
- Enjoy a journey around Ballarat and learn of its gold period history
- See the site of the 1854 miner’s rebellion, the Eureka Stockade
- Explore the living museum of Sovereign Hill, an authentic recreation of a 1850s gold mining town
- Try your hand at Gold panning in Red Gully Creek
- Join the “Red Hill Mine Tour” and explore an underground mine
- See demonstrations of machinery used in the Gold mining era and witness original working conditions
- Stroll the main street and explore the many original shops selling period items and watch the daily parade
- Visit blacksmiths and traditional craftsmen plying their trades and hear about their role in Ballarat‘s history
- Watch the pouring of a bar of gold and hear of the process involved
- Learn of the history of Chinese settlers at Ballarat and their role in the goldfields
- Visit the Gold Museum and learn of the discovery and evolution of Ballarat and the importance of gold in the region
- Add a wildlife aspect to your day out to Sovereign Hill with an opportunity to visit Ballarat Wildlife Park (optional-extra cost)
Visit Ballarat Wildlife Park with a VIP wildlife experience (optional-extra cost) en-route to Sovereign Hill. Spend the rest of your day at Sovereign Hill where Ballarat‘s first 10 years after the discovery of gold in 1851 is re-created. Try your luck at gold panning in Red Gully Creek or head underground on the Red Hill Mine tour. Don’t forget to visit the Gold Museum too!
Note:Â Sturdy walking shoes are recommended due to uneven and sometimes slippery terrain. Photographs are not permitted in the Underground Mine or at any performances at the Victoria Theatre.
The below itinerary can change due to cultural reasons, seasonal changes, operational logistics and accessibility.
Day 1
Pick-up from Federation Square East
7:55 AM
Federation Square, Melbourne
Travel the Western Highway
8:20 AM
The stagecoach route of the 1850’s
Bacchus Marsh
See landscape of orchards – once a resting place for the Cobb & Co stagecoach
Ballarat
Enjoy a complete town tour of this gracious city with its exquisite gardens and noble statues
Eureka Stockade
The site of the 1854 Miner’s Rebellion
Ballarat Wildlife Park (Optional-Extra Cost)
Visit Ballarat Wildlife Park, owned by the Parker family, nestled in a native bushland habitat where you can join a guided tour. Feed free range kangaroos. Experience an emu encounter. Meet our cute cuddly koalas.
Ballarat Wildlife Park (Optional-Extra Cost)
At some point during the guided tour, our VIPs will be taken away for their close encounter. This is an excellent opportunity for an intimate behind-the-scenes wildlife encounter. Exclusive access to selected wildlife with a photo for an unforgettable close-up experience. Enter the enclosure with a keeper and observe a reptile feeding or spend one-on-one time with a favourite Australian animal.
Sovereign Hill
An authentic recreation of an 1850’s gold mining town. See & experience…
Red Gully Creek
Gold panning in Red Gully Creek
Red Hill Mine
Explore the Red Hill mine tour and discover life underground. Witness original working conditions and demonstrations of early mining equipment. Explore the many original shops including Blacksmiths and traditional craftsmen
Red Hill Mine
Perhaps try some homemade boiled lollies! Maybe a Devonshire Tea at the New York Bakery?
The Chinese Village
Highlighting Chinese involvement in the goldfields
Giant Crushing Battery
Watch the Giant Crushing Battery
New York Bakery
(Optional-Extra Cost)
Enjoy the rustic and western atmosphere of your lunch venue at the New York Bakery in Main Street.
Gold Museum
Visit the Gold Museum – an impressive and valuable collection of gold nuggets, gold coins, alluvial deposits and priceless gold artifacts.
Melbourne
5:30 PM
Return to Melbourne
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