Whilst my main focus for the artwork design was on the Hotels on Main Road, I felt there was an opportunity to tell a broader story of Main Rd and combine/include some interesting pieces of information from many stages of the history of Main Road. Considering that at one point in time there would have been at more than six hotels in this very short section of street….there’s no doubt Main Rd was an epicentre of communication and festivities for the Goldfields of Ballarat. “No matter what luck he had, every miner needed supplies, food and something to entertain him when he was not searching for gold.” Described as being an overcrowded jumble of muddy streets loosely arranged around mining camps...and loud, muddy, colourful and sometimes illicit. I wanted the artwork composition to consist of overlapping images and text to reflect this sense of hustle and bustle. Main Road Mural tells the broader story of the history of Main Road in Ballarat. In 2018, the City of Ballarat commissioned local Ballarat artist Travis Price to create an artwork to align with the Main Road Revitalisation Project and deliver a key component of the storytelling (heritage interpretation) project that spans the length of the shopping precinct. The artwork is featured on a prominent site in the shopping precinct of main road and tells the story of Main Road through depicting key timeline events. Main Road, as its name suggests, was one of the main entries to the mining areas of East Ballarat. It had several names: Main Street before 1858, Plank Road between 1858 and 1868 and Main Road from 1868 onwards. The centre of mining life, it was crowded, prosperous, raucous and dirty. Painted mural on shop wall in Main Road, BallaratBallaarat, Gold Fever, The Royal Standard Hotel, Flood, Boxing Saloon, Plank Road, Kulin Nation, 3350, Election, East, Grog House, The Scandinavian Hotel. Images; Chinese lantern, Pick & Shovel, Miners Licence burning.main road history, ballarat hotels, gold fever, wadawurrung, kulin nation

Mining Scene Flat Reef at 800ft level Underground in Magdala-Cum-Moonlight Gold Mine 1895Underground miner inspecting overhead Quartz reef. stawell mining

Wonga Mine Gold Mining 1903stawell mining

Stawell Gold Mines Pty Ltd. - Stawell Joint Venture. Mining Plaque (Opened 1984) & Equipment 1995stawell mining

Mr. Randle - Mining Scene. Male with gold pan is Scarsi.stawell

This teaspoon is believed to belong to the household of Chiltern writer and historian, W.C. Busse. The teaspoon displays a level of tarnish indicating it may be comprised of silver or silver plate. It has no evident hallmark to determine its maker or date of manufacture, but may pre-date World War Two as mass production methods and the growing popularity of stainless steel in cutlery and other tablewares saw a reduced reliance on silver in such goods after this period. Wilfred Clarence Busse was born in Chiltern in 1898. He went to school at Wesley College in Melbourne, studied law at the University of Melbourne and became a barrister. Additionally, after spending time on a Victorian station in his early twenties, he wrote two historical novels about bush life. His first novel was 'The Blue Beyond: a Romance of the Early Days in South Eastern Australia', written in 1928 and published in 1930. Busse's second novel was titled 'The Golden Plague: A Romance of the Early Fifties'. The judges of the Henry Lawson Society's T.E. Rofe competition to advance Australian literature unanimously awarded it the Gold Medal in 1931 for the best historical novel of 1930. Newspaper articles about the award mention the writer's meticulous documentary and oral history research regarding life on the Gold Fields in the 1850s. It became a best-seller. Busse also wrote a series of articles about local history for "The Federal Standard" newspaper in Chiltern. He was a member of the Chiltern Athenaeum. He died in 1960. This spoon is significant for the detail it conveys of ordinary domestic life in the household of a significant Victorian writer with special reference to Chiltern and the surrounding region. Teaspoon with decorative pattern on handle and tarnished patina. w.c. busse, chiltern, wilfred clarence busse, chiltern athenaeum, gold fields, gold rush, gold mining, mining history, historical fiction, cutlery, tableware, silverware, spoons, henry lawson society, t.e. rofe, t.e. rofe gold medal, federal standard newspaper, 1930s, 1850s, barrister, north-east victoria, indigo shire

PHOTOGRAPH - ORIGINAL SEPIA - PORT PHILLIP AND COLONIAL GOLD MINE, CLUNES. NORTH SHAFT, SHOWING POPPET HEAD AND CHIMNEY. .1 MOUNTED ON CARDBOARD .2 - .4 PHOTO PRINTS .5 PHOTO PRINTPORT PHILLIP AND COLONIAL GOLD MINING COMPANY, CLUNES. CLUNES QUARTZ MINING COMPANY'S NORTH SHAFT. CHANGING SHIFTS. TIME, THREE PM. C. NETTLETON, PHOTO.local history, photography, photographs, mining

Miners around Big Hill area at work St Georges Lead c 1860's. Note gold rocking cradle. This photo was amongst several mining photos, all of which were identified and catalogued under their correct mine name in 2010-2011.Three men with shovels around a gold mine cradle on a rocky hill side.stawell

Mr Joe Catterall & Mr L.J. Romey were partners in a cyaniding operation to obtain gold from the Southern Consuls Mine after second world war.Booklet printed on paper with a light blue card cover.Stamped on title page: "L.J. Romey, Chemist & Chiropodist, Queenscliff" Written below this in blue ink: "August 1951 [or 1957]"mining, gold mining