Bendigo - Explore our Heritage Walk (City Centre)
This heritage walk explores the wonderful buildings in central Bendigo. You can pick up this brochure from the Bendigo Visitor Information Centre.
1. BENDIGO VISITOR CENTRE (FORMER POST OFFICE)
51-67 Pall Mall open 9am-5pm 7 days
There are gargoyles at one of Australia's grandest public buildings. Lions too - can you spot them? Designed by Public Works architect George W Watson, the French Renaissance-style building (1883-87) was designed to be admired from every angle, Pall Mall to Rosalind Park, up close and from afar. The clock in its tower chimes a sequence unique to Bendigo. It's only been silenced once, believed to be at the request of Dame Mellie Melba trying to steep in the Hotel Shamrock. Guided tours available.
2. OLD LAW COURTS
71 Pall Mall
The law court's bluestone podiums hide a basement where goldfields prisoners awaited their fate. Basalt and cast iron fences allowed light air and a whiff of freedom to tease them. Designed by Public Works architect George W Watson, the courts (1892-96) were still in use up until the start of 2023.
3. BENDIGO TOWN HALL
76 Hargreaves Street
If it was good enough for Denmark's royal palace it was good enough for Bendigo. German artist Otto Waschetz decorated both, adorning Bendigo's Town Hall interior with mythical figures and rich gold leaf. Outside, muscular "Atlas" sculptures support the clock's weight. These are fitting fixtures for architect William Vahland's greatest work (1878-86). Guided tours available, contact the Bendigo Visitor Centre.
4. FORMER MECHANICS INSTITUTE & SCHOOL OF MINES AND INDUSTRIES
137 McCrae Street
This 19th century complex has brought wisdom to the masses since 1863. Behind the main entrance (1879) lies one of Bendigo's most charming treasures; an octagonal library with a domed glass ceiling and ornate gas lamp and it still houses its original library collection. It's one of German architect Vahland's most surprising interiors.
5. GOLDEN DRAGON MUSEUM & DAI GUM SAN PRECINCT
1-11 Bridge Street
Remnants of the original Bridge Street Chinatown existed until 1964. In 1991 the Golden Dragon Museum opened in its place to honour the significance of Chinese people on the goldfields. Visit the museum to discover what life was like for them, and to meet the world's longest imperial dragon, Dai Gum Loong.
6. ULUMBARRA THEATRE (FORMER SANDHURST GAOL)
10 Gaol Road
While converting the HM Prison Bendigo (1861-64) into the Ulumbarra (meaning gather together or meeting place in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people) Theatre, workers uncovered a secret underground to believed to transport prisoners. Three people were hanged for murder here between 1885 and 1897 and later, the prison housed notorious criminal Chopper Read. In 2016, Ulumbarra welcomed two ancient Aboriginal scar trees which stand at the forefront of the building. Guided tours available, contact the Bendigo Visitor Centre.
7. CAMP HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL (FORMER CAMP HILL CENTRAL SCHOOL)
Gaol Road
The first school bell rang here in 1877 and since then, generations of locals have been educated at Camp Hill. Its tower was used as a fire lookout before the age of the telephone. At any hint of smoke, a message would be sent to the nearby fire station in View Street.
8. DUDLEY HOUSE
60 View Street
The former District Lands and Survey Office is Bendigo's oldest surviving public building (1858-59). Here, Bendigo's first surveyor, Richard Larritt, imagined the city we see today. Larritt's foresight gave Bendigo its wide malls, gracious parks, private and public spaces. Today, Dudley House is used as an exhibition space for the city's artists.
9. FORMER BENDIGO FIRE STATION
58 View Street
Now home to The Capital's Engine Room theatre, drama has characterised the life of this Queen Anne revival building (1898-99). The William Beebe design is a rare example of a station built following the constitution of the Country Fire Authority. Take a close look and you'll understand how it was used.
10. THE CAPITAL
50 View Street
The former Masonic Hall (1873-74) was saved from threatened demolition in 1990 to become Bendigo's performing arts centre. The main theatre is housed in the former ballroom. Vahland and Getzschmann's Corinthian portico is the most imposing of its kind in Victoria and a fine example of the cultural influences upon to build Bendigo.
11. BENDIGO ART GALLERY
42 View Street
This building shows the importance Bendigo's founders placed on art and culture. In 1890, Vahland restyled the Volunteer Orderly Room (1867) for a gallery. Its facade has changed with each new chapter in the city. The largest regional gallery in Australia, it's one of Australia's oldest and most highly regarded public galleries. warranting stunning modern extension completed in 2014.
12. BENDIGO TRADES HALL
34 View Street
Unionism was strong on the goldfields and the Trades Hall (1896) reflects its important role in agitating for fairer working conditions. It's one of the only surviving purpose-built trades halls in Victoria, the others being in Melbourne and Ballarat.
13. TEMPERANCE HALL
22 View Street
Here stands a hotbed of social ideals. The Bendigo Total Abstinence Society lobbied the government for funds to build the Temperance Hall (1860-96). It became a meeting place for those keen to curb miners' hard drinking habits. Father of Federation, Sir John Quick, and his fellow Australian Native's Association members gathered here when the nations constitution was drafted.
14. SANDHURST TRUSTEES
18 View Street
As the first permanent Post and Telegraph Office (1867) this building was integral in linking the goldfields to the world beyond. It's been the stately home of Sandhurst Trustees since 1891. The building established the high standard of design on View Street. Its 19th century interior of ornate joinery and plasterwork is still intact today.
15. SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL
Corner Wattle & High Streets
This majestic cathedral is one of Australia's largest churches and the second tallest after Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral, standing at 86.6 metres tall. Designed by William Tappin in 1887 and completed in 1977, it is a focal point dominating Bendigo's skyline. Take a look inside, it is beautifully lit as the light shines through the stained and coloured glass, not to mention the impressive grand pipe organ. Did you know the cathedral's bells were only installed and officially rung for the first time in September 2001?
16. CITY FAMILY HOTEL
41 High Street
Vahland and Getzschmann wowed the masses when their City Family Hotel design was complete in 1872. The wedge-shaped corner building was given the same architectural reverence as the Beehive. Can you imagine the ornate double-storey veranda it boasted? This was removed in the 1960s - a time of cultural cringe when many of Bendigo's old gems were demolished.
17. SOLDIERS MEMORIAL HALL
37-39 Pall Mall
Imagine the emotions when the memorial hall (1921) honour roll was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1926. The ceremonies here are still poignant. This nationally-significant hall, largely publically funded, is the work of GD Garvin, one of a handful of early architects. The roof-top band rotunda makes it extra special. The hall is built over the capped Hustlers Royal Reserve Mine - water and gasses still escape into the Bendigo Creek today as a constant reminder of the site's mining past.
18. BEEHIVE STORE & MINING EXCHANGE
18 Pall Mall
The Beehive facade (1871-72) belies its ornate interior. Inside, it's reminiscent of Melbourne's Royal Arcade. That's because they share the same architect, Charles Webb. The store operated from street level, while the two storeys above once housed the busiest stock exchange in the country, with billions of goldmining stocks changing hands here. Today the exchange awaits its next purpose.
19. HOTEL SHAMROCK
Corner Pall Mall & Williamson Street
This opulent hotel has played host to Bendigo's social scene since 1897. Local lad and Vahland student Philip Kennedy was the designer, leaving his mark on the city before heading to Melbourne. Famous faces to lay their hats here include Prince George (later George V), Princess Diana and Prince Charles, Donald Bradman and Dame Nellie Melba.
Location
51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo 3550 Map
