Sovereign Hill is an open-air museum located in an area famous for gold mining in the 1850s. Visitors can explore exhibits brought to life by performers in costume and enter shops, hotels, a theatre, schools, factories, a gold museum, and underground mines.
Sovereign Hill is a 90-minute drive from Melbourne, Australia.
Visit the popular, family-run Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria and get up close with a wide variety of native Aussie and exotic animals! There are few friendlier or more personal wildlife attractions in Australia than this facility where you can come face-to-face with a wide assortment of creatures including kangaroos, koalas, wombats, crocodiles and more all located in pleasant, green surroundings. A wonderful place to visit for families or for first-time visitors to Australia, with tickets to Ballarat Wildlife Park you'll get a true Aussie adventure that incorporates a range of live shows where you'll gain further insight into various species.
Established in 1851 & largely constructed from 1858 - 64, Pentridge is the largest prison complex built in Victoria in the 19th century. Until its closure in 1996, Pentridge was Victoria’s central prison & the most well-known and used gaol in the State’s history. Most of Victoria’s convicted & notorious criminals were jailed there between 1900 and the 1990s.
The aesthetic significance of the 19th century prison buildings at Pentridge derives from their monumental scale & austere Classical style, expressive of the requirements of containment and order and typical of prison buildings in the 1850’s & 1860’s. It also derives from the use of ashlar bluestone, much of it quarried on site.
Visitors can explore the former prison’s B Division and the notorious H Division.
This is a place that challenges & confronts, deeply connected to the social & cultural fabric of Australia. The stories within this journey are deep, unique, & expose the intricacies of prison punishment.