Full Comprehensive Description :
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Bywong Gold Mining Town is a unique educational experience set on an authentic site, a town which existed from 1895 - 1906. It captures the hardship of our early settlers and effectively demonstrates their ingenuity and courage. The site is popular with school parties during visits to the Canberra region as part of their Australian history or gold mining studies but we welcome visits from other groups of 10 or more participants. The tours are fully guided and booking times between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday - Friday are flexible. Weekend visits are negotiable and bookings for all tours are essential. The site is also available for private functions such as birthday parties, by arrangement.
Time spent at Bywong is as much of a hands-on experience as we can safely make it. Visitors will work in the blacksmith shop, pan for gold, turn the tiny stamp mill [which other children did, to survive at the turn of the century], operate the 'whim', see the machinery that separated gold from the ore out of the mineshafts and visit the mining area, unchanged since the last gold was extracted. They will walk through the 1890's village, viewing it as it was 100 years ago, and wonder how people survived in the makeshift structures that they called home. Topics covered are - social history, geology, mining, bush building techniques and blacksmithing.
Bywong has good picnic facilities in a natural bush setting. Lunch, usually a sausage sizzle, morning and afternoon tea can be catered for with prior notice, but tour groups are invited to provide their own, and local groups usually do so. Tea, coffee and soft drinks will be provided as part of a tour.
School bookings include student/teacher worksheets for a class question and answer session on their experience. Each student receives a miner's 'licence' and all visitors receive a sample from the gold panning exercise to take home with them.
If we are not catering for your visit, please ensure that each visitor has adequate food and water with them. As we are an outdoor venue, hats, sunscreen and mosquito protection are essential, along with appropriate clothing for the Canberra climate. On school tours, the students will probably get dirty so old clothes are best, with some schools dressing in period style for the visit. The town is located in dry eucalyptus forest, and toilet facilities are basic, with watertanks and taps for hand washing. Drinking water is provided from off site.
Bywong Town is located 30 kms north of Canberra City, 5 km from the Federal Highway, making it an ideal location for the first or last stops of coaches approaching from the north. The Gold Town provides the perfect contrast to some of the more formal visits experienced in Canberra.
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