The Ned Kelly Vault In Beechworth

Ahh, Ned Kelly, the perfect outlaw rebel hero. Irish in descent, poor, scratching out a living, busted on suspect horse stealing charges, over bearing mother who may have killed a police constable with a shovel to the face, a flunkie brother and friends who were perfect for gang formation, and an epic shootout that included bizarre, homemade armor. No wonder Mick Jagger and Heath Ledger have taken turns playing him.

In Beechworth, they've turned the old gold storage treasury vault into a museum, shrine to Kelly. He didn't rob the place, the vault seemed to be a convenient building to house a bunch of artifacts.

The vault, nestled among a handful of Beechworth's historic buildings.

Faces of crime.  Murdering momma Ellen Kelly and Ned's death mask.

One of Ned's rifles.

Just a tiny example of the Ned Kelly true pulp media machine. Reward notice, about $1 million in 2020 US dollars.

Ahh, the gang's armor. Supposedly inspired by ancient Chinese armor, the suits were made from plow parts. While successful in repelling bullets, the armor was heavy - about 100 pounds and damage through spaces proved fatal to the gang. A for effort (and armor)!

The Old Beechworth Courthouse

The Beechworth courthouse lasted a long time - built 1858, retired 1989. The building's highlights would definitely be the proceedings involving the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly and his mother, Ellen.

The exterior, the classic stone look for a small town in Australia.

High and low areas of the courthouse. Judges chambers (they get to wear the Santa outfit) and the prisoner waiting room.

The courtroom.

Sobering shackle reminder and the law library.

A look at the leather-clad, colorful books in the library, judicial history on the shelves.

Around Old Beechworth

As gold rush era towns in Victoria, Australia go, Beechworth is one of the better preserved ones. Main street is quaint, historic municipal buildings have been saved, even the cemetery has a nice patina. Let's stroll the town.

One of the central, commercial streets, ripe for a Western movie.

Old architecture details. Elaborate iron work, a clock tower and fancy brickwork.

Houses just off the commercial core of Beechworth have been preserved, looking a little like a tiny New Orleans style Garden District.

On the town's edge is an old powder magazine. It was used for storing volatile gunpowder, needed in the nearby goldfields for blasting rock. Chinese burning towers in the cemetery. They were built in 1857 and are still used for the burning of paper offerings.

Back in town, the perfect set dressing of an antique auto in front of an old house.

Around Historic Bendigo

Bendigo is one of the prettier, more preserved cities in Victoria, Australia. The gold rush of the 1850s meant plenty of impressive development around that time and many of those buildings are still looking good.

The Camp Hill school.

The old post office, now a tourism center. Old gallery inside the art museum.

A poppet head mining tower, now a viewing platform in Rosalind park.

Fun sculptures added for variety. A giant, unfurling flower and a major rabbit.

Rosalind Conservatory greenhouse, built in 1897.

Golden Dragon Museum And Yi Yuan Gardens

Bendigo has a big Chinese population and a proud cultural history related to them. The Chinese came en masse to Bendigo during the gold rush in the 1850s, stayed and raised families. The museum and garden celebrates their history.

An elaborate pagoda in the beautiful garden.

Another look at the architecture and flora in the garden. A typical home tea service.

A wax figure of Dr Sun Yat-sen.

The wax hand of Dr Sun Yat-sen. A little creepy. Chinese laborer.

The main hall features an elaborate, almost endless parade dragon.

Reinventing The Bendigo Gaol

The city of Bendigo did a nice job re-using and reclaiming its old gaol (jail). In need of a cultural center theater and with the gaol on a prime piece of center city property, the easy decision was just to demolish the gaol and let its history literally turn to dust.

Wait! Save the goal and incorporate it into the new theater! Bravo.

The grand entrance, the prison wall opened up, the old gaol the main entrance.

The preserved wing. One of the solitary cells, not a bathroom option.

Gaol central atrium. Only two cell wings were ever constructed.

New meets old as the modern building meets the old, stone gaol building. The heavy patina on the cell doors.

Another section of the exterior wall, watch towers still looming.

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion

It's the business of Buddha outside Bendigo, Australia. Lama Thubten Yeshe had a vision for a grand stupa and so, it is being built. It's modeled after the Great Stupa of Gyantse in Tibet.

Head away from Bendigo city center, out into the scrub, and you'll come upon this big presence.

Inside, the main treasure, a giant, jade sitting Buddha, ready for final placement on the center altar. It's going to take a crane.

A makeshift altar amid the construction.

Back outside, always room for some animals. Buddha loves elephants and you gotta have a kangaroo in Australia.

Although the exterior of the stupa still needs its final decoration, prayer wheels have been attached, temporarily. A little holiness into the infinity.

Victoria Hill Mining Preserve

The Australian town of Bendigo has turned an old mining area into a nice park, preserving both some hard history with a soft green space.

The entrance to the Victoria Mining Preserve. The walls contain old artifacts and new mosaics, a little art and history.

A path through one of the many cuts and a building remnant.

Life after the digging, nature makes a breakthrough.

More discards and scars, an old tank and tailings mounds.

The iconic mining image, a poppet head. The contraption sits on top of a mining shaft, hoisting everything up and down. At the preserve, it's now a viewing platform.