Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre
Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre tells the story of the Chinese miners and their arduous journey from Southern China to Australia where they dreamed of finding gold and discovered one of the world's richest shallow alluvial goldfields, the Canton Lead.
Relive their great trek on foot from Robe in South Australia to the goldfields upon which Ararat now stands and learn how life was for these resilient explorers in a strange land.
The dramatic two-storey building with its authentic Chinese tiled roof houses a fascinating selection of interactive displays and fun and interest for people of all ages.
Dress in Chinese costume, fossick for gold, see the tea house or Fancy Goods Store that is a feast for your eyes. Learn about Chinese herbs and Chinese language.
See the wonderful textiles, embroideries and relics of this rich culture. Discover the fun and delight of gold panning, try your hand at calligraphy, learn about the Chinese language and play traditional Chinese games.
See the original Canton Lead Mine tunnel uncovered during the construction of the Centre; and learn about the birth place of Ararat.
Did you know that Ararat is the only city in Australia founded by the Chinese?
Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre
The dramatic two-storied Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre, with its authentic Chinese tiled roof, houses a fascinating selection of interactive audio-visual and static displays in English and Mandarin. It tells the story of the amazing alluvial gold discovery at Ararat by prospectors from Southern China. Discover
the fun and delight of gold panning, try your hand at calligraphy, learn about the Chinese language and play traditional Chinese games. See the wonderful textiles, embroideries and relics of this rich culture. A truly interactive experience for visitors of all ages.
Ararat, Victoria
Ararat is a major regional centre in the western districts of Victoria, near the Wimmera, and not far from the Grampians National Park. It is about 200 km from Melbourne by road. Ararat sometimes claims to be the only town/major settlement in Australia founded by Chinese, and indeed in 1857 Chinese miners discovered the 'Canton lead', the richest single alluvial gold deposit ever discovered in Australia. Following this a large settlement sprung up at Ararat, so named after nearby Mount Ararat.
The video includes the main street, Barkly Street, the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre which commemorates the town's Chinese heritage, and the Ararat Cemetery. Ararat has an old gaol and former lunatic asylum, and several locations are reputedly haunted.
QinMing Day Ararat April 2013
Qingming Day 2013 celebrated at Ararat cemetery by the Friends of Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre Ararat
Ararat, the Australian Town founded by Chinese! Pt.1
This was a project I did for the ABC (Australian National Broadcaster) in 2004. It was done in flash format as bandwidth couldn't handle video back then. This is the first of a four part series that follows the fortunes of the country town of my birth. As flash is about to become obsolete, I decided to convert it to a movie format, to save it as a historical archive.
Ararat is not much different from a hundred other small country towns you may pass through to get from one place to another. Next time you stop over for a break, spare a thought for Ararat's rich history.
Ararat got it's name when the rather poetic explorer Horatio Wills proclaimed to his travel party, on choosing a nearby mountain on which to camp, We will call it Mount Ararat, for like the Ark we rested here
It wasn't until the chance finding of gold, by 700 traveling Chinese, some 17 years later in 1857, that the township of Ararat was born. People from all over Australia, and for that matter the world, rushed to the local area in the hope of making their fortune. Many, like my own Irish ancestors stayed on to become farmers long after golden dreams ran dry.
So stay a while, grab a drink and watch the movie, and learn a little about my Town .
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Ararat Australia September-2009
Ararat Rural City of Orchids
Information Centre adjacent to Train Station
Attractions :
J-Ward for the criminally insane
Regional Art Gallery
Ararat Railway Museum
Orchid display in Glasshouse
Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre
Langi Morgala Museum
Ararat, Victoria and Region, Australian Travel Video Guide
Learn about what tourism activities one can do around the Ararat Region.
More info on Ararat -
All the people featured in this video, including hosts Jarrod and Karina live in the region.
Featured in this video are: The Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre, Jward, Lake Bolac Eel Festival, Neil Murray, Grampians Lavender Patch, Vines Cafe, Langi Ghiran Winery, Jillian Wines, Blaze Rock Retreat, Moyston Tom Wills Monument, Chalambar Golf Club and Grampians Soaring Club.
Thank you to David Nicholson for providing footage of the Lake Bolac Eel Festival.
Ararat and Region, Australian Travel Video Guide
Learn about what tourism activities one can do around the Ararat Region.
To learn more about Ararat -
All the people featured in this video, including hosts Jarrod and Karina live in the region.
Featured in this video are: The Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre, Jward, Lake Bolac Eel Festival, Neil Murray, Grampians Lavender Patch, Vines Cafe, Langi Ghiran Winery, Jillian Wines, Blaze Rock Retreat, Moyston Tom Wills Monument, Chalambar Golf Club and Grampians Soaring Club.
Thank you to David Nicholson for providing footage of the Lake Bolac Eel Festival.
Chalambar Motel - Ararat Hotels, Australia
Chalambar Motel 3 Stars Hotel in Ararat ,Australia Within US Travel Directory One of our bestsellers in Ararat! Free Wi-Fi and satellite TV are on offer at the Chalambar Motel, offering fully renovated accommodation in Ararat, gateway to the Grampians National Park.
Flat-screen TVs and electric blankets are provided.
Each room at Motel Chalambar includes double-glazed windows, heating, air conditioning and en suite bathroom with hairdryer.
All have a refrigerator, microwave, toaster and coffee/tea making facilities.
Free car parking is included.
Guests have free access to washing machine and clothes dryer.
BBQ facilities with outdoor seating are located in the spacious grounds.
Chalambar Motel is a 2-minute drive from Ararat town centre and a 5-minute drive from the Ararat Regional Art Gallery.
Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre is a 15-minute walk away.
Chalambar MotelArarat Hotels, Australia
Location in : 132 Lambert Street ,au 3377, Ararat, Australia
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Chinese and Turkish on Ararat
Escape to Ararat with V/Line
Ararat offers a wealth of historical sites and buildings that tell many fascinating stories of the area's gold rush and immigration heritage.
For a fascinating insight into the lives of the Chinese settlers during this bustling era, visit the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre.
Other places of historical interest include the Langi Morgala Museum, where you can learn more about Ararat's pre-colonial Aboriginal history through to the lives of early settlers, and J Ward -- a chilling bluestone jail that was home to Victoria's criminally insane from 1859 to 1991.
J Ward
J Ward was a gaol from 1861 to 1886. It was built to serve the district during the Gold Rush period. In 1887, the old gaol was handed over to the Lunacy Department and housed the ‘criminally insane’ from the Victorian Prison System until 1991 when it was closed.
Tours of the J Ward Museum run for times daily, with extra times on Sundays and public holidays. Ghost tours run on Saturday evenings and special group tours can be arranged. Please visit the website or contact the number provided for specific times.
Relive its past by taking a guided tour conducted by the Friends of J Ward volunteers. These people are passionate about J Ward's heritage. J Ward is not just dry history. The volunteers tell its story of people who lived, who broke the law, who could not help themselves, who feared and who died.
Discover the East of the Grampians
The eastern side of the Grampians has something to satisfy everyone, from adventure seekers to history buffs, and those who like to kick back and relax. Revisit the gold rush from a different perspective in Ararat, distinctive for being the only town in Australia to be founded by Chinese miners.
Aradale Ghost Tours
Aradale Ghost Tour takes you to Australia's largest abandoned lunatic asylum. Opened in 1867 as Ararat Lunatic Asylum, this building housed tens of thousands of people described as lunatics, idiots and imbeciles, some of them described as the worst lunatics in the British Empire.
The tour travels through the most intact cell blocks in Australia, administration, chapel, kitchen, infirmaries, surgery theatres and morgue. Tours last up to two hours, please contact for more information or view the website.
Ararat, Victoria ~ the comeback kid!
youtube travel videos
Mark Shea returned to Ararat after living away for fifteen years and was amazed at the turnaround in the Town after the crushing blow of industry shutdown.
Through community spirit the Town has managed to find new ways to continue and thrive.
Tourism and Training are two initiatives that have helped put the Township back on its feet.
When a town loses its main employment source, change for the better doesn't occur overnight. There must be a belief in the town's people that, step by step, things will improve. And no better example of this can be seen in the work of the Ararat Regional Development Board. The original Board was made up of twelve business leaders from fields as diverse as manufacturing to agriculture. Its work was instrumental in getting Ararat back on its feet after the staggering blow of industry shutdown. The Board worked tirelessly behind the scenes to awaken Ararat from its punch drunk state. Some of the members have mentioned an amazing synergy in the group. In times of trouble leaders must step forward, and the Board, shoulder to shoulder, took on the challenge to lift Ararat out of the doldrums. Some people are ahead of their time, their ideas even grander than the ideas of their own governments. Don Reynolds had a dream to establish strong ties with China and to build a museum celebrating the unique fact that Ararat was founded by Chinese gold prospectors. China, the sleeping giant, is awakening, its people starting to experience prosperity. Slowly, slowly, like the trickling stream where gold was first found in Ararat, Chinese visitors are starting to arrive. In twenty years, Don Reynolds may well be viewed as a visionary. The most astounding story of Ararat's turnaround comes from within the Community itself. When word was put out that JWard, the old bluestone Gaol and former Institute for the Criminally Insane could be bulldozed, the townspeople joined together to protect their history. A group of volunteers decided to try opening JWard to the public as a tourist attraction in the hope of saving it. Success was theirs, and to this day JWard is still run by volunteers and is one of the State's premier tourist attractions.
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Pyrenees Caravan Park - Ararat Victoria
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