Bendigo and the Chinese Dragon

Bendigo...it turns out...has quite a large Chinese history and population. It is a heritage they are very proud of.

They have a wonderful museum dedicated not only to the history of the Chinese that came to the area but to the men who married European women, had families and whos kin remain in the city.

Each Easter Bendigo celebrates a Chinese Festival with a street parade that has, as the star of its show, a magnificent dragon made in Hong Kong especially for the Chinese community in Bendigo. Between its appearance at the parade it is housed at the Dragon Museum.

The Museum has a $12 entry fee for adults and was well worth the cash. It has a great collection of clothes, furniture, household items, art work, drawings, newspaper articles and photographs depicting the Chinese history in Bendigo. The huge rooms dedicated to housing the furniture are fantastic.

Attached to the museum are the Chinese Gardens and Temple. We burnt some incense and said a prayer.

The museum was a fantastic opportunity for me to learn more about Mark's culture; which to me is very important. It was also great to see mix raced families as ours will be.

Bendigo is rising higher and higher on the list of places I would like to live.

Have a look at the web site:




http://www.goldendragonmuseum.org/