The girls attended a most successful camp in Week 2. They enjoyed a four day visit to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat and stayed on a property called Narmbool. Here, they experienced first-hand the lifestyle of youngsters living in an 1850’s goldfields location. The girls role-play the lives of such youngsters and learn to appreciate the social norms of that era. The girls also experienced two days of outdoor activities including a long hike of about 10km! See below some comments from our girls.
Blood on the Southern Cross
As the introduction came to an end, the screens opened and the cool night breeze flooded through the auditorium. When we stepped outside in the vast darkness, the Light and Sound show came to life. The unknown voices shared their story with us as we watched and listened intently at the Goldfields. Then we scurried to board the modern trams which took us to the outskirts of Sovereign Hill for the rest of the show. From there we entered a remarkable theatre where the screen opened to reveal the outdoors! We then watched the lead up and the battle of the Eureka Stockade which was an extremely gripping and tense representation of the rebellion. The loud gun shots came to an abrupt end and we trod back onto the chilled seats of the tram, the events still reeling in our heads. Natasha and Rachel
Cabins and Quiet Time
The cabins at Narmbool were great quality and they were very welcoming and had a home like feeling. I loved it when we snuggled in to our warm comfy beds at night feeling safe. We all felt warm and at home at Narmbool. Personal time was a good way to unwind and calm down. It was also a great way to spend time with our fantastic friends. The amazing view from the cabins was outstanding and beautiful. When we woke up in the morning the sun shone through our curtains on to the fuzzy carpet and we could hear the Banjo frog croaking and calling its friends. We had an amazingly, fantastic time in the cabins and in front of the fire in the lounge room at Narmbool. Maya and Ciana
Dressing up
As we slipped into our dresses we started to really feel in role. Ma’am got us to wear long, white pantalets, a cotton dress, a blue apron, a wide brimmed straw hat and a heavy woollen cape. The dresses were old and ragged and some of them had patches and rips. We got to walk around the main street and a lot of people asked to take our photo. When we were dressed up we felt like we were in the 1850s and we were really poor and lived on the Goldfields. We felt like we were a child actually going to school back then in 1850s. Alana and Brooke
The Doctor Pays a Visit
Cow poo on your chest to cure a cough? What an absurd idea! It’s Tuesday and The Doctor has arrived to fix all of our ‘problems.’ So far, Brooke has to go on a trek to find mouldy apples under a tree and bring them back for Natasha and Ruby’s eyesight. It is ‘supposed’ to cure their eyesight problems. She also has to bring back some cow poo to put on Zara and Natasha’s chests to fix their raspy coughs. When The Doctor gets to Niah’s fidgeting problem, he thinks that it may be caused by lice and so the result of that is all the Year 3’s and 4’s have to have their hair shaved off to rid themselves of any traces of lice! It was a hilarious lesson and I think that everyone enjoyed it. Saskia and Ella.
Hiking
The morning was cold and fresh as we set off for the hike, all bundled up and excited about what was to come. As soon as we got to the wet paddock it started to drizzle steadily. We pulled on our coats and slushed through the mud. By now our shoes and socks were wet through and as we got further and further into the hike our legs started to get really sore and we felt like we could go to sleep, but we kept trudging through the rain regardless.
We approached the wedge tailed eagles nest. We were really excited and desperate to see the eagle as it sounded wonderful. We could hear lots of sheep and we saw them run across the paddock. Once we had left the nest we were hyped up to keep moving as we wanted to see everything else.
Next we got to Bowers property and we were wondering about what had happened there in the pioneer days, where everything was placed and what the family was like. It was all silent except for the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. As we clambered up the hill towards the sacred aboriginal site the cold air was brushing against our faces and the sun was starting to come out. We touched the silcrete rocks that were believed to be created by Bunjil. It was a special moment. Zara and Gevie
Testing Water Quality
I was the first in our group to collect a water sample. I gently threw out the net and I saw a dark shape in the murky water! I jerked my net to towards it to capture the dark shape. Yes I caught it! Yuck it was a dead frog! Disgusted, I threw the corpse back into the water. I decided to go to the reeds to try my luck there. Unfortunately I caught a spider.
I took our bucket and net and I ran up to the science room, (mainly because it was raining) to identify what I had caught. As I rummaged through the murky water I saw a bright glowing red dot racing through the gunk. I took the plastic spoon and the ice tray and tried to corner the bright red dot. Wow! It was fast! I scooped once more. Yes, yes! I had caught it! Again I saw something that looked like a black dot that could swim really fast. I had a lot more trouble trying to catch this one! But eventually I had got it into the ice tray.
The next stage was to make a presentation on your chosen bug, so our guide could hold it under the microscope. Our team decided to choose the black dot that we identified as a water mite. I researched what there was to know and our team found it was sensitive, this means the pond’s water was in good condition. Everyone’s bugs were interesting. We both loved this activity! Emmy, Niah and Charlotte
Sovereign Hill School
Ma’am stopped us outside one of the little cottages and asked Miss Ava to go and pick some flowers with her. They came back with some Lavender and then it was off to school. At school we started writing on slate boards. When it was time for play Miss Chelsea and Miss Rachel carried out a crate of very simple toys, skipping ropes, quoits, cups and balls. We played quite happily and it was fun. We lined up to come back inside when Ma’am rang the bell. We did some reading and some writing with ink and then before we knew it was time for lunch. We made sure we were back on time as nobody wanted to get the cane! Ruby, Chelsea and Mayunie
The Barn Owl came out of its cage with the most beautiful white and grey feathers. The Barn Owl was the first to come out of its cage because it was so impatiently hungry. She gave Martin almost no time to introduce himself. The Barn Owl started with feeding right away. Her practice was to fly to a pole and come back to him to get food. For a reward at the end he got given half a mouse! Then the Barn Owl got put back and out came the little shy Boo Book Owl! It was smaller than the Barn Owl and it had a very angry look on its face like all Boo Book Owl’s call is basically the sound of its name; it sounds like boo book. When Martin put it back he let us feel the barn owl feathers. They felt like a cloud and were extremely soft. It was a great experience to learn about owls and overall it was amazing. Jade and Ava
