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Sovereign Hill acknowledges the Wadawurrung people as the Traditional custodians of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to all of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live and work on Wadawurrung Country. We acknowledge their unceded sovereignty over Wadawurrung Country, and the ongoing hardship and trauma as a result of colonisation. The history and continuous culture of the Wadawurrung people is an important part of our shared story.

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Gold Panning

Tuesday to Sunday: 10am – 5pm Monday: Open for pre-booked school groups only (no general admission)Open every day during the Victorian school holidays 20 September - 5 OctoberGold Rush Centre &amp; Rare Trades Centre: Open for pre-booked workshops &amp; tours only

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Join Dr. David Waldron for a spine-chilling exploration of ghostly tales from Victoria’s gold rush era. 
Drawing on his extensive research, Dr. Waldron will uncover how ghost stories emerged as a cultural response to trauma, blending history, folklore, and the eerie tradition of ‘playing the ghost.’ 
From the haunted halls of the Ararat Lunatic Asylum to Ballarat’s spectral legends, discover the strange and supernatural world of 19th-century Australia.
About the Presenter
Dr. David Waldron is an Associate Professor of History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage. He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008), Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013), editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). 
 He is regularly involved in public engagements, festivals, and multi-media displays, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival, and is the co-writer and researcher for the 2019 National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award and 2023 Victorian Community History Award-winning podcast series Tales from Rat City. He is also the winner of 2024’s Jane Hansen Award for History Advocacy from the History Council of Victoria.
About the Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections
Sovereign Hill's <a href="https://www.sovereignhill.com.au/experiences/australian-centre-for-gold-rush-collections/?token=qhV7RvLXPC7ATdisUTo85Ddz5srDQKw-">Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections</a>(Gold Rush Centre for short) is home to an amazing collection that brings together 150,000 objects that tell the stories of this region, and its many diverse people, practices and ideas. 
It’s a place for new ideas and for discovery. Through unique programs and experiences, the Gold Rush Centre presents stories and objects that connect you to our heritage and culture.

ACGRC History Matters Halloween

Delve into a spine-chilling talk of ghostly tales from the gold rush with Dr David Waldron.

Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections

Lecture

Ghosts of the Goldfields: Hauntings, Hoaxes, and Halloween

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Walk through haunted tales of the Victorian gold rush in this immersive ghost tour experience at Sovereign Hill.

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Ghosts of the Goldfields | Victorian Gold Rush

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Ghosts of the Goldfields

Join Dr. David Waldron for a spine-chilling exploration of ghostly tales from Victoria’s goldrush era. Drawing on his extensive research, Dr. Waldron will 
uncover how ghost stories emerged as a cultural response to trauma, blending history, folklore, and the eerie tradition of ‘playing the ghost.’ From the 
haunted halls of the Ararat Lunatic Asylum to Ballarat’s spectral legends, discover the strange and supernatural world of 19th-century Australia.

Dr David Waldron is an Associate Professor of History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is 
the author of “Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival” (Carolina Academic Press 2008), “Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study 
in Local Folklore” (Hidden Press 2010) and “Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore” (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013), 
editor/contributor of “Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore” (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of “Aradale: the 
Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020).  He is regularly involved in public engagements, festivals, and multi-media displays, 
including the Ballarat Heritage Festival, and is the co-writer and researcher for the 2019 National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award and 2023 
Victorian Community History Award-winning podcast series “Tales from Rat City”.  He is also the winner of 2024’s Jane Hansen Award for History 
Advocacy from the History Council of Victoria.

Ghosts of the Goldfields: Hauntings, Hoaxes, and Halloween

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