THE GOLDEN TRAIL - ROBE TO BENDIGO

'Our world has become too fast. Walking is a remedy.'

Wouldn't it be great to have a really well-established long distance trail in Australia where you could retrace important footsteps from our history, enjoy the landscape and walk for about a month without having to carry camping gear?

 A sort of pilgrimage without the shrine?

In 2004 some friends in Bendigo were discussing the benefits of long-distance walking 'pilgrimage style', and wondering how this could be replicated in a uniquely Australian way. Because of its interesting history, the path from Robe, a tiny fishing village on the Limestone Coast south-east of Adelaide , to Bendigo was an obvious choice for a permanent, supported walking trail of this kind. In 2001, this route was undertaken as a commemorative walk by a group of Bendigo walkers, who completed it in just 15 days with the help of a full back-up team.

During the gold rush in the 1850s, over 16,000 Chinese men and one woman were put ashore in South Australia in order to avoid the landing-taxes of the Victorian government - a tax that was levied only on the Chinese. From Robe, where up to 3,000 Chinese were camped at a time, history records that they then walked in single file to the Victorian goldfields, including Bendigo . Evidence of their presence is widespread in names like Chinaman's Wells and Canton Lead, and what is now Ararat was actually discovered by the Chinese. Today Ararat enjoys strong business and cultural connections with China and is justly proud of its magnificent Gum San Chinese Heritage Museum. This historical background gives the route the strong sense of 'walking in the footsteps of others' that is so important to the trail's identity.

The group of friends then formed a committee to develop The Golden Trail - a month-long journey (if on foot, and less if cycling or horse-riding) which will be made possible by the provision of roofed accommodation all along the way, eventually eliminating the need to carry tents and other camping equipment. By providing some sort of shelter at regular intervals between townships where there is none at the moment, average daily walking distances will be kept to 15-25kms. This will open up the possibility of long distance walking and cycling to many more people than are currently able to enjoy this experience. Of course, people who prefer to camp will be welcome to do so, if they wish.

The whole distance of just over 500 kilometres should take about a month to walk, but it could be done in shorter sections, or over an extended timeframe. The South Australian section from Robe to Penola passes through flat, sandy country, criss-crossed with an elaborate system of drains that were built to make the land viable. Once into Victoria, it passes through the rolling pastoral countryside of the Western District. At Dunkeld, the majesty of Gariwerd (the Grampians) may tempt many people to make a detour. From there, the route swings north-east towards Ararat, up the eastern flank of the Mt William Range, entering the Box and Ironbark eucalypt forests en route to Avoca, before passing through Maryborough and on to Maldon and Castlemaine. From Castlemaine it is proposed to turn north and follow the well-established Great Dividing Trail into Bendigo .

It is not intended to operate The Golden Trail as a program of scheduled group walks, although of course groups may participate if they wish. It will simply be a permanent trail for use by anyone, at any time, that will eventually be supported along its entire length by an accommodation infrastructure. Cyclists and horse-riders will be welcome, but it will not be designed for those using any mechanised means of transport.

Experience both in Australia (the Bibbulmun Track in WA) and overseas (the Camino de Santiago in Spain ) indicates that well-established long distance walking tracks provide the communities through which they pass with a strong sense of identity, of being a link in the chain. It is intended that The Golden Trail will be very much a community-based operation rather than some sort of 'franchise' imposed from above, and it will bring increasing numbers of visitors to places they might otherwise never see. A 'bottom-up' approach to building the trail is intended to foster each community's sense of ownership of 'their' section of it, which in turn will all assist with trail maintenance and supervision to reduce vandalism. The committee has been working hard at encouraging local communities to appreciate the benefits of being a part of this historical linkage and has been really encouraged to hear universally positive responses.

There are undoubted economic benefits from increased visitor traffic - the Bibbulmun Track brought $20 million into the towns along the trail in 2004 - and the cultural and social benefits are also significant

 What makes The Golden Trail unique?

•  Unlike most bushwalking trails with their emphasis on getting away from civilisation, this trail intends to pass through and link the towns on its way. This is for two reasons: an important part of any journey is the opportunity to meet the people of the countryside through which you are passing, and in a practical sense, the traveller is sustained for the longer haul by the facilities offered at these stopping-places. •  The Golden Trail will provide the communities through which it passes with a close connection to the other points along the route. This will open up many opportunities for inter-town and inter-shire co-operation, a shared sense of identity and an appreciation of the unique history of the Chinese miners who walked to the goldfields. •  At the same time, this journey can help us to understand something about the lives of early settlers in the region, as well as the country's original inhabitants. •  The Golden Trail will encourage wider participation rates for long-distance walking and cycling by linking in with existing accommodation and by providing basic accommodation at manageable intervals along the way. •  Eventually The Golden Trail and the towns all along it will become synonymous with each other.

  The story so far?

During 2005, the Robe to Bendigo Golden Trail website was set up - www.thegoldentrail.com - and a detailed full-colour brochure was produced for distribution to interested communities and individuals along the route. Copies of this brochure were included in a mass mail-out to local Councils, service clubs, Visitor Information Centres and recreational organisations in all the towns involved, both in South Australia and Victoria .

The proposed route includes the following towns:

•  Robe
•  Penola
•  Casterton
•  Coleraine
•  Dunkeld
•  Ararat
•  Avoca
•  Maryborough
•  Maldon
•  Castlemaine
•  Bendigo

La Trobe University Bendigo has provided strong support for the project, including a full set of laminated topographical maps of the whole route. These are already being used to explore ways of keeping the trail off the main roads as much as possible, whilst still taking a reasonably direct route. Unfortunately, the most direct route is usually the one taken by the highway, but this is something we are hoping to avoid, for both aesthetic and safety reasons. We are asking local communities for advice on historic, social, cultural and environmental sites of significance.

Work has begun on designing simple camping-style shelters to be built where there are no existing possibilities for accommodation. These will vary from site to site, but will generally be simple and three-sided, with a water tank and even a fireplace. The Committee is currently working on these designs in conjunction with a local service club, who will provide the labour once funding has been obtained for construction materials. This is the sort of community collaboration that we hope will spring up along the way as local communities begin to see the benefits of being identified as a part of something bigger than themselves - a piece of Australia's history.

Still under discussion are plans for how the trail will be waymarked, using specially designed signs bearing the Chinese symbol for 'gold':

This symbol will become the hallmark of The Golden Trail, to be used on all literature and signage. As soon as a significant part of the trail is established, a guidebook will be produced to supplement the website and include route information about terrain, accommodation and services, and some local history. Visitor Information Centres will have an important role to play in supporting these travellers, as they will be able to provide the most up-to-date local information about the available facilities, including perhaps the possibility of lodging with local families. There is the potential for local innovation and enthusiasm to create a unique welcome for weary travellers at any stage of this journey.

Most of the land managers on the trails route will be Councils and delegations from the Committee have been invited to make presentations to both the Robe Tourism & Traders Association and the Ararat Rural City Council, as well as maintaining ongoing contact with the City of Greater Bendigo Council . These three organisations form a strong basis from which to develop further municipal co-operation. We have visited many of the Visitor Information Centres en route to discuss the project and leave brochures, and we are in the process of making contact with many local small business operators and service providers.

As this is such a huge undertaking, some sections of the Trail are bound to be ready for use before others. It will depend largely on the level of community engagement that develops - it is vital that towns on The Golden Trail become involved in promoting themselves and their history, as well as providing food, shelter and transport links for people starting and finishing their Trail at various points along the way. Linking in with existing trails and staging special events such as bike rides and group walks are all possibilities - keep checking the website for details.

The 17 th January 2007 marks the 150 th anniversary of the landing of the first Chinese gold-seekers at Robe on the curiously-named British ship, The Land of Cakes . The Robe Tourism & Traders Association is planning some festivities to celebrate this anniversary and a number of committee members and their friends intend to walk or cycle the first few kilometres of the route to commemorate the occasion.

A community update containing all the latest project developments is emailed several times a year to everyone who has expressed an interest in, or been involved with, establishing the trail. Anyone interested in receiving this information should contact the Committee via the website - www.thegoldentrail.com

A huge project such as this will be a work in progress for many years to come as it evolves at the local level. The shared sense of identity that exists, for example, on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain , has been developing since the 9 th century, which is what makes the experience of following it so much more than just a long walk. People have been flowing along the length of the Camino for so long now that its presence is deeply etched into the life of every place through which it passes.

In our first two years we feel we have come a long way, even though at times it has been a deeply frustrating process. We realise that we are aiming to build more than just a long-distance walk and cycle trail. We want to build something that also offers opportunities to make inner journeys that parallel the external ones. As such, our progress has tended to develop in a rather haphazard, organic way, and not along the strictly procedural lines of grant applications and sub-committee activities, important as these both are. This organic development probably has as much to do with the nature of the project as the busy lives of the committee members involved.

So what have we learned so far? First and foremost, to follow up on everything as promptly as possible, so that promises of support (whether financial or other forms of commitment) are clarified and documented for future reference. And secondly, that we are probably getting to the stage of needing a Project Officer to undertake the enormous amount of leg-work involved in enlisting community support over such a large geographical area. This will mean moving towards a greater degree of professionalism, whilst trying not to lose the vital personal spark of the original dream.

Some of the different routes walked by the Chinese from South Australia to the Victorian goldfields. Map taken from 'The Walk from Robe' published by the Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo .



Robe's Customs House overlooks Guichen Bay , where the passengers were brought in from the sailing ships. It was not built until 1863 at the end of Chinese immigration, but was used as the clearing point for many Chinese arriving in the port. The building fell into disrepair and has been restored by the National Trust.