Gorey Things is the personal website of Michael Gorey, a writer based in Ballarat in regional Victoria, Australia. Michael writes about Australian history, politics and opinion, travel, books, food, technology and life in regional Australia. Articles cover topics including colonial history, genealogy, sport, culture and current affairs. Whether you are interested in the gold rush era, Victorian-era figures, walks and hiking trails, or simply curious opinions on life, cuisine and the world, there is something here for you.
Trentham is a small town in the Victorian Central Highlands, famous for its waterfall, cold weather and country charm. It's located at an altitude of 700 metres (2297 feet), and it's only 87km from Melbourne. It was a one-hour and 71km drive for me today from Ballarat on sadly pot-holed roads, via Daylesford. ...
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Soaking winter rain used to happen almost every year in southern Victoria during late August and early spring, but has become less frequent over the last 40 years. I'm near...
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Visiting Sovereign Hill at Ballarat for the first time in 50 years was a worthwhile experience, complete with the drama of Lola Montez horse whipping the editor of the Balla...
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I was disappointed to hear the news that HSBC is quitting Australia after offloading its loan portfolio, leaving retail customers needing to find a new bank. I've been with...
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I'm descended from the Burgdorf family in Germany and 700 years ago we had our own castle in the Harz Mountains . Historian Georg Bode wrote about this . He described the...
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Walking along Pleasant Street South in Ballarat towards my local supermarket, I came across a horse trough on a nature strip outside an ordinary house. I paused to read ...
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I've just bought a refurbished Dell XPS 15-9530 laptop, built in 2023, and it has double the memory of the 2019 Asus Zenbook, which I've been using for the past few years....
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Today I spoke with Mark Robinson on Gold Central Victoria radio about what's happening in the Central Goldfields Shire, filling in for the Council CEO. I've always enjoyed ...
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Nimmons Bridge at Newtown was built in 1889 for trains to traverse a creek on the Ballarat to Skipton railway line. It was Victoria's fourth-largest timber trestle bridge w...
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