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Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria, Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. It is approximately 131 kilometres (82 mi) from the state capital of Melbourne. With a steadily growing urban population estimated at 88,031 Bendigo is currently the fourth most populous city in Victoria and the state's second largest inland city. The Greater Bendigo municipality includes some nearby towns and is home to around 110,000.Originally known as Bendigo's Valley (Sandhurst was the official designation before a plebiscite in favour of Bendigo settled the matter), the city grew quickly out of the Victorian gold rush and became established as a major provincial hub and minor financial centre, being home to Australia's only provincially headquartered retail bank, the Bendigo Bank, and the Bendigo Stock Exchange (BSX). Bendigo is notable for its Victorian architectural heritage and gold mining history. Residents of Bendigo are called Bendigonians.
Parks and Gardens The central city is skirted by Rosalind Park, a Victorian style garden featuring statuary and a large blue stone viaduct. The main entrance corner of the park is on the intersection known as the Charing Cross, formerly the intersection of two main tram lines (now only one). It features a large statue of Queen Victoria. The Charing Cross road junction features the large ornate Alexandra fountain (1881) and is built on top of a wide bridge which spans the viaduct. The park elevates toward Camp Hill, which features a historic school and former mine poppet head. Further from the city is Lake Weroona, a large ornamental lake, adjacent to the Bendigo Botanical Gardens. Architectural heritageAs a legacy of the gold boom Bendigo has many magnificent ornate buildings built in a late Victorian colonial style, contributing to a picturesque "French" cityscape. Many buildings are on the Victorian Heritage Register and registered by the National Trust of Australia. Prominent buildings include the Bendigo Town Hall (1859, 1883–85), Post Office, Law Courts (1892–96), Shamrock Hotel (1897), Institute of Technology and Memorial Military Museum (1921) all in the Second Empire-style. Architect Vahland, encouraged European artisans to emigrate to the Sandhurst gold fields and so create the Vienna (Wien) of the south. Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral, a large sandstone church, is the third largest cathedral in Australia and one of the largest cathedrals in the Southern Hemisphere. The main building was completed between 1896–1908 and the soaring spire between 1954 and 1977. Fortuna Villa is a large surviving Victorian mansion, built for Christopher Ballerstedt and later owned by George Lansell. Many other examples of Bendigo's classical architecture rank amongst the finest classical commercial buildings in Australia and include the Colonial Bank building (1887) and the former Masonic Hall (1873–74) which is now a performing arts centre. Bendigo's Joss house, a historic temple, was built in the 1860s by Chinese miners and is the only surviving building of its kind in regional Victoria which continues to be used as a place of worship. The historic Bendigo Tram Sheds and Power Station (1903) now house Bendigo's tramway museum. The Queen Elizabeth Oval still retains its ornate 1901 grandstand. Media Bendigo is served by three newspapers: The Advertiser, The Bendigo Miner and the Bendigo Weekly, six locally-based radio stations: (EasyMix Ten71am & 98.3FM) Star FM, 3BO FM, ABC Local Radio, two national radio stations Triple J and ABC Radio National and the community stations Phoenix FM (Central Victoria), The Fresh 895 and KLFM and five television stations: WIN, Prime, Southern Cross Ten, ABC and SBS. Prime and Ten maintain sales offices in the region, but do not produce any local programs.
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