I am back again for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge so have made the commitment to blog every day in April except the Sundays. Some bloggers choose a Theme, and others do random posts. For me, a theme works better, so the theme  I’ve chosen for 2016 Bendigo.  I live just outside Bendigo and have been in this area for only 9 years, so feel I still have ‘visitors eyes’.

B is for beautiful Bendigo, the city I moved to 9 years ago, and have loved ever since.  Bendigo is a large provincial city, with a population of about 82,000, which in recent years, has been growing quickly.

Historically, Bendigo was one of the most significant cities in Australia, due to the discovery of gold in the 1850s. With the gold rush, people came to Bendigo from all over the world, looking for their fortune. At that time Bendigo was called Sandhurst and was the highest producing goldfield in Australia.

Today Bendigo is the largest financial centre outside of Melbourne. This is due to the Bendigo Bank having it’s head office in Bendigo. This is the only bank with it’s head office outside of a capital city.

Visit Bendigo today, and you will find a large, vibrant, modern city which also remembers it’s past. The architecture of the 19th century can still be seen, as many of it’s historic buildings are still standing. The trams that serviced Bendigo during the early days, are now tourist trams, taking visitors to significant sights around town.

Bendigo in the 21st century is a mixture of the old and the new.   Large modern buildings sit along side those which were build in the 19th century. In my opinion, that is part of it’s charm.