Take a peek behind the scenes and step back in time

NEVER before seen collections at Sovereign Hill are being opened to the public with a series of behind-the-scenes tours this year.

The Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections tours seek to provide people with an opportunity to view the museum’s fashion and textiles collection, Chinese cultural collection, and other rarely seen arteacts.

“The first is our fashion and textiles tour which focuses on costume and textile pieces, and we bring some of the highlights out and participants get to hear some really deep stories about those objects,” said Lauren Bourke, head of collections and curatorial at Sovereign Hill.

“The second is the treasures of the collections tour where we have a really diverse collection with some items of international significance.

“The third tour is the Chinese collections tour and we have one of the richest collections of Chinese cultural collections in the state.”

Items on show include one of the oldest processional dragons in Australia, artworks by First Nations creative Aunty Marlene Gilson and Peter Lalor’s speaker chair.

The tours are conducted in small groups of around 10 people, allowing visitors to see the objects up close.

“Most museums only show around five per cent of their collections at any time and we’ve got such a rich collection that’s based here in Ballarat,” said Ms Bourke.

“We realised that there was an opportunity for us to be able to showcase that in a greater way and bring people on a really special experience.

“You get a really deep, rich and immersive experience and you get up close with an object not behind glass.”

The back of house tours will be on throughout the year and bookings can be made on the Sovereign Hill website.