Next day (10 March), we drove from Bendigo to Ballarat which wasn't far - 120km. We stopped en route at Malden which is a lovely well-preserved town from the gold rush days. It has some attractive buildings made from local stone and is very quaint. The remains of the Beehive Mining Company have been preserved as an open air museum which we walked around. 

We carried on to Castlemaine which is a bigger town with a mix of lovely Victorian buildings and modern shops and homes. We visited its Art Gallery and Museum which was open but preparing for an exhibition of some sort so only one gallery was open. That was disappointing but we saw some lovely paintings including works by Tom Roberts, Streeton and McCubbin. Downstairs was the museum with a very interesting display on the history of Castlemaine and surroundings. We also drove to the Burke and Wills Memorial which was erected, by public subscription, to honour the first explorers to cross Australia. They were Burke (from Castlemaine), Wills, Gray and King. All except King died. The memorial sits on the top of a hill overlooking Castlemaine.
 
We arrived mid-afternoon in Ballarat where we stayed with Margaret's niece, Becky, and her husband Matt. We all went out to dinner that evening with Matt's parents, Helen and Tony. We had met the them before at Becky and Matt's wedding in 2014. We had dinner at a pub overlooking Lake Wendouree - a great location and a lovely meal and evening.
 
Next day (11 March), we went to Daylesford which is a spa and "arty" town in the Central Highlands area of Victoria. The surrounding countryside is very pretty with hills and forests. Daylesford is a popular weekend getaway for Melbournians and when we went it was the Labour Day weekend and the "Chill Out Festival" (a Gay Pride event) so the place was heaving! We had lunch in the old Farmers Arms pub which was packed, with live music, and there was a great vibe about the place. After lunch, we walked around the town admiring the old buildings, browsing in the shops and just soaking up the wonderful atmosphere. We then drove up Wombat Hill to the top of the town where they have great views and lovely gardens (Wombat Hill Gardens) with some nice sculptures. Finally, we went to the Convent Gallery which is a beautiful 19th century building on Wombat Hill, so more good views. Unfortunately, we were too late for the gallery. After our good day out, Becky and Matt cooked a delicious dinner for us.

On Sunday 12 March, we went to the annual Begonia Festival which is held each Labour Day weekend at the Lake Wendouree Botanical Gardens. There is a massive greenhouse with a vast array of different types of begonia. Around the greenhouse, there were many stalls selling food, arts and crafts. The gardens include the Prime Ministers Walk with busts of each of Australia's Prime Ministers, up to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. They also house a Tram Museum, a fish hatchery, lots of statuary and a memorial to Australian prisoners of war. There was a Scottish influence around with a bust of Robert Clark from Dumfermline (who founded the local paper and after whom the greenhouse is named) and a statue of William Wallace donated by James Russell Thomson, a miner from Stirling in Scotland. After wandering around the festival, we strolled around the lake looking at the wildlife. Our day ended with a barbeque at Matt's parents' house where we renewed our acquaintance with Helen and Tony's friends, Tim and Nola, whom we'd met at Becky and Matt's wedding.

On our last day in Ballarat, Becky and Matt took us on a walking tour around the old part of town which was built in the gold rush area. Like Bendigo and other goldfield towns, Ballarat is very attractive with wide streets and beautiful Victorian buildings. St Patrick's Cathedral is festooned with ribbons which people have attached to the railings in support of the many child abuse victims in Ballarat and elsewhere. We went into the Cathedral which, whilst small by European standards, is an impressive building to find in Australia. We also poked our noses inside a couple of other buildings, including the Miners' Exchange where they were holding a craft exhibition! Becky and Matt left us at the Art Gallery, another lovely building with an impressive collection of Australian and European art from the 1800s to today. Established in 1884, it's the oldest provincial gallery in Australia. We saw works by Arthur Boyd, Tom Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin, Nolan, Drysdale, the Lindsays (a small gallery dedicated to them) and others. In the European gallery, they had a Raeburn and a sculpture by Henry Moore.  
 
That was the end of a very pleasant weekend in Ballarat. Becky and Matt, and Matt's parents, were excellent hosts and made us very welcome. We then drove the 120 km to Melbourne and, after a few wrong turns, found our home for the next week. We're staying in the Quest Apartments in William Street in central Melbourne. The apartment is great and we seem to be in a good location for sightseeing.