If you’re planning on spending some leisure time at Lake Wendouree this weekend, you might spot the recreated Golden City Paddlesteamer!

The original Golden City Paddlesteamer was launched on the 16th June 1885, carrying thousands of pleasure seekers for leisure rides on the lake. 

In 1966 the paddlesteamer was sold and relocated to Melbourne, where it carried passengers for jaunts around the Caribbean Gardens at Scoresby.

This image depicts the celebrated return of the paddlesteamer to its original home on Lake Wendouree in 1987. Sadly, while in storage for restoration work in 2006, the 121 year-old paddlesteamer was destroyed by fire.

What are your memories of the original Golden City Paddlesteamer? 

Note: This image was one of a selection of images exhibited as, Rupture at the BMI as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2023 (curated by Ellen Becker).