Have you ever noticed how you don’t ever really take advantage of all the great things
Syracuse has to offer?
I mean how many of you have been to the
Erie Canal Museum lately, or Sainte Marie among the Iroquois?
With that in mind, I have come to realize that every city has hidden gems that locals seldom give any attention. Here in Perth some prime examples of this would be the Swan Bells and the Perth Mint. Not surprisingly, out of all of my colleagues at work, I am one of the few that has been to both.
The Swan Bells is a great little historic outing right by the Swan River in downtown Perth. The Swan Bells are the home of a set of historic bells that were given to Western Australia in 1988 from England. The twelve bells have been ringing since before the 14th century and Queen Elizabeth herself had a hand in recasting them. They are said to be the only set of bells known that have left England. Except, of course, the bell bottoms worn by the Beetles!
The donation of the bells is a pretty big deal for Australia since their history is directly connected with England. After the bells were donated a structure was built to house them and now allows visitors to not only come see the bells, but also learn about them and “have a go” (or a turn) at ringing them. The Swan Bells even hosts weddings and other private functions! Talk about having your bells rung!
Well, I am no ding-dong; I know a fun place to take the kids when I hear one! So I took the family and we had a ringing good time. I was surprised at how hard it was to actually ring the bell, good thing I have muscles! When it was my daughter’s turn I thought she might be lifted up by the rope. Good thing my muscles were passed on to her and there were no dramas; she did quite well!
The next hidden gem is the Perth Mint. The amazing thing about the mint is that it is the oldest mint that is still in operation as other mints around Australia have closed. It is also in charge of manufacturing most of Australia's legal tender and many different collecter coins (one of which I bought for my grandfather).
The Mint was opened in 1899 so you have this amazing historic building and gardens. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the gardens were planted with the original building dating back more than a century.
When we arrived, we toured the building and explored all the gold bars and nuggets on display. They even trusted the Brandolino family to touch millions of dollars worth of gold. I did notice the security guard giving me the hairy eyeball, so after a second thought, I changed my mind about sneaking some of it into my wife’s purse. We also witnessed the gold pour which was amazing. They melt the gold and make it liquid before pouring it into the mold and cooling it again. In fact, the same gold has been used to show visitors this process thousands of times! The container used to pour the gold only lasts about a week in the hot temperatures, but before it is replaced they melt it to extract all the gold that was absorbed through all the melting/ pouring. I was fascinated! You could even design and make your own coin! Imagine my image on a coin. Now that I think about it, the value of the coin would only depreciate, so it’s probably best my mug be left off.
My kids got to play with “gold nuggets” while we learned all about the rich goldfields in WA. Overall, the trip was worth its weight in gold...or at least the admission fee!
Hidden Gems, glad I found them. Keep that in mind next time you are in downtown Syracuse; stop into a museum, or check out a historic building. You might be surprised what you find.
Just a side note: The Erie Canal Museum has the coolest display of gingerbread houses at Christmas time!
http://www.swanbells.com.au/
http://www.perthmint.com.au/
