Visiting Sovereign Hill at Ballarat for the first time in 50 years was a worthwhile experience, complete with the drama of Lola Montez horse whipping the editor of the Ballarat Times.

Sovereign Hill is a living museum that brings to life the excitement of Australia's 1850s gold rush.

Its website accurately states: "When visiting you will see, hear and feel what it was like to be in the streets, mines, diggings, shops, factories, and schools during the Victorian gold rush, which transformed Ballarat and changed the world. Since its beginning in 1970, Sovereign Hill has given people from across Australia and from around the globe, a reason to visit Ballarat adding $260 million to the Victorian economy each year."

On a sunny winter Sunday, there were lots of tourists, but for the most part, it didn't feel like a tourist site. There's a degree of authenticity about Sovereign Hill which transcends the ordinary.

Staff dress in period costume, shops sell relevant wares, there are working displays of old machinery, mine tours and regular demonstrations.

We were there coincidentally to see a reenactment of Lola Montez horse whipping the editor of the Ballarat Times, which actually occurred.

On Tuesday, 19 February 1856, Lola won a riding whip in the Fancy Bazaar Lottery at the Star Concert Hall in Ballarat. Whip in hand she marched to the United State Hotel where the editor of the Ballarat Times, Henry Seekamp, was drinking at the bar. Incensed at the criticism in his newspaper, Lola struck him several times with her recently won whip.

Montez was an interesting character. The mistress of a King, she causes sensation around the world with her erotic "spider dance", and she profited from the miners of Victoria, who threw nuggets at her feet.

Fortunately as a newspaper editor, I was never horse whipped.

Sovereign Hill is a good outing for adults. I would probably go on a weekday in the off-season to avoid children and car loads of Melbourne day visitors.

It was windy today and dusty. There are places to chill and there's a nice cafe to escape for coffee and snacks.