ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-10 · by Anna McGuinness and Tyrone Dalton
A 300kg piano was transported underground into an old Bendigo gold mine for a concert celebrating the 175th anniversary of gold discovery in the area. The event, organized by Bendigo Fine Music, marked what is believed to be the first time a piano performance has taken place in such a setting. The unique acoustics and atmosphere of the historic location provided an extraordinary experience for both performers and attendees.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A Bendigo gold mine hosted an underground piano concert on July 20th, celebrating the 175th anniversary of gold discovery in the area. The event, organized by Bendigo Fine Music, featured a 300kg piano transported 61 meters below ground level, marking what organizers claim is a world-first musical performance in such a setting. Chair Thomas Heywood's mother, a renowned concert pianist, owned the piano used for this unique event. Performers praised the acoustics of the space, noting the hardstone walls and timber ceiling made it ideal for music, offering an unusual and atmospheric experience not previously documented in similar venues.
Written for “Underground Piano Concert Bendigo” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In short:
A 300kg piano has been transported 61 metres underground in a 'world-first' piano concert in a Bendigo gold mine.
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piano → transport → mine
The concert was held in the mine to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the central Victorian city.
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concert → hold → city
Bendigo Fine Music says it's the first time they know of that a concert has been held underground in such a unique venue.
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concert → say → venue
And yesterday that brainwave became reality, with a piano descending into the Central Deborah Gold Mine in Bendigo for a one-off evening performance.
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piano → become → performance
The 300kg piano was formerly owned by Mr Heywood's mother, who was a renowned concert pianist.
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"It's one of those classic 'don't drop the piano' scenarios," Mr Heywood said.
"
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We couldn't find any evidence that this has been done before.
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"It's really quite emotional; it sounds fantastic in here.
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it → sound → ?
There's a timber ceiling and hardstone walls, and they're ideal for musical performance."
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they → be → performance
The Bendigo Fine Music event celebrated 175 years since gold was first discovered in the central Victorian city.
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gold → celebrate → city
"In 1851, it changed our wonderful country forever,"Mr Heywood said.
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Heywood → change → country
"We were always taught in school that basically the riches that followed from gold made possible what would have taken 500 years in European history to be achieved in a mere 50 years to Federation."
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taken → teach → Federation
Friday's concert was limited to 60 attendees, who were allowed to remove their hard hats once in the concert room.
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Pianist Yasmin Rowe said performing this rare and unusual concert was exciting.
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"I've never played underground before, and this is just so special.
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When I entered this room, I thought it was so, so beautiful," Ms Rowe said.
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"You've got this millions-of-years-old rock there right behind the piano; the light, the colour, the atmosphere is wonderful."
Ms Rowe and fellow pianist Ian Munro said the underground concert made playing the piano interesting again.
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We have to adjust in real time, so using less pedal cause it's quite reverberant."
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Mr Munro said the rare and unusual concert brought back the memory of a conversation with his piano teacher at the age of 14, who questioned whether he would continue to love playing the piano as an adult.
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"When I was 30 [and still loved playing piano], and now I'm very much older than 30, I'm still very interested; it's still got that magic for me."
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it → love → me
The operation to get the instrument underground was a family affair by Joshua McPherson, his wife Jo and son Sam.
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Mr McPherson said it was "definitely the most unusual" place he had ever taken a piano.
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The disassembled instrument was wheeled on a trolley into a lift and rolled along the rocky tunnels of the mine.
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instrument → wheel → mine
"We were worried about moisture dropping from the ceiling — that was our main concern.
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that → drop → ceiling
[It was] a little bit rough underfoot but nothing scary really," he said.
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Once in place, it was over to piano technician Nic Hamilton to ensure nothing had gone awry on the journey and to tune the piano before the concert.
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nothing → ensure → concert
"It's on the humid side but it takes some hours, perhaps even overnight to seep into the piano and cause any problems,"he said.
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it → take → problems,"he
"It's a fun thing to do, and it's very typical of Thomas [Heywood] to come up with projects that are interesting and exciting."
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that → do → projects
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