2GB radio announcer Chris Smith is set to kick off proceedings on Saturday at 10am as an opening shot is fired from an 1820s cannon to mark two days of gold rush era re-enactments and festivities.

Mr Smith is also set to read the Riot Act to gold miners, as they get ready to take on Her Majesty’s Redcoats. 

The Rebellion on the Turon re-enactment will be held at 1pm on Sunday and the weekend will include exhibition stalls, Cobb & Co. coach rides, penny-farthings, a working blacksmith, an 1850s surgeon, music, maypole dancing and a bush band on the Saturday evening. 

Organised by the Sofala Progress Association, the weekend aims to draw hundreds of visitors to the village to relive the excitement of the 1850s.

Gold was first discovered on the banks of the Turon River, at Sofala, in 1851.

“We want people to be aware of an important aspect of Sofala’s gold mining history,” organiser Carlo Jensen said.

The event is free, as long as you can avoid the Redcoats holding you up for a $2 gold licence fee.