Showing 149 items
matching sluice
-
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Photograph - AUSTIN COLLECTION: MINE SITE, SLUICING
BHS CollectionBlack and white photo: image shows mine site, chimney in background, corrugated iron shed in middleground, man operating sluice on bottom RH side. Men inside engine house looking on and two beside sluicing operation RH side. Large pile of sand or mullock on RH side. Mining dam in background, barely visible. Unidentified mine.bendigo, mining, mine site -
Halls Gap & Grampians Historical Society
Photograph - B/W, C 1900
Group of 19 miners. Sign behind group reads 'Rose + Brown Carpenter's for sluices + cradles'. Alf Rose is behind the bench on the left wearing a waistcoat.mining, mafeking, people -
El Dorado Museum Association Inc.
Photograph (item) - Digital Image
Clear Creek Dammines, mining, tin, tin mining, sluicing, clear creek, el dorado, eldorado -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Slide - DIGGERS & MINING. GETTING THE GOLD, c1850s
Diggers & Mining. Getting the Gold. Slide: Hydraulic sluicing was commenced, too, during the middle fifties. Markings: 64 994.LIF:4. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - MALLAKOFF ALLUVIALS SLUICING PLANT
Two red covered catalogues for an auction of Mining and Sluicing Equipment, Electrical Machinery, Buildings, Etc. held on the 17th December 1942 at the Mallakoff Alluvials Sluicing Plant at Landsborough, Vic. Sale by Order of Mr. D. P. Fletcher and Mines Department. Sale conducted by permission of the Director of Machine Tools and Gauges under the Regulation 59 of the National Security (General) Regulations. J. H. Curnow & Son were the auctioneers.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - mallakoff alluvials sluicing plant, mr d p fletcher, mines department, j h curnow & son, j l jamieson, regulation 59 of the national security (general) regulations, the cambridge press -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Slide - DIGGERS & MINING. GETTING THE GOLD, c1850
Diggers & Mining. Getting the Gold. Slide: The washdirt was shovelled into the sluices, and the flow of water carried away the clay and lighter sands. Markings: 62 994.LIF:4. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Book - AUSTIN COLLECTION: MINING BY-LAWS OF STATE OF VICTORIA 1958
BHS CollectionPale grey cover, booklet: mining By-Laws of and for the State of Victoria' Priced 1/- , containing extracts from the Mines Act 1958 relative to Claims on Private Land & etc. Written on top in pen 'P.E. Clarke, State Mining Engineer' 37 pages. Contains information regarding a wide range of mining practices e.g. 'dredging and sluicing claims' 'it shall not be lawful for any area exceeding five acres in extent to be held as a dredging claim or as a sluicing claim'.bendigo, mining, mining by-laws -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Book - GETTING GOLD - AN ABC OF PROSPECTING IN AUSTRALIA, 1931
GETTING GOLD - AN ABC OF PROSPECTING IN AUSTRALIA. By 'Fossiker' An ABC of prospecting in Australia, explaining panning, cradling, puddling, dollying & sluicing. Price two shillings and six pence 42 pages with folded maps and illustrations.'Fossiker', printed by Robertson & Mullens Limited, Melbournegold, prospecting in australia, gold, mining, prospecting -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
This image shows an unknown location in the area of Beechworth that was possibly used as a sluicing mining site for gold during the Victorian Gold Rush. This era saw an influx of Chinese immigrants and Australian prospectors hoping to strike it rich on the fields. Many companies such as the Rocky Mountain Extended Gold Sluicing Company Ltd and the Cocks Pioneer Gold &Tin Sluicing Company also set up mines in the area. This site may be the location of one of these company's mines. The wooden logs are reminiscent of known sluicing operations in the era from that time. Sluicing involved the use of high-pressured hoses to clear away soil from earth that had been dug up by miners and was a popular method of excavation in the area, although it had severe impacts on the environment.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portray an open cut sluicing site can reveal important information for society and technology for the date when the photograph was taken. This image is of important historical significance for its ability to convey information about sluicing and the methods used to find gold. It also shows a location where sluicing was undertook which provides insight into the impact of sluicing on the environment at a time when it was done.A colour rectangular photograph printed on glossy photographic paperReverse: 6855 /beechworth, gold rush, sluicing, mining -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Container - Trunk, c1870
A tin trunk used by the Rocky Mountain Extended Sluicing Company (Limited).Mining played an important role in the history of Beechworth, for the township was established in the mid-1850s after gold was discovered in the area. The success of goldmining lead to the growth and development of early Beechworth. The Rocky Mountain Company was a very successful gold mining company and had a big impact on the people and landscape of early Beechworth.A tin trunk painted in black with gold script painted on the front.The Rocky Mountain Extended / Gold Slucing Company. (Limited / BMM 8068 -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Photograph - PHOTOGRAPH OF DEVONSHIRE DUMPS 1954
Black and white photo attached to board. Image shows Devonshire sand dumps, man standing in centre holding a large hose, squirting water at the surface of the dump. High walls of dump behind. On back " Devonshire Dumps Sluicing 1951"gold mines, mining equipment, devonshire sand dump -
Linton and District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Electro Hydraulic Dredge, Snake Valley, 1909
Electro hydraulic dredge Snake Valley 1909. J Mc Bennett, was an engineer back at the main base, at Dawson's dam on the Carngham Road, Between Linton and Snake Valley. These dredges were used for getting gold. The streams of water under high pressure just washed the hills and ground away. This dredge closed down early 1910. 200 H.P. motors were used and 10 in. pumps.Black and white image of three workmen, one beside mining building the other two at dredge pump outlet. Image mounted on dark brown card. Between 1904 and 1911 the Electro Hydraulic Company sought to extract gold in an area north of Linton known as the Hard Hills. By blasting water from high-pressure hoses into the hillsides, soil containing gold was washed out for sluicing. Two gravel pumps in Dawson's Dam pumped the wash through the sluices. Despite considerable investment in expensive equipment, the Company did not have a great deal of success, and the mining operation ceased in 1911.mining, gold, mining equipment, electro hydraulic dredge, dredging, sluicing, dawson's dam, snake valley, miners -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - BERRY GRAVELS N. L
Light tan covered auction catalogue for a sale at the Berry Gravels N. L. at the sluicing plant, Lawrence, via Smeaton on 30 November, 1938. For sale was machinery, plant and equipment, tools, buildings, and sundries. J. H. Curnow & Son were the auctioneers.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - berry gravels n. l., mr h s archdall, j h curnow & son, the cambridge press -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - EUREKA LEAD GOLD SLUICING CO
Red covered auction catalogue of Complete Sluicing Plant, Electric Generating Plant, Pumping Plants, Electrical Equipment, Buildings, Etc of the Eureka Lead Gold Sluicing Co. (Ballarat) N. L. on Thursday 3rd July, 1947 at the Plant, Ballarat East. Catalogue contains Conditions of Sale, 291 Lot numbers arranged in sections, e.g. Outside Engine House, Engine House, Outside Producer House, Transmission Line, At Sludge Pump, At Assay Office, Blacksmith's Shop, Assay Office and Pump Plant at Brown Hill. One catalogue has sale prices in pounds, shillings and pence beside each lot.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - eureka lead gold sluicing co (ballarat) n l, j h curnow & son pty ltd, the prahan telegraph printing co -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
This photograph depicts a man in dark clothing, standing in front of a cut away section of earth. He is undertaking hydraulic sluicing, which involves the use of high powered hoses, in order to cut away the earth which can then be sifted for gold. There is a single tree in the background and the earth contains numerous signs of damage because of the mining. Beechworth become a mining settlement after the discovery of gold in 1852. Gold fever had already spread across Australia's colonies and the American states. Sluicing the landscape for gold, as shown in this photograph, was done by diverting water and washing away the lighter dirt, allowing the gold particles to sift down in to catchments for collection. In Beechworth, there was considerable discontent caused by attempts to restrict water use for sluicing to those with certain 'water rights'. The extensive use of hydraulic sluicing, and the washing away of top soils has continued to impact the surrounds of Beechworth in to the present day. Sluicing as a method for gold mining which was widespread across Victoria during the 1870s. The erosion of the top soil in search of gold has a continuing environmental impact on the landscape and this photograph depicts but one example of this occurring and can provide much information to a researcher interested in understanding the history of gold mining in Victoria. This image of the miner and hose is historically important because it demonstrates the methods of goldmining employed in the later years of the goldrush at Beechworth. It shows how much land is washed away by the use of this technology. The image has good interpretive capacity because it allows researchers to see a different mining technique to what is usually presented. Black and white square photograph on card.reverse: 84-50-3 / 1997 3141 / smdsluicing, goldmining, beechworth, burke museum, miners, gold miners, gold sluicing, environmental impact -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph - Photograph - Reproduction
This photograph depicts mining operations within the Beechworth area, in an unidentified valley where sluicing was utilised as a method for extracting gold from the environment. After gold was discovered in the region in 1851, sluicing became a characteristic of gold mining in the region - "Ovens miners carved intricate networks of races" throughout the region - involved the diversion of water in many channels, or water races, which contained inbuilt 'ripple devices' designed to trap gold for later extraction. By 1871, 900 miles of water races had been cut into the Beechworth Mining District. As suggested by the numerous figures involved in labouring along the water race, sluicing was a source of considerable employment within the region. This image is of important historical significance for its ability to convey information about sluicing and the methods used to find gold in the 1850s, and provides clues as to how sluicing and the widespread construction of water ranges changed the environment of the region. This image is important for current research into the history of the Ovens region in Victoria, which played such a prominent role in the early Australian gold mining industry. Therefore, this image has the capacity to be beneficial for research into society and the motivations of those living and working in this region during this period and therefore, has social significance. The Beechworth Burke Museum has additional images relating to gold sluicing and and the mining activities in the area more generally, which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.A black and white rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paperbeechworth, mining, miners, labour, water race, sluicing -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - CORINDHAP HYDRAULIC GOLD SLUICING CO
Beige coloured catalogue for an auction sale of the Corindhap Hydraulic Gold Sluicing Co. No Liability By Order of Mr. A. E. Llewellyn, Legal Manager on the 11th November, 1937. Sale consisted of Electrical Equipment, Machinery, Plant, buildings, tools and sundries. J. H. Curnow & Son were the auctioneers.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - corindhap hydraulic gold sluicing co no liability - rokewood, mr a e llewellyn, j h curnow & son, j l jamieson, rokewood p. w. m. u., bolton bros pty ltd -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, 1910
This photograph dating to 1910 depicts an open cut sluicing site located in El Dorado captured looking east up the open cut from the number 3 Barge site. Sluicing was undertaken in the area from 1900 to 1942 with some short breaks between these periods. The image depicts a location mined by Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Sluicing Company (as recorded on the annotation on the card mount). It portrays open cut rocks with a crevice in the center of the image where the sluicing was being undertaken. There is a small timber structure on the right of the image which could be an entrance to a mine or supports made of wood to prevent a cave in at the open cut site and above the cut rock there is bush. The timber structure has rail tracks on top of the bridge which could suggest the identification of this structure as a mine entrance. The rail tracks were used for little carts which hauled soil from the mine. The Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Mines N.L was one of El Dorado's two largest open cut sluicing mines of the 20th Century. The other was named the Cocks El Dorado Gold Dredging Company. The Cocks Pioneer Mines operated from 1901 until 1941 and found a total of 117,378 ounces of Gold and 1,673 tones of tin concentrates over these years. The Cocks company was formed in 1898 and operated until 1941. Open cut sluicing involved the use of high-powered hoses which used the centrifugal sand pump system (known as hydraulic sluicing) which broke down the soil which was then processed for gold and other precious metals. From 1914 , four years after this image was captured, the company reformed to Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Mines NL (previously it was known as Cocks Pioneer Sluicing Co) and undertook large scale sluicing operations until 1929 and then 1934-1941. El Dorado is located on Reedy Creek and is surrounded by forested country to the north and east. It is 20 km east of Wangaratta in Victoria's regional north-east. John Cock was the son of a Cornish minor who arrived in El Dorado in 1858. Cock founded his gold and tin mining company which ran successfully for many years in the El Dorado region. It was an open cut sluicing company because of the abandonment of underground mining after this was deemed too dangerous. In 1935 Cock's El Dorado Company commissioned the floating dredge which is still visible in El Dorado today. The dredge was built by the Thompson engineering works, Castlemaine, and weighed over 2,000 tones and today has a place on the Victorian Registers of historic buildings. Interestingly, the name El Dorado does not derive from the gold in the region, but from the Barambogie pastoral run completed by William Baker in 1840-1841. Gold was discovered in El Dorado 1854 but the gold was too deep for individual prospectors to find, it required the use of heavy machinery.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portray an open cut sluicing site can reveal important information for society and technology for the date when the photograph was taken. This image is of important historical significance for its ability to convey information about sluicing and the methods used to find gold in 1910. It also shows a location where sluicing was undertook which provides insight into the impact of sluicing on the environment at a time when it was done. This image is important for current research into the history of El Dorado, a small regional location near Wangaratta in Victoria's North East. Therefore, this image has the capacity to be beneficial for research into society and the motivations of those living and working in this region during this period and therefore, has social significance. The Beechworth Burke Museum has additional images relating to gold sluicing and El Dorado which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.Sepia coloured rectangular photograph printed on gloss photographic paper mounted on board.Obverse: COCKS PIONEER Q + T SL CO, N.L. / 1910 / LOOKING EAST UP OPEN CUT / FROM NO3 BARGE SITE / Reverse: 1997 . 2611 / A02611el dorado, north east gold, sluicing, gold sluicing, hydraulic sluicing, 1910, gold and tin mine, open cut mining, mining, gold mining, north-east victoria, beechworth, burke museum -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, 1907-8
The photo from 1907-8 is a sepia print, depicting a small valley with building at base. There are flumes visible above areas of water, trees on hills and a few small cottages on the hillside. Cock's Pioneer Gold & Tin Sluicing Co NZ No 2 Site. The photo was taken of Matthews Gully looking west. Sluicing was undertaken in the area from 1900 to 1942 with some short breaks between these periods. The image depicts a location mined by Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Sluicing Company (as recorded on the annotation on the card mount) The Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Mines N.L was one of El Dorado's two largest open cut sluicing mines of the 20th Century. The other was named the Cocks El Dorado Gold Dredging Company. The Cocks Pioneer Mines operated from 1901 until 1941 and found a total of 117,378 ounces of Gold and 1,673 tones of tin concentrates over these years. The Cocks company was formed in 1898 and operated until 1941. Open cut sluicing involved the use of high-powered hoses which used the centrifugal sand pump system (known as hydraulic sluicing) which broke down the soil which was then processed for gold and other precious metals. From 1914 , four years after this image was captured, the company reformed to Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Mines NL (previously it was known as Cocks Pioneer Sluicing Co) and undertook large scale sluicing operations until 1929 and then 1934-1941. El Dorado is located on Reedy Creek and is surrounded by forested country to the north and east. It is 20 km east of Wangaratta in Victoria's regional north-east. John Cock was the son of a Cornish minor who arrived in El Dorado in 1858. Cock founded his gold and tin mining company which ran successfully for many years in the El Dorado region. It was an open cut sluicing company because of the abandonment of underground mining after this was deemed too dangerous. In 1935 Cock's El Dorado Company commissioned the floating dredge which is still visible in El Dorado today. The dredge was built by the Thompson engineering works, Castlemaine, and weighed over 2,000 tones and today has a place on the Victorian Registers of historic buildings. Interestingly, the name El Dorado does not derive from the gold in the region, but from the Barambogie pastoral run completed by William Baker in 1840-1841. Gold was discovered in El Dorado 1854 but the gold was too deep for individual prospectors to find, it required the use of heavy machinery.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portray an open cut sluicing site can reveal important information for society and technology for the date when the photograph was taken. This image is of important historical significance for its ability to convey information about sluicing and the methods used to find gold in 1910. It also shows a location where sluicing was undertook which provides insight into the impact of sluicing on the environment at a time when it was done. This image is important for current research into the history of El Dorado, a small regional location near Wangaratta in Victoria's North East. Therefore, this image has the capacity to be beneficial for research into society and the motivations of those living and working in this region during this period and therefore, has social significance. The Beechworth Burke Museum has additional images relating to gold sluicing and El Dorado which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.Sepia coloured rectangle photograph printed on gloss photographic paper Reverse: 1997. 2613/ A02613/ No2 site/ Matthews Gully/ Cocks Pioneer G&T. ?? Co NZ/ No2 Site looking West/ 1907-8/ (7)sluicing, hydraulic sluicing, 1907, 1908, mining, cock's pioneer gold & tin sluicing co nz, nz, site no 2, matthews gully, west, valley, building, cottages, hillside, trees, water, gold and tin mine -
Halls Gap & Grampians Historical Society
Photograph - B/W, C 1900
This claim was named "Kangaroo". It had a deep tunnel but produced little gold. The claim was later sold to an Ararat Syndicate which sluiced out the tunnel.Photo of five miners grouped about a trolley at the mouth of a tunnel.mining, mafeking -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Postcard - WES HARRY COLLECTION: 7 POSTCARDS, 1904 - 05
Seven postcards, all but two are depicting theatre actresses : (a) Miss Gabrielle Ray , (b) Miss Madge Lessing , (c) Miss Gabrielle ray , (d) Miss Julia Marlowe , (e) Nina Sevening , (f) Myers Falls Healesville , (g) Gold sluicing on the Ovens River near Germantown.postcard, various themes, gabrielle ray, madge lessing, julia marlowe, nina sevening, myers falls healesville, gold sluicing, ovens river, germantown -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Newspaper - JACK PERRY COLLECTION: NEWSPAPER HOUSEHOLD CHORES FOR YOUNG FAMILY MEMBERS
Newspaper article Bendigo Weekly by Jack Perry re chores undertaken by young family members. During early days of mining through to 1935-40. Photo of Mr. Lougsons hydraulic sluice of Myers Flat in the 1930's.. Recovering gold from Peg Leg Gully. Bendigo Advertiser 24.9.99person, individual, jack perry -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Photograph - PHOTO OF WATER WHEEL, 1900
Sepia Toned Photograph, gold sluicing on the Ovens River near Germantown) Showing a man standing on a water wheel looking over a water course flanked by trees & shrubbery with mountains in the background. Markings on rear Photo read 'N.J. Caire Landscape Photographer 4 Darling Street South Yarra Victoria'N.J. Cairephotograph, water wheel landscape, water wheel, mining -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - COCKS PIONEER GOLD AND TIN MINES
Red covered auction catalogue for a sale held at the Cocks Pioneer Gold and Tin Mines (1934) No Liability on 10th, 11th, and 12th March, 1942 at Eldorado, Victoria. Sale consisted of Mining Machinery, Sluicing Plant, Electrical Equipment, Stores, Tools, Buildings and Residences. J. H. Curnow & Son were the auctioneers.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - cocks pioneer gold and tin mines (1934) no liability, j h curnow & son, j l jamieson & co, george best, alf dale, jacob eddy, joseph tredennick, the cambridge press -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - IAN DYETT COLLECTION: AUCTION CATALOGUE - BROWNHILL GOLD MINING SYNDICATE
Catalogue for an auction sale on account of Brownhill Gold Mining Syndicate held immediately after the Eureka Lead Gold Sluicing Coy's Auction on Thursday 3rd July, 1947. 41 lots include engines, pump, buildings, and other mining equipment. J. H. Curnow & Son Pty. Ltd. Were the auctioneers.business, auctioneers, j h curnow & son pty ltd, ian dyett collection - auction catalogue - brownhill gold mining syndicate 3/7/1947, a h mcdonald & co, jelbart, j h curnow & son pty ltd, prahan telegraph printing co -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - MCCOLL, RANKIN AND STANISTREET COLLECTION: NELL GWYNNE SYNCLINE
Manilla folder of documents relating to the Nell Gwynne Syncline Mining lease. Mentioned are Lease No.'s 10875 and 10903 which is in the Empire Road Stray Street area; R. Lethlean's Sluicing Claim; Albert Selisky has permissive Occupancy on ¼ acre; New Chum Syncline; Liddell's Chenical and Metallurgical Works; Arum Dredging Development NL. Application for a Hydraulic Sluicing Lease; Transfer of lease No. 10903, from H.J. Leed to North Nell Gwynne Gold Mines NL; Application form for the Nell Gwynne Syncline Co.. Application for leases 10945 and 10946; Nell Gwynne Syncline option to purchase lease 10945 for £1,000; Consent from Minna Matilda Lawson for inclusion of part of allotment 268 in lease No. 10875.Dickson & Tadgell Charted Accountants, 95 Queen Street, Melbourne C1gold, mining, land application, nell gwymme syncline, gold mines, bendigo -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, 1920 - 1930
Taken between circa 1920 - 1950 this photograph depicts the open mine in the Three Mile Mine at Barramutha. The mine was an important gold resource and was typically mined using a method known as hydraulic sluicing whereby high powered water jets are used to dislodge rock or move sediment. The remaining water sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold. The Beechworth mining district was one of six mining districts established by the governor-in-council on 4th of January 1858 under the provisions of An Act for Amending the Laws Relating to the Goldfields (21 Vic no. 32).This photograph shows cultural and research value into the historical methods of hydraulic sluicing in the Beechworth mining disctrict. It also shows the evolution of the mining methods and has potential for understanding future engineering endeavors in the context of victorian mine goldfields.Black and White rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper.Reverse: Copied from original on loan from Webb (QLD)/ Donated Nov 2009/ Barnawatha Three Mile Mine c1920-1950 Minehead & Slicing/ Managed by John Weir, Peter Jensen, Jack Cox/ Owned by/ the Plain Bros then Parkinsons/ John worked for Pqarkinsons. three mile creek, three mile goldfields, three mile beechworth, goldfields, #beechworth, hydraulic mining, hydraulic sluice, burke museum -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - STATE RIVERS AND WATER COMMISSION : COLIBAN DISTRICT WATER DISTRIBUTION ACRE FEET
A table titled Coliban District Water Distribution Acre Feet. The dates indicated cover the period 1937-1957. Main column headings: Urban Supplies, Irrigation, Sluicing, Total Consumption, Total Deliveries from Storages, Loss, Efficiency, and Remarks. Years and figures are typed in red columns with some figures totalled in pencil at the bottom of the last column.state infrastructure, water supply, coliban system, state rivers and water supply commission. coliban system. -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph - Photograph - Reproduction, ca. 1900
This image shows the approach to Beechworth from the south-west via the Newtown Bridge. Numerous early buildings line the road as it bifurcates to become Ford and High Streets on the ridge above Spring Creek and Newtown Falls. The sloping, rocky terrain and water course along the gorge show evidence of the intense mining activity that occurred at the site. The Ovens Gold Rush at Beechworth started when gold was found at Spring Creek in February 1852, prompting an influx of miners from around the world. The population grew over 20,000 by 1857. While the earliest mining at Beechworth was similar to that in other Victorian goldfields like Ballarat and Bendigo, Beechworth is notable for its use of hydraulic sluicing as a major method of removing wash-dirt. Hydraulic sluicing employs high pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Gold gets caught in the sluice and the remaining slurry is washed away. This method of mining is extremely effective but causes significant environmental impacts and damage to waterways. Large water quantities were required for large-scale sluicing, and the long water races and deep tailraces that were constructed in the Beechworth area in the nineteenth century are nonetheless considered feats of engineering. The site in the photograph is associated with the Rocky Mountain Mining Company who constructed an eight hundred meter tunnel under the township between 1876-1880 to reduce water levels at Spring Creek, which had been subject to diversions since the earliest days of alluvial mining. Over four million ounces of gold (115 tones) were found at Beechworth between 1852 and 1868, and the wealth from the gold rushes built Beechworth and the nationally significant buildings that remain standing today.This image shows the early development of the Beechworth township above Spring Creek, where gold was discovered in 1852. Evidence of hydraulic sluicing, a uniquely predominant method at Beechworth, and water-works engineering are present in the landscape. By the 1870s, alluvial gold deposits were depleted and increasingly complex engineering was required so deeper shafts could reach bedrock. This image is significant for understanding changes to the landscape and the evolution of mining methods and engineering practices related to the extensive construction, manipulation and management of water networks. The shift from smaller scale alluvial mining to larger company dominance in the mining industry has implications for understanding wider social, economic, political and industrial changes in the region of Beechworth and within the context of the Victorian Gold Rush more broadly. A black and white rectangular reproduction photograph printed on photographic paper. burke museum, beechworth museum, beechworth, gold fields, gold rush, victorian gold rush, hydraulic sluicing, rocky mountain mining company, spring creek, netwown falls, mining tunnels, water races, tailraces, colonial australia, australian gold rushes, mining technology, beechworth historic district, indigo gold trail, migration, indigo shire, gold mining, gold mining history -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, Circa 1920 - 1950
Taken between circa 1920 - 1950 this photograph depicts a man dressed in dark trousers, a white long sleeved shirt and broad-brimmed workers hat digging around in the Three Mile Mine at Barramutha. The mine was an important gold resource and was typically mined using a method known as hydraulic sluicing whereby high powered water jets are used to dislodge rock or move sediment. The remaining water sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold. The Beechworth mining district was one of six mining districts established by the governor-in-council on 4th of January 1858 under the provisions of An Act for Amending the Laws Relating to the Goldfields (21 Vic no. 32). This photograph shows historic and research value into the historical methods of hydraulic sluicing in the Beechworth mining disctrict. It also shows the evolution of the mining methods and has potential for understanding future engineering endeavors in the context of victorian mine goldfields. Black and white rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper.Reverse: 7597.3/ Copied from original on loan from Webb (QLD)/ Donated Nov 2009/ Barnawatha Three Mile Mine 1920-1950/ Owned by Plain Bros then Parkinsons/ Managed by John Weir, Peter Jenson, Jack Cox/ Slicing. three mile creek, three mile goldfields, three mile beechworth, goldfields, #beechworth, hydraulic mining, hydraulic sluice, burke museum