Showing 2465 items
matching gold mining history
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Marysville & District Historical Society
Book, Tracks to the Wood's Point and Jordan Goldfields-A brief history of the Wood's Point and Jordan Goldfields, Unknown
A history of the Wood's Point and Jordan gold fieldsPaperback. Beige cover. Front cover has a black and white photograph of miners standing and sitting around a mine cart that is sitting on railway tracks at the entrance to a mine.Back cover has a cartoon drawing of a pack horse that has fallen down a cliff with his rider trying to pull him back up by his tail. Inside the cover is a drawn map entitled 'Map of the Mining District round Wood's point'.Stamp of the Marysville & District Historical Society Inc / P.O. Box 22 / Marysville 3779 gold, gold field, gold mining, gold town, wood's point, jordan goldfields, victoria, australia, history, r w christie -
Marysville & District Historical Society
Book, Tracks to the Wood's Point and Jordan Goldfields-A brief history of the Wood's Point and Jordan Goldfields, Unknown
A history of the Wood's Point and Jordan gold fieldsPaperback. Beige cover. Front cover has a black and white photograph of miners standing and sitting around a mine cart that is sitting on railway tracks at the entrance to a mine.Back cover has a cartoon drawing of a pack horse that has fallen down a cliff with his rider trying to pull him back up by his tail. Inside the cover is a drawn map entitled 'Map of the Mining District round Wood's point'.Stamp of Marysville & District / Historical Society Inc / P.O. Box 22 / Marysville 3779 gold, gold field, gold mining, gold town, wood's point, jordan goldfields, victoria, australia, history, r w christie -
Marysville & District Historical Society
Book, The Goldfields and Mineral Districts of Victoria, 1980
A history of the goldfields and mineral districts of VictoriaHardcover. Front cover has an illustration of a miner standing next to a hole in the ground which is surrounded by logs. He is standing on top of a platform made out of planks of wood and he is turning a handle on a hand winch to bring up a bucket.Stamp of the Marysville & District Historical Society Inc / P.O. Box 22 / Marysville 3779gold mining, gold mine, mineral resources, victoria, australia, history, robert brough smyth -
Marysville & District Historical Society
Document (item) - Letter, Andrew Kirwan mining-Wolfram & Gold at Cumberland River, 09-07-1981
A letter outlining the history of Andrew Kirwan who was a gold miner and road worker in Marysville in Victoria.A letter outlining the history of Andrew Kirwan who was a gold miner and road worker in Marysville in Victoria. Andrew Kirwan, along with his brothers, located and worked the Wolfram Mine at Wilkes Creek where they mined tungsten.andrew kirwan, marysville, victoria, cumberland valley, wolfram mine, wilkes creek, anderson and rowe sawmill, cumberland creek, golden bower gold mine, william chester, maria catherine kirwan, kirwan's reward, tungsten, cumberland river -
Blacksmith's Cottage and Forge
Book, F.W. Niven and Co, History of Ballarat, 1887
This book came into our collection via a donation to the Book Barn, which operates as a second-hand book shop. The donor is unknown.This book was published in 1887, a time of consolidation of wealth after the initial gold rushes in Ballarat in the 1850s. Its full title is 'History of Ballarat from the First Pastoral Settlement to the Present Time.' By William Bramwell Withers, Journalist. Second Edition with Plans, Ilustrations and Original Documents. It is an invaluable history of the origins of Ballarat and its mining history, with a chapter devoted to the Eureka Stockade. Book bound in green cloth on hard cover. On cover: Title incised in black on gold: HISTORY/OF/BALLARAT In gold: REVISED EDITION In black:By/W.B.Withers/PUBLISHED/BY/F.W.NIVEN &Co/Ballarat. Front cover embossed with gold pictures, one of a spray of wattle, one of a spray of eucalyptus leaves, a picture of a miner standing at a winch, and two panoramas of Ballarat, one in its early days as a gold-mining camp, and one as a built-up city. On spine: In green on gold: HISTORY/OF/BALLARAT : BY W.B.WITHERS 1887 Picture of two miners in a lift cage descending a mine shaft. On back cover: In black, picture of an aborigine looking into the sun, which is either rising or setting. On inside front cover: label pasted in. Inscription in gold: PRESENTED TO/THE/MEMBERS/OF THE/Empire Commerce Congress/BY/BALLARAT'S PIONEER DIGGER,/MR.JAMES ODDIE,1851. Front brown flyleaf partially torn off. ballarat gold rush, w.b.withers, eureka stockade, mining history, early maps of ballarat, mr james oddie, empire commerce congress -
Kiewa Valley Historical Society
Four photographs of the Blue Duck Hotel and two Photos of the Glen Wills area, c1920 Post cards, c1949/50 small photographs
The Blue Duck Hotel stands at the confluence of 3 trout rivers - Cobungra, Bundarra and Mitta Mitta, called Angler's Rest. The original 1900's building was of slab construction and operated as a butcher shop, servicing miners on the track from Omeo to Mt. Wills. In 1912 it was purchased by a miner, Billy O'Connell, and he obtained a hotel license. In the early 1920's he transported 2 houses from Omeo on Horse drays. One is the main building of the Blue Duck and the other was a residence where Billy and his wife raised their nine children. The small log structure behind the pub is State School No.4286 where the children attended school. A teacher was shared with Glen Wills. By the late 1920's the hotel was discovered and patronized by keen anglers. Sir Harold Clapp (head of the railways) was one and he had the bronze blue duck cast and presented to the owners in the 1930's. This stands at the entrance to the premises.These photographs are of a building, in a remote area, that has provided a service to miners, anglers and travellers for over 100 years and continues to do so today. It also played a vital role in the history of the Mt. Wills/Omeo gold mining days.3 Post cards, Black and White photographs. 3 small black and white photographsPost Card No. 1 - "Blue Duck Hotel- Omeo-Glen wills road Ray Love Series No.2"(written on lower front) Post Card No. 2- "Looking towards Bogong High Plains. Omeo-Glen Wills road"(front, bottom, L hand) Ray Love Series No. 18 (front, lower R hand corner) On both of above photos, centre back, is stamped POST CARD and underneath this is printed "A GENUINE PHOTOGRAPH'/ Post Card No. 3 - Bottom L hand corner "Mystic Sea Australian Alps". R hand corner "(Bulmer Copyright)". Each small photograph, handwritten on back "Blue duck Hotel". All have circular stamp with "Print by Wilson White Albury" blue duck hotel; anglers rest; omeo highway; fishing; mining -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Book, The Golden History of Warrandyte - Louis R. Cranfield
History of more than a 100 years from the earliest days of the discovery of gold and the setting up of a mining camp through to the transition of becoming a thriving township -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Booklet - Newsletter, Warrandyte Historical Society - Gold Mining In Warrandyte - A Brief History, by Murray Houghton
Revised and enlarged from an earlier Warrandyte Historical Society document -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, late 19th century - early 20th century
This photograph shows land clearing at Bendoc. From 1845 the Bendoc area was part of pastoral leases. In the 1850s alluvial gold was discovered in the Bendoc River. This was quickly exhausted, and a number of mines began successful reef operations. At the head of the river, the settlement of Clarkville clustered round several other mines. Many miners, including numbers of Chinese, sluiced the rivers. The population of the area was as high as 500 during this period. The township was surveyed in 1869 and the hotel built in 1870. This building was burnt down in the early 1900s and rebuilt. A school was also begun at this time. In the 1870s there was a decline in gold mining. Some miners selected land, which in many cases is still held by descendants. Dairying was common in the early days, supplying a butter factory at the New South Wales border, and a milk factory at Orbost in more recent times. Wheat was grown for the settlers' own use and ground at Bombala. Now beef cattle grazing is the main occupation. (info. from Victorian Places)This is a pictorial history associated with the early settlement of Bendoc in East Gippsland.A badly distorted black / white photograph of a horse drawn wagon, three men and two women clearing land.on back - "Clearing land at Bendoc"bendoc-land-clearing bendoc-early-settlement -
Orbost & District Historical Society
scales, Circa 1850's
... is part of the history of gold mining in Victory. scales gold ...Scales were used in the Tarnagulla area of Central Victoria by Albert Charles Nicholls, who was a licensed assayer. This information comes from David Gordon of the Tarnagulla.com web-site. “The Nicholls family were very well known and highly respected at Tarnagulla in the 1800s. Albert's father, William Nicholls, was a leading figure in the gold mining community, and he both managed and owned quartz processing facilities for decades. He was probably the leading mining expert at Tarnagulla in a town full of mining experts, and it was said that no man at Tarnagulla had handled more gold over the years that him. (think in terms of tons of gold!) I would imagine the assaying equipment was probably passed in due course by William to Albert Charles. There are records of Albert Charles mining at Tarnagulla with his father as a young man, but AC apparently came down to the city when the gold began to fade. There are records of him living in Kew up until his death in 1932. He was employed as a draper for a long period.” This item is a significant item which is part of the history of gold mining in Victory.Gold assayer's scales, a very sensitive balance used in the assaying of gold, silver, etc.The scales are comprised of two circular brass pans suspended via brass chains to a metal balance.scales gold technology assayers tarnagulla -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Book, Diane Baird, Digging Into History - Goldmining in Warrandyte, 2007
Information about early mining in Victoria's first gold field. Cover photographs: Front cover - Fossickers working below the water-wheen driven stamper battery located on the south side of the Yarra River upstream of the Warrandyte Bridge. Back cover - The Old Post Office, Warrandyte, in 1906, now the premises of the Warrandyte Historical Society Museum and Archive, 111 Yarra Street.Acknowledgements: Several members of the Warrandyte Historical Society were involved in the development of this publication. It was developed and written by Diane Baird; Murray Houghton and Ted Rotherham provided specialist historical details and further references; Jo Laurence and Shirley Rotherham collected and identified photographs; Brian Laurence prepared images for electronic format; and Richard Morton edited and formatted the text. The Society gratefully acknowledges the dedicated work of all its members who collect, preserve and share Warrandyte's history. In particular, the research by the late Bruce Bence and the dedicated work of the late Jo Laurence have been an invaluable contribution to the history of Warrandyte. -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, 1920-1950
This image taken between 1920-1930 depicts open-cut hydraulic sluicing at the Three Mile Mine, located about five kilometres south of Beechworth. Alluvial, or surface, mining began on this site in the 1850s, but was soon replaced by hydraulic sluicing methods. By the start of 1880 it is estimated that nine hundred miles of water races had been cut though soil and rock in the Beechworth district. 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. Large water quantities were required for hydraulic sluicing, and the long water races and deep tailraces that were constructed were considered great engineering feats. This method of mining is extremely effective, but causes significant environmental damage and impacts to waterways and agricultural operations. Miners at Beechworth built extensive networks of races and dams to secure reliable supplies of water on a scale far greater than elsewhere in Victoria. By the 1880s Beechworth's water barons continued to hold more than half of all the water right licences on issue and undertook sluicing operations on a massive scale. The manipulation of surface and ground water via race networks was well planned and recorded in detail by local mining surveyors. The maps that were created, combined with modern geo-spatial technologies, provide a vital key in understanding the great lengths to which miners went to capture and control critical water resources. Today, Three Mile mine is called Baarmutha. The Three Mile Mine was unproductive until 1865 when John Pund and three other miners secured a fifteen year license and constructed a water race from Upper Nine Mile Creek to Three Mile Creek. In the early twentieth century Pund & Co. averaged over one thousand ounces of gold per year from the mine. After Pund's death in 1915, GSG Amalgamated Co operated the site, continuing sluicing until 1950. This image of hydraulic sluicing methods shows the extent of water-works engineering in the landscape. This photograph has historic and research potential for understanding changes to the landscape, the evolution of mining methods, and the extensive construction, manipulation and management of water networks in the Beechworth district. Black and white rectangular photograph on matte paperReverse: 7597-1 / Sluice Mining / Copied from original on loan from Webb (Qld) / Donated Nov 2009 / Baarmutha Three Mile Mine c1920-1950 / Managed by the Plain Bros then Parkinsons / Current Location is: Beechworth Animal Shelter / used for Baarmuthaburke museum, beechworth museum, beechworth, gold fields, gold rush, victorian gold rush, hydraulic sluicing, spring creek, netwown falls, mining tunnels, water races, tailraces, gold ming history, colonial australia, australian gold rushes, mining technology, beechworth historic district, indigo gold trail, indigo shire, john pund, water manipulation, water engineering, three mile creek, three mile mine, water race, large-scale mining methods, historical mining construction, alluvial mining, mining environmental impacts, baarmutha, water barons -
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
Postcard, George Symons, c.1990
... into Australian history. mining album gold mine beechworth burke museum ...The photograph printed on this postcard comes from the collection of the Mitchell Library in Sydney. It is sepia in tone and depicts seven men standing and sitting around a mine shaft in the Beechworth region. The photograph has been dated to approximately 1872. This period in history post-dates the Victorian gold rushes which occurred 1852-1853 in Ballarat, Bendigo and Beechworth. During this period, in the 1870s, the surface alluvial gold had been discovered and removed from location. Therefore, in order to reach the deeper and less accessible alluvial gold, diggers began to dig shafts into the earth. These shafts sunk below the ground level by 20 to 30 feet and required timber structures around the entrance and winches to bring the paydirt to the top. The top of this wooden structure is visible behind the man standing in the upper right of the image. This type of mining was highly dangerous as mines often caved in which injured the minors and often resulted in death. Thus, following this period, in the early 1900s, miners opted instead for hydrolic slucing which cut away the earth without the devastating consequences of a mine cave in. This particular group of miners appear to have been unable to afford a horse (then worth around 50 pounds) which were generally used at mines like this to help pull buckets attached to ropes up and down the mine. Instead, this group brought the buckets up and down by windlass. The windlass was a wooden structure mounted over the mining shaft and fitted with a hand-cranked winch which enabled the bucket attached to the rope to be brought up and down.Gold was first discovered in Beechworth in Spring and Reid's Creek in the summer of 1852-1853. At its popularity, this region had approximately 8000 people on the gold fields searching for gold on the banks of these creeks. These periods did not require the use of heavy machinery or the digging of deep mining shafts like the one depicted in this image. Therefore, this image has important connotations for the technologies associated with mining during the approximated 1870s when gold was harder to access. This is a later period in gold history which does not fit into the "gold rush" period. Instead, it occurred after the surface gold had disappeared and therefore, is essential for researchers who are investigating the mining techniques and structures used to reach the alluvial gold which was located deeper under ground in the 1870s. This period predates the use of big heavy machinery used to mine in the 1900s which include dredges. Images such as this one can also impart essential information as to the wardrobe and fashion of men during this period. It also imparts knowledge about the landscape of Beechworth which is useful for people researching the environment and impact of gold mining in the north-east region of Victoria. In addition, since this image is a postcard reproduction of an early Australian image which may date to approximately 1990 it can impart knowledge as to the interests of people during this time period when there may have been an increase into Australian history.A sepia tone facsimile of an early Australian photograph (circa 1872) printed as a postcard.Obverse: BEECHWORTH / Victoria, Australia / Reverse: GM 2 3275 / CORRESPONDENCE / AUSTRALIAN / YESTERYEAR / CARDS / ADDRESS / Published by George Symons (057) 65 3240 / THE MINEHEAD C. 1872 / The easily gleaned gold of the early fields did / not last very long. In order to reach less / accessible alluvial gold diggers began sinking shafts as much as twenty to thirty feet down / and the mines required timbering and winches / to bring the paydirt to the top. / This syndicate has been unable to afford the / luxury of a horse (about 50 pounds) and so everything / must go up and down by windlass and rawhide / bucket. / Photo: Mitchell Library, Sydney / A sepia tone facsimile of / an early Australian photographmining album, gold mine, beechworth, burke museum, mine shaft, postcard, australian yesteryear cards, george symons, the minehead, gold fields, alluvial gold, early australia, c.1872, 1872, gold diggers, north east victoria -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, Walter William McLean Thwaites, c.1870
This photograph depicts a large group of men in their work clothing situated in front of a large bank of earth. They are identified as miners working in an unidentified location in Australia. This photograph was taken by photographer Walter Thwaites sometime during the period of 1865-1908, likely c.1870. It is unsure where this image was taken since Thwaites travelled a lot over his photography career and the photograph is not annotated with this information. In addition, the identities of the men in the photograph are also unknown. These men are photographed in front of a large bank of earth where they had presumably been mining for gold or other precious metals. The men, with the exception of four, are wearing wide brimmed hats to protect their faces from the sun. They are also wearing loose fitting white shirts which are often worn beneath a darker coloured vest. They wear pale coloured work pants and boots. The men are mostly clean shaven with the exception of the moustache and a couple of beards. Two of the men have pipes in their mouth. Their clothing is basic and much less dramatic than the outfits worn by the gold diggers of the 1852 gold rush. These men, by wearing similar outfits, are expressing a sense of comradery or equality between them. It is likely that they are from the same, or similar, social status. They have an air of independence and share social equality in their stance and clothing. Walter William McLean Thwaites (1840-1908) was a professional photographer born in Sydney, Australia. He learnt the craft in his father's Hobart studio, but later embarked on his own solo career and toured every existing Australian colony between 1860 to 1888. The Thwaites family were a long line of photographers and artists with Thwaites' father Walter WIlliam Thwaites Sr working as an artist and photographer in Australia after moving from England in 1834. Walter Thwaites Sr's father, also named Walter Thwaites, was a British miniature portrait artist.Images, like this one, of Australian gold rush history can reveal important information about the social and environmental impact of this period. This image depicts over 30 diggers standing in front of a bank of earth and therefore, this image has the capacity to reveal or support significant information for researchers studying the fashion and social status of diggers in Australia in approximately 1870. It can also provide information on the landscape of Australia in this period and the impact of mining for gold on both society and the Australian landscape. The Burke Museum is home to a substantial collection of Australian mining photographs which can be used to gain a deeper understanding into life on the gold fields, technology used in mining, the miners themselves and the impact of the gold digging on the environment.Sepia toned rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper and mounted on board.Reverse: 1997.208 / MINERS. / W. Thwaites / Photography /australia, australian photography, photography, miners, gold rush, australian landscape, diggers, walter thwaites, thwaites photography, w. thwaites photography, social history -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
... the history of gold mining in Victoria. This image of the miner ...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, c1920
This photograph depicts mining operations (in particular, hydrolic sluicing) at Three Mile Mine, Barramutha, during the later periods of mining, 1920s-1950s. Three Mile Mine was a major site of mining activity sating back to the 1850s, although was often not as prosperous as other sites such as those situated on the Woolshed Valley. Many miners would leave Three Mile Mine for better prospects on other claims. The main, most successful 'rush' at Three Mile Mine occurred during and immediately following September 1855. This photograph, however, depicts a much later period.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portray a miner at a sluicing site can reveal important information for society and technology for the date when the photograph was taken. This image, and its related images, it important for its historical significant of labour and mining extraction used for gold during the latter gold rushes in the 1900s. The Beechworth Burke Museum has additional images relating to gold mining in the region which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.A black and white rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paperreverse: 7597.4 / copied from original on loan from Webb (Qld) / Donated Nov 2009 / Baarmutha Three Mile Mine 1920-1950 / Owned by Plain Bros then Parkinsons / John Weir or Jack Cox / Sluicing /mining, barramutha, three mile mine, sluicing, mine, beechworth -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
This photograph depicts four men standing near a large unidentified building. This building is the entrance to a deep lead mine shaft. There is a bridge entering the building, which was used to access the elevator to the shaft. Deep lead mining involved placing large shafts into the ground which miners use to access deeper locations in order to excavate the rocks in the search for lead. Deep lead mining was highly dangerous as roofs could cave in of the soil was loose. Therefore, this particular mining considered to be highly undesirable profession as many miners did not want to work long hours nor risk their lives in the search for lead. Indigo Shire was a large area where deep lead mining took place, and thus the landscape and environment was largely impacted by these mining businesses. The Indigo Shire grew in population and wealth in the early 1850s when people came into this location in the hopes of finding gold and making a fortune. Ultimately, the accessibility and availability of gold and precious metals decreased once the gold reserves dried up and alongside this, the large population moved away. The Ovens was also heavily impacted environmentally as deep mining resulted in the change in land formation.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 the methods used to find gold in Indigo Shire. It also shows a location where deep mining was undertook which provides insight into the impact of deep mining on the environment at a time when it was done. This image is important for current research into the history of Indigo Shire, a region 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 deep lead mining and Indigo Shire which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.Sepia coloured retangular photo printed on gloss photographic paper.Reverse: 1997, 2510/ A02570/ Deep Lead Mining/ page 94/ 65%/ Burke Museum, Photo 44beechworth, burke museum, indigo shire, deep lead mining, mining, gold, gold mining -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
This photograph dating between the 1850s and early 1900s depicts an open cut sluicing site located in Allan's Flat looking upon the open cut from Staghorn Flat Number 1. Sluicing was undertaken in the area from 1850 to 1904. The image depicts a location mined by Yackandandah Sluicing Co. It portrays and open space with pipes laying on the ground and connected to pipes leaving the barge. These pipes were used to wash and seperate the qaurtz. There are two small buildings on high ground over looking the barge. Yackandandah Sluicing Co. was created by J.A. Wallace in the 1880s. The Yackandandah Sluicing Co. operated from the mid-1880s to the early 1900s, when resources eventually ran out. 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 quartz, gold and other materials. After the resources where drained, Wallace reaped the benefits of his mining business. Allan's Flat is located on the Yackandandah Creek, and is 10km north-east of Yackandandah and 20km south of Wodonga in Victoria's regional north-east. Allan's Flat was initially used to mine gold through alluvial methods, however that came to an end with little results. The mining business was then revived by J.A. Wallace with the introduction of hydraulic sluicing.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 and other minerals in the lat 19th Century. 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 Allan's Flat, a small regional location near Yackandandah 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 Allan's Flat which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.Sepia coloured retangular photograph printed on gloss photographic paper mounted on board.Revers: Sluicing at Allan's Fortallan's flat, north east gold, sluicing, gold sluicing, hydraulic sluicing, mining, gold and quartz mine, beechworth, burke museum, yackandandah -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, Late 1900s
This photograph dating to the late 1900s depicts the entrance to a reef mine the in Beechworth division. The image depicts two men outside the entrance, which is covered by a hut, where one is standing near a mine cart. The mine car was used to haul soil from the mine. The Beewchworth divison consisted of 5 locations: Beechworth, Stanley, El Dorado, Hurdle Flat and Stony Creek. These locations were set up due to speculative fever that more gold could be found. In places such as El Dorado, Beechworth and Stanley there was profit, however Hurdle Flat and Stonry Creek, gold could not be found in the quantities that was required. By 1880 the Beechworth division was in depression due to the reserves being used up. However, in spite of the depression mining was continued until the late 20th Century.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 reef mining in the late 1900s. It also shows a location where reef mining was undertook which provides insight into the impact of reef mining on the environment at a time when it was done. This image is important for current research into the history of Beechworth , a town 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 reef mining and Beechworth which can be analysed and studied alongside images like this one.Sepia coloured retangular photograph printed on newspaper.Reverse: 7813beechworth, beechworth division, mining, reef mining, gold, gold mining, 1990 -
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 -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, 1910 - 1911
This photograph depicts Cock's Pioneer G & T Sluicing site No. 4 in El Dorado. Looking eastwards, the photo captures a wooden and tin building with various mining equipment strewn in the foreground. Underneath the verandah, figures can be seen. These are believed to be a Mr. Hollister (left), Mrs. Breustedt (4th from left), children Min and Chris Breustedt, and Kate Timmons holding a girl's hand. 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. The Cocks Pioneer was an extremely successful mining company during the 20th century. In the Annual Report of the Secretary for Mines for the year 1915, the Cocks Pioneer was the largest producer of gold and tin collecting 5,535 ozs. of gold and £7,500 of tin. Twenty years later in 1935, Cocks Pioneer was still one of the most profitable mines in Victoria, ranking as the second-highest dividend paying mine. The company produced a total of 3,650 kg of gold. 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 northeast. John Cock was the son of a Cornish miner 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 in 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.A black and white copy of a sepia coloured rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper mounted on boardObverse: COCKS PIONEER G + T SL CO, N.L. / 1910 - 11 / NO 4 SITE LOOKING EAST / 4 Reverse: 1997.2508 / AUG 29 1909cocks pioneer gold and tin sluicing company, el dorado, mining, sluicing, hydraulic mining, hollister, breustedt, timmons, gold, tin, gold rush, victoria -
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
This photograph dates to 1899, towards the end of the gold rush in the Mopoke Gully area. A large opening to a mine can be seen behind the men in the photograph, with a wheeled cart on a track leading to the men's position, where the soil and rocks have been hauled away. This photograph interestingly contains dogs alongside the miners. While dogs have been recorded as deterrents to thieves in the Victorian goldfields, these dogs appear as companions to these men. Mopoke Gully mines came under the 'Fryer's Creek' division of the Castlemaine District during the Gold Rush. After the Gold Rush began in Victoria with the discovery of gold at Ballarat in 1851, Gold was found in Castlemaine by December of that year. 20,000 diggers were spread across the Castlemaine region, and the area was yielding about 23,000 ounces of gold per week. Mopoke Gully was the site of the Mopoke Gully Water Wheel, operating under the Bendigo and Fryers Goldmining Company from 1887 until 1900. This Water Wheel was used in the gold mining technique of 'sluicing'. Hydraulic sluicing uses high pressure water jets to blast away the earth, which runs through a sluice box, catching the gold with all remaining slurry washing away. This Water Wheel was built the same year as the more famous 'Chewton Water Wheel', but was smaller in diameter (60ft as opposed to Chewton's 72ft). The Mopoke Water Wheel ruins are quite intact today, and are a registered archaeological site. The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one 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 1899. This photograph reveals important information on the use of dogs on Victorian goldfields in 1899. Dogs were used both as companions, such as this photograph depicts, as well as deterrents to thieves. Sepia coloured rectangular photograph printed on gloss photographic paper mounted on card. Obverse: Williams/ Good/ Luck Reverse: A02498/ 1997. 2498/ Good Luck/ Mine/ 1899/ Mopoke. beechworth, burke museum, gold, gold mining, 1899, castlemaine, mopoke gully, good luck mine, fryer's creek, gold rush, victorian gold rush, water wheel, sluicing, chewton -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
This photograph dates to 1899, towards the end of the gold rush in the Mopoke Gully area. A slurry of rocks after they have been broken up is depicted, and this is part of the hydraulic sluicing mining process. Four men are relaxing under a wooden structure, with a fifth bearded man standing near a stone wall. This photograph interestingly contains dogs alongside the miners. While dogs have been recorded as deterrents to thieves in the Victorian goldfields, these dogs appear as companions to these men. Mopoke Gully mines came under the 'Fryer's Creek' division of the Castlemaine District during the Gold Rush. After the Gold Rush began in Victoria with the discovery of gold at Ballarat in 1851, Gold was found in Castlemaine by December of that year. 20,000 diggers were spread across the Castlemaine region, and the area was yielding about 23,000 ounces of gold per week. Mopoke Gully was the site of the Mopoke Gully Water Wheel, operating under the Bendigo and Fryers Goldmining Company from 1887 until 1900. This Water Wheel was used in the gold mining technique of 'sluicing'. Hydraulic sluicing uses high pressure water jets to blast away the earth, which runs through a sluice box, catching the gold with all remaining slurry washing away. Hydraulicking is the process of breaking up the rocks and suspending it in a slurry. This Water Wheel was built the same year as the more famous 'Chewton Water Wheel', but was smaller in diameter (60ft as opposed to Chewton's 72ft). The Mopoke Water Wheel ruins are quite intact today, and are a registered archaeological site.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portray a 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 1899. 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 photograph reveals important information on the use of dogs on Victorian goldfields in 1899. Dogs were used both as companions, such as this photograph depicts, as well as deterrents to thieves. Sepia coloured rectangular photograph printed on gloss photographic paper mounted on card.Obverse: Reverse: A02497/ 1997.2497/ 'Good/ Luck/ Mine'/ Morepork/ Gully/ Mrs Joyce/ Bright/ Tunnel/ 800 ft/ 1899. beechworth, burke museum, gold, gold mining, 1899, castlemaine, mopoke gully, good luck mine, fryer's creek, gold rush, victorian gold rush, water wheel, sluicing, chewton, slurry -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, c. 1870
This photograph was captured at an undisclosed location and at an unidentified time but likely dates to approximately 1870. The photographer's details are not recorded and the identities of the men in the image are also not known. This image depicts a group of 10 men in typical miners fashion. Four of them are sat on a large log with one holding a small dog. Six miners stand behind those sitting. All these men are wearing a white button-up shirt and tan coloured work trousers. They wear heavy boots and seven have included a dark vest over their shirt. The man holding the dog has a pipe in his mouth. Two of these men are clean shaven with the remainder sporting a moustache and two with a beard. The ages of these men vary from late 20s to middle age. This group of men are located in a mining location with what appears to be an open cut mine in the background of the image. The ground is muddy and has elements which can help identify it as a mining location based on the condition of the landscape. The bottom of the men's trousers are muddy which provides the assurance that these men were working in this location when their photograph was captured. In the background there is one structure, possibly a dwelling, and bush which identifies the location as Australia. Open cut sluicing is a method used to extract gold and other precious metals from beneath the surface of the earth. This technique involved the use of high-powered hoses which broke down the soil enabling miners to come along and search this soil for gold. After the gold rush of the early 1850s, diggers had to enlist the assistance of heavy machinery and techniques like hydraulic sluicing in order to reach gold because the surface alluvial gold had already been discovered and removed. This heavy machinery was not used until after 1853. 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 the late 1800s and early 1900s. 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. Images, like this one, of Australian gold rush history can reveal important information about the social and environmental impact of this period. This image depicts diggers standing in a mining location and therefore, this image has the capacity to reveal or support significant information for researchers studying the fashion and social status of diggers in Australia in approximately 1870. It can also provide information on the landscape of Australia in this period and the impact of mining for gold on both society and the Australian landscape. The Burke Museum is home to a substantial collection of Australian mining photographs which can be used to gain a deeper understanding into life on the gold fields, technology used in mining, the miners themselves and the impact of the gold digging on the environment.Sepia toned rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper mounted on board.Reverse: 1997.2518mining, goldfields, beechworth, 1870, australia, australian goldfields, diggers, victoria, sluicing, gold mining, miners, diggers victoria -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, c.1870
This photograph was taken in approximately 1870 and depicts four male miners standing in mining sluice at the Three Mile Goldfields. These men are wearing typical attire for 1870s gold miners. They wear white shirts, tan coloured pants with water proof shoes and most of the men are wearing an apron to prevent their clothing from becoming too dirty from the mud. Each man is wearing a wide brim hat and hold large wooden tools used for sorting through the sluice. Three of the four men have full beards. The photograph was donated to the Burke Museum by R. Ziegenbein before 2001 but the photographer and the individuals captured in the photo are unknown. The image depicts the landscape of the Three Mile Goldfields during a period when open cut sluicing was undertaken to reach gold. Open cut sluicing is a method used to extract gold and other precious metals from beneath the surface of the earth. This technique involved the use of high-powered hoses which broke down the soil enabling miners to come along and search this soil for gold. After the gold rush of the early 1850s, diggers had to enlist the assistance of heavy machinery and techniques like hydraulic sluicing in order to reach gold because the surface alluvial gold had already been discovered and removed. This heavy machinery was not used until after 1853. The Three Mile Goldfields was a site of rich alluvial gold deposits located about 5 km south of Beechworth in Victoria. Today, the location of this gold deposit is called Baarmutha. It was a popular area for gold mining in the 1850s but became largely abandoned by the following decade. In 1865, a man named John Pund recognized that the area could be potentially rich if a better water supply could be obtained. He secured a 15 year license with three other miners. Within the next five years, these men had constructed 19 km of water race going from Upper Nine Mile Creek to Three Mile Creek. By 1881, these four men had delivered 950,000 gallons to the Three Mile Sluicing area which is depicted in this photograph. Pund was later go into partnership with John Alston Wallace who would become owner of the Star Hotel in Beechworth. The Three Mile sluicing location continued to be operational until 1950. Sluice box workers were a vital part of gold mining regardless of how inefficient they were in the recovery of gold. After using hydraulic sluicing to cut away the earth, miners would use the big wooden boxes depicted in the image to catch the earth which would then be sifted for gold. However, accidents would occur often which would result in the gold washing away and unable to be recovered. It was not a very efficient system because the gold, which was alluvial and thus very fine, would often pass through the sluice box undetected.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 the late 1800s and early 1900s. 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. Images, like this one, of Australian gold rush history can reveal important information about the social and environmental impact of this period. This image depicts diggers standing in a mining location and therefore, this image has the capacity to reveal or support significant information for researchers studying the fashion and social status of diggers in Australia in approximately 1870. It can also provide information on the landscape of Australia in this period and the impact of mining for gold on both society and the Australian landscape. The Burke Museum is home to a substantial collection of Australian mining photographs which can be used to gain a deeper understanding into life on the gold fields, technology used in mining, the miners themselves and the impact of the gold digging on the environment.Sepia toned rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper and mounted on board.[illegible] about 1870 / 97 2514.1 / 2594 30three mile goldfields, goldfields, 1870, 1870 gold, australia, australian landscape, miners, gold miners, diggers, gold diggers, beechworth, victoria, sluice box workers, sluicing, sluice, mining -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph - Photograph - Reproduction, W. D. Gibbon, Early 1900s
This photograph was taken in 1911 at Three Mile Creek, about five kilometers south of Beechworth town. Significant digging took place at this location from late 1855, which led to a flood of workers and stores to follow, though daily earnings were slim compared to the nearby Woolshed site. This remained the case even after workers at Three Mile Creek attempted to protest around Beechworth during an election in November 1855. Three Mile Creek was one of seven significant divisions of the Beechworth Mining District formalised by the Governor-in-Council in 1858, though by the time this photograph was taken, the boundaries of the original seven districts had shifted to create seventeen divisions. The Three Mile Goldfields was a site of rich alluvial gold deposits located about 5km south of Beechworth in Victoria. Today, the location of this gold deposit is called Baarmutha. It was a popular area for gold mining in the 1850s but became largely abandoned by the following decade. In 1865, a man named John Pund (a man second from the left in the back row of this photograph shares this surname) recognized that the area could be potentially rich if a better water supply could be obtained. He secured a 15 year license with three other miners. Within the next five years, these men had constructed 19 km of water race going from Upper Nine Mile Creek to Three Mile Creek. By 1881, these four men had delivered 950,000 gallons to the Three Mile Sluicing area which is depicted in this photograph. Pund would later go into partnership with John Alston Wallace who would become owner of the Star Hotel in Beechworth. The Three Mile sluicing location continued to be operational until 1950. The eleven miners in this photograph are: Back row: Led Guthrie, P. Pund, F. Beel, [Unknown] Miller Front row: Paddy McNamara, J. King, W. Beel, [Unknown] Garland, J. Clarke, J. Ryan, H. Bartsh In the background of the photograph is a huge dirt wall that appears to suffer damage caused by hydraulic sluicing. Hydraulic sluicing is a specialised mining technique that involves directing high pressure water flows at dirt to uncover gold. The technique played a significant role in shaping Beechworth's landscape during the gold rush to create the topography seen today.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 the late 1800s and early 1900s. 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. Images, like this one, of Australian gold rush history can reveal important information about the social and environmental impact of this period. This image depicts diggers standing in a mining location and therefore, this image has the capacity to reveal or support significant information for researchers studying the fashion and social status of diggers in Australia in approximately 1911. It can also provide information on the landscape of Australia in this period and the impact of mining for gold on both society and the Australian landscape. The Burke Museum is home to a substantial collection of Australian mining photographs which can be used to gain a deeper understanding into life on the gold fields, technology used in mining, the miners themselves and the impact of the gold digging on the environment.Black and white / sepia rectangular reproduced photograph printed on glossy photographic paper mounted on board.beechworth, beechworth museum, mining, mining team, three mile creek, sluicing, hydraulic sluicing, photography, gold sluicing, gold mining, pund mining -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph - Photograph - Reproduction, 1890-1900
The photograph appears to depict the of the entrance to the Rocky Mountain Tunnel. The Rocky Mountain Tunnel runs from opening of the tunnel, underneath the Beechworth town, to the Gorge. This tunnel drained the excess water from the upper Spring Creek Goldfield to allow for mining access in the area. The Rocky Mountain Co. blasted through the granite rock to create the original 400ft-long tunnel in 1859, but between 1867 and 1871, the Rocky Mountain Gold Sluicing Co. widened and extended it. At its completion, it measured 14ft deep, 6ft wide, and almost half a mile long. The mining surveyor at Beechworth called it 'without doubt, the greatest undertaking of the kind in the colony'. When the company became the Rocky Mountain Extended Gold Sluicing Co. in the mid-1870s, they continued the tunnelling work. The work was reportedly vital to mining being able to continue at Beechworth and may have established world records in tunnelling through hard rock. The entrance at the Gorge side of the tunnel can be seen from the Beechworth Gorge Walk. The tunnel continues to be an outfall drain for the lake and the town.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 the late 1800s and early 1900s. 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. The Burke Museum is home to a substantial collection of Australian mining photographs which can be used to gain a deeper understanding into life on the gold fields, technology used in mining, the miners themselves and the impact of the gold digging on the environment.A black and white rectangular reproduced photograph printed on matte photographic paper.7814beechworth, beechworth museum, burke museum, australian museum, mining, rocky mountain mining co., rocky mountain mining company, mine, mining company, rocky mountain mine, mine entrance, rocky mountain, gold, gold mining -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph, est. 1860-1875
In 1875, the Rocky Mountain Extended Gold Sluicing Company Ltd was created, utilising the previous Rocky Mountain claim for the area near Lake Sambell. The company employed A.L Martin to survey an area for a tunnel underneath Beechworth and Johnson Stephens to dig it. The tunnel was built at a rate of 40 feet a month and eventually measured 800 metres. The tunnel was a true accomplishment both in the present and during the 19th century. It was considered to be a marvelous engineering feat. Beechworth is renowned for its hydraulic sluice method of mining. This involved soil being exposed to torrents of water from high-pressure hoses. From 1876 until its closure in 1921, the mine produced an astounding 47,926 ozs of gold. Companies like this were the source of income for many Chinese gold-diggers who sought to make their fortune on the goldfields of Beechworth. During the height of the rush, the town had around 7,000 Chinese inhabitants living on the outskirts of town as they were not permitted to live within Beechworth itself.The search for gold is ingrained into the history of Victoria and therefore, images like this one which portrays 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 undertaken which provides insight into the impact of sluicing on the environment at a time when it was done. This image of the Rocky Mountain mine is historically significant as the mining complex is now non-existent, with the only remains being the tunnel built in 1880 by the company, which was considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the time. The image also provides a first-hand look into the social and cultural networks at play during the 19th century with racial segregation of the Chinese at the 'Chinese Camp', as well as an insight into Beechworth's origins during the Gold Rush.A sepia rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper as a postcardReverse: Historic Beechworth / 7792.1 / ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINE / Viewed from the “Chinese Camp”, shown partly in the foreground, we see the central plant of the famous Rocky Mountain Mining Company. This extensive complex, of which nothing remains, was situated between Silver Creek and the present Lake Sambell area. The company was responsible for a tunnel cut through solid bedrock underneath the town of Beechworth and surfacing near the keystone bridge on the Wangaratta side. Completed in 1880 it was declared to be one of the greatest engineering feats in Australia. The tunnel is still basically intact today. / Series by Wooragee Graphics: Historic Beechworth. / COPYRIGHT BURKE MUSEUM / No.72 beechworth, rocky mountain mine, sluicing, gold rush, mining, gold