Document. 2 page typed document titled 'Premier Companies'. Lists various mining companies from 1870 to 1920 and the amount in pounds that each mine yielded. Mentions mines - Great Extended Hustlers, Great Extended Hustlers Tribute, Garden Gully United, Victory, Pandora, United Hustlers, Redan Garden Gully, United Devonshire, Old Chum, Victoria Quartz, North Johnson's, Johnson's Reef, New Red White and Blue, New Chum United, Lady Barkly, New Chum Railway, Great Southern, South New Moon, New Argus, Virginia, Central Red White and Blue, New Chum Goldfields, Victoria Consols, Carlisle, Hercules and Energetic, New Golden Fleece, Bendigo Amalgamated Goldfields.cottage, miners, premier companies (mining), bendigo mines

Slide. Hercules and Energetic Mine, Long Gully. Poppet head, chimney stack, mullock heaps, wood stack, engine house and boiler. Large dam in foreground with ducks and geese .No. 11 on bottom of slidemine, gold, unknown mine., bendigo mines-jack hattam collection

Slide: Looking north to Victoria Hill from New Chum and Victoria Quartz, image taken in early 1870's. poppet heads, wood stacks, chimney stacks, mining excavation in foreground, mullock heaps. Possibly a stamper in background against crest of hill.No.6 on bottom of slidemine, gold, north to victoria hill., bendigo mines-jack hattam collection

Articles for RHSV Bendigo Branch Newsletter March 1972; 1. Article in ''Federal Australian'' (Jan 1882) re undue delays erecting the St Mungo crushing battery; 2. ''Moans and Groans'' re wages for miners and meeting at Royal Hotel of May 31st, 1873; reference to a Regulation of Mines law of Jan 1st 1874 (Angus McKay), margin note on handwritten copy states that ''Further information on (the) Act and the lot of the miners and engine drivers will be given in future issues of the Newsletter''; 3. Article with return and costs information about working on a claim - details of shaft and sinking - (Grant and??Co), adjacent to private Victoria Reef Quartz Co., later the Victoria Quartz.document, gold, mining in bendigo

The Jubilee Mine at Scarsdale was started by Thomas Greenwood of Italian Gully.Jubilee Company Quartz Gold Mine has one of the most comprehensive range of quartz mining foundations in the State. The brick and concrete foundations cover pumping, winding and crushing operations, as well as cyaniding of mine tailings. The machinery foundations are the remnants of large scale quartz mining operations carried on at the site between 1899 to 1912. During this time the mine produced over 125,000 ounces of gold and was the district's most important gold mine. (Source Victorian Heritage Register http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic/?timeout=yes#detail_places;5517)colour photograph in digital format showing the brick foundations of the stamping plant at the Jubilee Mine in Scarsdale, Victoria.gold mine mining scarsdale

Three pages titled Guide to Some Famous Mines. Compiled by A Richardson. Each mine is listed as on the reef it is situated on. Reefs are The New Chum Line of Reef and the Garden Gully Line of Reefs, and the Devonshire Group. Mentioned is the mine's location, depth of shaft, poppet legs, machinery, location of engine house, gold yield, dividends and owners of mine. The mines are: The New Chum Line of Reef. The New Chum Railway, Kochs Pioneer, Windmill Hill, Confidence Extended, Johnson's No 1, Johnson's No2, Johnson's No 3, North Johnson's, Princess Dagmar, Golden Age, Johnson's Reef Extended, Golden Pyke, Constellation, Great Northern, Virginia, Specimen Hill United, New Argus, Clarence United, North Argus, South New Moon, New Chum Hill, The New Chum and Victoria, Catherine Reef United. Garden Gully Line of Reefs. The Great Southern, Ulster United, Londonderry, South Garden, The Sea Amalgamated, Garden Gully United, Victory and Pandora, Unity Mine, Carlisle United, Cornish United, Eureka Extended, South Belle Vue United, Shenandoah, Shamrock, New Chum Consolidated, New Chum United, Lansell's 222, Rae's Open Cut, Great Central Victoria, Victoria Consols, The Ironbark, Hercules and Energetic, Pearl, The Devonshire Group. North of Staley,The Duke of Edinburgh, New St Mungo, Duchess Tribute, South Devonshire, Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra, West United Devonshire, Hopewell, Phoenix. Yhe Mungo Mines. Unicorn, South St Mungo, Lady Barkly, The St Mungo, Sadowa, Eastwood. Snobs Hill Group. The Ellenborough, The Belmont and Saxby, York and Durham, The Acadia, William's United, The Victoria Hill - Ironbark, The North Old Chum, Lansell's Big 180, Ballerstadt's Open-Cut and The Victoria Quartz.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - guide to some famous mines, a richardson, the new chum railway, kochs pioneer, windmill hill, confidence extended, johnson's no 1, johnson's no2, johnson's no 3, north johnson's, princess dagmar, golden age, johnson's reef extended, golden pyke, constellation, great northern, virginia, specimen hill united, new argus, clarence united, north argus, south new moon, new chum hill, the new chum and victoria, catherine reef united, the great southern, ulster united, londonderry, south garden, the sea amalgamated, garden gully united, victory and pandora, unity mine, carlisle united, cornish united, eureka extended, south belle vue united, shenandoah, shamrock, new chum consolidated, new chum united, lansell's 222, rae's open cut, great central victoria, victoria consols, the ironbark, hercules and energetic, pearl, the duke of edinburgh, new st mungo, duchess tribute, south devonshire, duchess of edinburgh, princess alexandra, west united devonshire, hopewell, phoenix, unicorn, south st mungo, lady barkly, the st mungo, sadowa, eastwood, the ellenborough, the belmont and saxby, york and durham, the acadia, william's united, the victoria hill - ironbark, the north old chum, lansell's big 180, ballerstadt's open-cut, the victoria quartz

Handwritten copy of items for the Newsletter. Included is Machinery Contractor Called to Task. He took a lot longer to do the work than he should have. Boys Will Be Boys tells of a boy who was supposed to driving the whim horse, but in the absence of the braceman, he amused himself by taking a truck out of the cage and putting it back again. Then he started stepping backwards and forwards by holding onto a rope across the shaft, then fell down the shaft. He got a severe shaking. Cheers and Groans are about the long hours the miners worked and the introduction of the 8 hour day. Primitive Shafts is about the Victoria Reef Shafts. It tells of the underground working and raising the ore, crushing and yield.document, for historical society bendigo branch newsletter, federal australian, st mungo crushing battery, a richardson, royal hotel, bendigo advertiser, angus mackay, regulation of mines 1874, victoria reef quartz co, victoria quartz, grant and co, dicker's mining record 23/11/1861 pages 9 and 10

Document.Copy of Williamstown Historical Society Newsletter No 17 (1977).On the second and third page of this Newsletter is an article entitled ''The guns of the 'Nelson''', written by Doug Mills, Castlemaine. The Warship NELSON underwent alterations in 1860, including cut down to two decks and lengthened, her armaments reduced to 72 guns. Two 7inch 68 pounder guns were added to her armament. In February 7 1867 she was officially given to the Colony of Victoria by the Imperial Government. At the time her Commander was Captain Charles B. Payne. The Warship reached Melbourne in 4th February 1868. Relics of the NELSON were auctioned at Williamstown Victoria Naval Depot, and her two anchors are preserved for public display at Williamstown. An active demand for a share of the guns from various towns in the State. Ballarat received four (4) guns, Bendigo and Castlemaine two (2) each, while one has been given to each of the following towns: - Ararat, Tarnagulla, Hamilton, Bacchus Marsh, Echuca and Geelong. Collection of Lansell related documents: a. Copy of photograph - Lansell's Big 180 Victoria Hill - early 1870s - New Chum Hill in background. B. Lansell Estate mines - compiled from the annual report of the Hon Minister of Mines for Victoria, 1906. A listing of the George Lansell Mining Company interests at the time of his death. These were, New Moon Co, N.L., Clarence, New Prince Of Wales Co. N.L., Virginia G. M. Co., Catherine Reef United Co N.L., Great Northern Co N.L., Williams United, McDuff Amalgamated Co, South Mungo Co, South Prince Of Wales Consolidated, Constellation Co. Golden Pyke Co, Johnson's Reef Extended Company, Golden Age Co., Princess Dagmar Co, New St Mungo Co, Johnson's Reef Co, North Johnson's Co, Collman and Tacchi Co, Confidence Extended Co, G. Lansell Sandhurst Mines, Pearl Co., Windmill Hill Co., United Hustlers and Redan, Koch's Pioneer Co., Hercules and Energetic Co., Lansell's Comet, Cornish United Co., Ironbark Co., Hustler's Reef Co., and No. 1 Lansell's 83, Carlisle Co., Great Extended Hustler's Co., Victoria Consolidated Co., Great Central Victoria Co., Victoria Quartz Co., Victory and Pandora , Lansell's Big 180, Tambour Major, New Chum and Victoria Co., Garden Gully United Co., G. Lansell, Lansell's 222, Lazarus Co., Sea Amalgamated Co., Hustler's Royal Reserve Co., Horwood and Burrowe's Co., New Chum Consolidated Co., G Lansell's Sheepshead, Gariboldi Co., Londonderry Co., Shamrock Co., Great Britain Co., Fortuna Hustler's Co., Eureka Extended Co., G. Lansell's G.V.L., New Red White and Blue Consolidated, Great Southern Co., Lansell's Concord Mines, True Blue Co., G. G. Consolidated Co., Extended Red White and Blue Co., Great Columbian, Sedgwick and New Birthday. Also, a listing: ''Among the biggest yields to ate (sic) (date?) in ozs or Pounds were''; New Moon.Co. N.L. 180,087 ounces, Clarence £303,932, Catherine Reef United N.L. £762,815, Great Northern Co Ltd £394,525, Johnson's Reef Co 277,320ounces, Windmill Hill Co. 113,842ounces, Hustler's Reef Co. And No.1 1,144,923ounces, Carlisle Co 307,835ounces, Great Extended Hustlers Co £1,038,125, Garden Gully United Co. £1,653,900, Great Southern 97,752ounces, New Chum Consolidated 89,526ounces. This part (b) has handwritten inscription ''compiled by J Sarvaas MCE(??) Certified Mining Surveyor; 22/8/06''; c. Copy of Deed dated Dec 1886 between George Lansell, Wooten Lansell and the Bank of New South Wales relating to a wall and windows and openings etc etc. (3 pages of legalese!!!!!). Also, a (related?) page copy of a Grant -by purchase to the Bank of New South Wales with a date of August 1855 on it ''Enrolled in the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the Colony of Victoria - signed by Acting Registrar.document, gold, mines

PORT PHILLIP GOLD MINE CLUNES. GOLD WAS DISCOVERED IN 1851 - CLAIMED TO BE FIRST DISCOVERY IN VICTORIA.COPY OF PHOTOGRAPH OF OLD PORT PHILLIP GOLD MINE TAKEN FROM MR. BLANDS PROPERTY - OAK AND ELM TREES IN THE FOREGROUND.OLD PORT PHILLIP GOLD MINE WHERE GOLD FIRST DISCOVERED IN QUARTZ IN AUSTRALIAlocal history, document, postcard, mining

Notes on reverse of framed photograph; .1 PHOTOGRAPH - ORIGINAL SEPIA - VICTORIA QUARTZ MINING COMPANY, CLUNES .2 BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO PRINT - VICTORIA QUARTZ MINING COMPANY, CLUNES .3 BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO PRINT MOUNTED .4 BLACK AND WHITE PRINT - VICTORIA QUARTZ MINING COMPANY, CLUNES .5 BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO PRINT .6 SMALL BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO PRINT NOTE WATER WHEEL PERIOD;1865 ON HILLSIDE OF PORT PHILLIP MINE. VICTORIA, A QUARTZ MINING COMPANY, REGISTERED CLUNESlocal history, photography, photographs, mining

Gold was discovered in Ballarat in 1851 when many people rushed to the diggings. A monument commemorates the centenary of the finding of gold at Poverty Point and is dedicated to the memory of pioneer miners of Ballarat. It records gold yields, nuggets and the richest recorded yields of both alluvial and quartz mines. The replica gold nugget on the monument is the `Welcome Nugget`, found in Ballarat in 1858, weighed 2,217 ounces and was sold for £10,500. The memorial, known as the Pioneer Miners’ Monument, was made to commemorate Ballarat's gold centenary. It was proposed that part of the Pioneers' Memorial Fund might be used. This fund was started with £1300 profit from the 1938 centenary celebrations. (Age (Melbourne), The monument was created by John Edward Skilbeck, a toolmaker with Ronaldson and Tippett. John Skilbeck had a deep interest in Ballarat History, and undertook much research with Bert Strange and Keith Stacpoole. Councilllor William Ernest Roff provided the copper for the memorial from scrap copper obtained during his plumbing business. The copper was reworked by John Skilbeck, and was soldered in the kitchen of his home at 14 Frank Street. Colour photograph of the gold monument on the corner of Sturt Street and Albert Street, Ballarat. It commemorates the discovery of gold at Poverty Point in August 1851, and was The monument was unveiled in 1951 and is mainly constructed of large piecesof quartz, with a miniature popper head on the top made of copper. Mounted on the side is a replica of the Welcome Nugget, which was unearthed on the corner of Humffray and Mair Streets, Ballarat on 09 June 1858.FRONT This monument was erected by the Ballarat Historical Society to commemorate the finding of gold at Poverty Point 21st August 1851 and is dedicated to the memory of/ pioneer miners of Ballarat LEFT SIDE Richest recorded yields alluvial mines Band of Hope 303269 Ozs Prince of Wales 168929 Koh I Noor 164157 Great Redan Ex 110111 Albion 107125 Bonshaw Fr 96520 Park 94699 St George 86702 Sir Wm Don 76830 Hand in Hand 76830 Sir Henry Loch 43562 Quartz Mines Star of the East 256758 Ozs Band of Hope 158299 Victoria United 152013 N Woah Hawp 129562 New Normanby 127562 Britannia 103225 Llanberris No 1 100533 Black Hill 91665 Last Chance U 83766 Llanberris 71364 Speedwell 66000 South Star 64444 Sulieman Pasha Companies 62666 RIGHT Recorded gold yield 20606000 ozs Nuggets Alluvial Welcome 2217 ozs Saraha Snads 1619 Lady Hotham 1177 Canadian 1 1117 Canadian 2 1011 Koh 1 Noor 834 Eureka 625 Lady Loch 617 Prince of Wales 606 Bakery Hill 571 Native Youth 540 Faboulous yields of earliest diggings not offically recorded Quartz Nuggets N Woah Hawp 5-- 300 200 Ozs White Horse 500 Woah Hawp 444 266 262 Canton 257 200 Q Victoria lease 410 U Black Hill Coy 315 Tinworths 250 Parade Coy 245gold monument, ballarat, skilbeck, poppet head, j.e. skilbeck, john skilbeck

The first company to make a success of hard-rock (quartz) gold mining at Black Hill was the Black Hill Company, formed in 1859. Mining from the open-cut mine probably commenced in 1860 and by 1861 the company had erected the largest stamping mill in Victoria. The mill ran 24 hours a day until the end of 1864 and 12 hours a day in 1865. Open cut mining then ceased. Underground ore extraction continued at Black Hill until the early twentieth century.Photographic image of the abandoned open-cut mine at Black Hill, Ballarat, c1904 ballarat, black hill, mining, open cut, gold

The large mullock heap, marks the site of a former quartz mine, and is one of the few visible signs of the former presence of extensive gold mining activities in this area of Ballarat. Originally known as Park Mine, and now known as Mount Holled Smith, the mine associated with this mullock heap puddled 750 tons of washdirt each day. The mine closed down in 1874, at which time 94,699 ounces of gold had been removed from the ground. Colour photograph of a mullock heap in Ballarat's Victoria Park.mullock heap, ballarat gardens, victoria park, park mine

Steele's Reef was opened in 1859 along with a number of other reefs in the Yandoit area. The reef was worked by small mining parties until the late 1880s. In 1887, the Steele's Reef Quartz Mining Company fixed steam pumping machinery and commenced sinking a shaft. The company were unable to find a profitable ore body and after two years work closed down. By this time their shaft had reached a depth of 150 feet. The mine was then taken over by the Pioneer Quartz Mining Company who appear not to have worked the mine. In 1906, the Steele's Pioneer Company commenced work, erecting a winding winch at the old shaft sunk by the Steele's Company. The next year the company erected a 10-head battery, set of poppet legs, a pumping engine. Sinking the shaft a further 100 feet, the company struggled to find payable ore and soon closed down.Colour photographs of the remnants of Steele's mine at Yandoit, Victoria. steele's mine, yandoit, mining, ruins

Map of Victoria Hill Area printed on yellow paper. Details of tracks, cuttings, contours (in Metres) and Anticline. Location of mines, open cuts and buildings are shown. Numbers on map are: Ballerstedt's Claim 1 - 5; North Old Chum Co. 6; Lansell's 180, 7,8,11; Battery 9.10.12; Victoria Quartz Co. 13 - 17; Rae's Open Cut and Vicinity 18 - 28, Great Central Victoria Co 29 - 36, Adventure and Advance Area and vicinity 37 - 40 and Victoria Consols Co 41.map, bendigo, victoria hill, victoria hill area, victoria consols, new chum anticline, great central victoria, rae's open cut, w rae's home, victoria quartz, ballerstedt's open cut, lansell's 180, north old chum, central nell gwynne, john brown factory, gold mines hotel, cleopatra needle type chimney, floyd's battery, ballerstedt's 24yd claim, humboldt shaft, wittscheibe's jeweller's shop, luffsman and sterry's claim, victoria hill reserve, mines dept reervation

Photocopy of a Plan of the Victoria Reef Gold Mines Company, Bendigo. Shaded area is the Victoria Reef Gold Mines Company Lease No. 2 and Lease No. 3. The gullies are named Happy Valley, Long, Derwent, Providence and Ironbark Gullies. The reefs are: Western Victoria, Victoria, Eastern Victoria and Prince Albert Reef. Between the Eastern Victoria Reef and the Prince Albert Reef is the White Lead. Mount Korong Road is at the bottom of the plan. Other Leaseholders are: Burrows, Wybrant, Ballerstedt, Jackson,Roberts & Co, Ashley, Grant, ?rpe, ?eau, Woodward, Coath, Taylor, Cranshaw, Roberts, Gould & Co, Midway, Witscheibe, Endeavour Co, Albert Co, Ballerstedt & Son, Late Iron Bark Quartz Mining Co, McDougall, Specimen Hill Co, Hygrect?, Wheadon, Evans and Bannerman. Signed by H. B. Nicholas. Location of Ballerstedt, Luffsman, Midway Co, Witscheibe and Rae & Co engine locations. Hills are shown as hatch shading. Written at the bottom left ocrner is: Accompanying prospectus issued in Nov. 1859. Signed H.B. Nicholas.plan, bendigo, victoria reef gold mines company, victoria reef gold mines company bendigo - plan, h b nicholas, burrows, wybrant, ballerstedt, jackson, roberts & co, ashley, grant, ?rpe, ?eau, woodward, coath, taylor, cra-shaw, roberts, gou-d & co, midway, witscheibe, endeavour co, albert co, ballerstedt & son, late iron bark quartz mining co, mcdougall, specimen hill co, hyo?, wheadon, evans, bannerman.

This company was registered in May 1871. It amalgamated the Adventure, Advance and Try-me-well mines to mine below the 300 foot levels of these mines.Collection of Government Gazette and newspaper articles relating to the 'Adventure and Advance Amalgamated Quartz Mining Company' on the Victoria Reef, Sandhurst. . Papers include the registration notice of the Mine in 1871, detailing the shareholders. Half yearly meeting reports 1872 - 1880 are attached. Slip of paper attached to each item describes the content, for example 'Half yearly meeting reports of the Adventure and Advance Company as published in the Bendigo Advertiser from 30.1.1872 - 31.8.1880. Missing February 1873, February 1877. Also included, Victoria Consols Company Reports 31.8.1880.adventure gold mine, sandhurst, goldmining, adventure and advance amalgamated quartz mining company

BHS Collection. See item 10727.2Sixty two page copy of a proposed book on the Adventure Gold Mine, a compilation of research done by Phyllis Toy. Front page: ' The Great Adventure, a brief history of the Adventure Mine from its beginning in c1854 until it amalgamation with the Victoria Consols Company o 19/7/1880. Phyllis Toy Collection:adventure gold mine, sandhurst, goldmining, adventure and advance amalgamated quartz mining company

Plan showing portion of the Bendigo goldfield. Area of main goldfield: 140 square miles. Deepest mine working: 4593' (Victoria quartz). Gold output of field to 1935: 20,775,000 ounces. Dividends paid 1870-1935: 10,740,000 pounds.map, goldfield, bendigo

The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p23 Early Yarambat - Tanck's Corner Its early settlers, who in the 1840s were amongst the first non-Aboriginal people in the area, found life tough as they grazed their sheep and cattle. Yarrambat was then known as Tanck’s Corner or Reynolds Corner, after wood carter, Frederick Tanck, who owned land north of Ironbark Road, at the corner of Yan Yean Road, and Thomas Reynolds, owner of the opposite property. After Reynolds sold his land, the corner became known as Tanck’s Corner. In 1929 the district’s name was changed to Yarrambat, believed to mean ‘high hill’ in the Wurundjeri language. Tanck’s Corner was in the centre of gold-bearing country and the district is honeycombed with old tunnels and shafts. However although gold played a dominant role for decades, there was insufficient to develop a substantial township. Meat and agricultural produce made a greater impact. Until the mid-20th century the only substantial building was the primary school. The first gold rush occurred around 1860, the second after 1900; then during the Depression, the Government paid men to pan for gold. The first rush attracted hundreds of Chinese people to Smugglers Gully, who constructed round diggings to keep away spirits. Alluvial miners lived along the Plenty River in tents or humpies - some fenced with gardens - and some miners distilled their own ‘plonk’. It was a wild time and bushrangers - and later gangster Squizzy Taylor - were said to hide4 in the old Pioneer Tunnel in Dunne’s Gully between Heard Avenue and Pioneer Road. Mines opposite Tanck’s Corner included Beer’s Line, Golden Crown and Golden Stairs. Some of the big mines had batteries and stampers to process quartz. At first there was plenty of alluvial gold, as much as two ounces to the ton. At times gold was exposed after heavy rains so fossickers panned for gold around orchard irrigation trenches. Gold was mined until 1984 when Yarrambat’s last operating goldmine, the Golden King Mine, in North Oatlands Road, closed. The Clayton family operated it full-time, making a comfortable living and in the 1960s it was the only private family gold mine in Victoria.5 Gold was such an important part of Yarrambat’s history that a gold poppet-head is the Yarrambat Primary School’s logo. The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate. However this school was built in 1988. The original school No 2054, at the corner of Ironbark and Yan Yean Roads, was opened in 1878 and modified to its present form in the 1920s. In 2000 it was relocated to the Heritage Museum at Yarrambat Park.7 The school, whose first head teacher was Charles Planner, consisted of one room with a three-roomed residence. The school was also the community centre. On Saturday nights it was crammed for dances or euchre parties, community singing or other social events. On Sundays, services for different denominations took turns each week. However the school had its teething problems. Parents accused Charles Planner of neglecting his duties and the school closed several times. When it closed in 1892, only church services continued. Social activities moved elsewhere, such as the tennis club to the Stuchbery tennis court opposite. A sports day and woodchop on Boxing Day around 1900 was held at the Evelyn Hill Hotel, also called Evelyn Arms and Tunnel Hill Hotel, on the Greensborough–Diamond Creek Road. An annual agricultural show in Diamond Creek paraded through the town, and New Year’s Day picnics at the Yan Yean Reservoir included highland dancing and competitions. Also popular were the Indian hawkers who visited every three months, selling trinkets, clothing and other items. One called Jimmy ‘Allem dem Bedi’, gave presents and told stories, played draughts and sold delicious curries he cooked over his camp fire at night.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, golden king mine, tanck's corner, yarrambat primary school

Gold was discovered on One Tree Hill in 1854. The site has been worked intermittently until fairly recent times. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p53 Though still a working mine, One Tree Hill Mine at Smiths Gully, now stands in a tranquil reserve surrounded by bush and native animals - in contrast to its heyday. In the mid 19th century, when the mine was part of the Caledonia Goldfields, hundreds of men in search of their fortune worked the alluvial gold in the Yarra River, its tributaries and the reefs that made up the goldfields. Miner Stan Bone, assisted by Wilfred Haywood, is the last of the independent gold miners in the area and still uses the quartz crushing battery as miners did when gold was first discovered in the area in 1851.1 Stan, who is the last of six generations of miners in his family, was aged 17 when he began mining on his father Alex’ mine, The Golden Crown in Yarrambat. These days, after blasting the gold-bearing rock in Mystery Reef, one of the four reefs at One Tree Hill, Stan transports it around five kilometres by tip truck to the Black Cameron Mine for crushing. There he uses water from the waterlogged mine, (which still contains gold), as the Happy Valley Creek at One Tree Hill is usually dry.2 The One Tree Hill Mine has been worked for close to a century since it opened around the late 1850s.3 The Swedish Reef was its most productive reef and one of the largest in the area. Around 1859, extractions included 204 ounces (5.8kg) of gold, won from 57 pounds (26kg) of stone.4 Then during World War Two, Stan’s uncle, Bill Wallace, and Alex Bone, closed the mine. In 1973, Stan, with his Uncle Bill, reopened the Black Cameron Mine and worked there until 1988. Stan resumed mining One Tree Hill in 1998. As late as the 1920s gold was picked up by chance! When crossing a gully on his way to vote at the St Andrews Primary School, Bill Joyce picked up some quartz containing gold. This site was to become the Black Cameron Mine. The Caledonia Diggings, named after Scotland’s ancient name by local Scots, began around Market Square (now Smiths Gully) and included Queenstown (St Andrews), Kingstown (Panton Hill) and Diamond Creek. There were also poorer bearing fields in Kangaroo Ground and Swipers Gully (now Research). * None of these compared in riches to the Ballarat and Bendigo fields5, but the Caledonia Diggings continued intermittently for close to 100 years. Gold was discovered in Victoria following a bid to stem the disappearance of much needed workmen to the New South Wales diggings. Several businessmen offered a reward of £200, for the discovery of gold within 200 miles (322 km) of Melbourne. Late in June 1851, gold was first discovered at Andersons Creek, Warrandyte. Then in 1854, George Boston and two other men discovered gold at Smiths Gully. Gold transformed the quiet districts, with a constant flow of families and vehicles on the dirt tracks en route to the Caledonia Diggings. Three thousand people worked the gullies in Market Square, including about 1000 Chinese miners. The square established its own police, mining warden, gold battery, school, shops and cemetery and grog flowed. Market Square flourished until the middle 1860s. Bullocks transported quartz from the Caledonia Goldfields to the crushing machinery at the Queenstown/St Andrews Battery, near Smiths Gully Cemetery. It was destroyed by bushfire in 1962. By the late 1850s, most early alluvial fields were in decline, but minor rushes continued until around 1900 and some until the early 1940s. Some miners did well, although most earned little from their hard labour in the harsh and primitive conditions.6 But according to historian, Mick Woiwod, the gold fields helped to democratise society, as individuals from all walks of life were forced to share experiences, and the ability to succeed, depended less on inherited wealth or social rank.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, gold mining, one tree hill mine, smiths gully

"The State Battery was the central component in the gold mining of this area from the 1920s. The battery crushed the gold bearing quartz extracted from the mines and was a sizeable weatherboard building enclosing the engine and stampers. All that now remains are the bases for the machinery that comprised the battery, one timber and a couple of concrete bases and the nearby dam, which supplied water. However the historic significance of the site remains and is enhanced by the Queenstown Cemetery on the other side of Smiths Gully Road". - Bick Study 1922 This site is now the Peter Franke Reserve and is managed by Parks Victoria Photo Source: The Leader, Nov. 2nd, 1929This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book,"Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as the 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital imagesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, queenstown, st andrews, gold mining, smiths gully