Used at the Ballarat School of Mines Technical Art School, and plaster at the University of Ballarat Arts Academy (TAFE), before being transferred to the Historical Collection in 2012Plaster cast of a foot used in drawing classes at the Ballarat School of Mines Technical Art Schoolballarat school of mines, ballarat technical art school, drawing, plaster

The town you see had over 50,000 people. Bridge Street on the left is well established. The crude pans and cradles of the early “diggers’ were already giving way to steam power and the deep shafts of the “miners”. Money and machinery were needed to get to the deeper leads, and the smoke stacks of the great company mines can be seen across the photo.Four black and white photographs placed together to make a panorama of Ballarat looking towards Mt Warrenheip. On the left the chimney and gasometer indicate the corner of Dana Street and Albert Street. This is now the Ballarat Law Courts. The photograph is behind glass in a black frame. These four photographs were taken from the slope of the Ballarat School of Mines where the Uniting Church now stands. When joined they give a panoramic view of one of the world’s richest alluvial goldfields. The Waterloo Mine was one of the first deep shafts and was sunk at the foot of the Dana Street hill. Its tailings are seen in the second photo from left. The following was typed and placed with the framed image. Ballarat Circa 1858 This is the most significant of the photographs of early Ballarat. The photographer stood on the slope near S.M.B. where the Wesley Church now stands and took four pictures. When joined them have this panoramic view of one of the world's richest alluvial goldfields. Seven years earlier this landscape was empty. The town you see had over 50,000 people. Bridge Street on the left is well established the Ballarat gas Company stands on the same place as today. The crude pans and cradles of the early "diggers" were already giving way to steam power and the deep shafts of the :"miners". Money and machinery were needed to get to the deeper leads, and the smoke stacks of the great company mines can be seen across the photo. The Waterloo mines was one of the first deep shafts and was sunk at the foot of the Dana Street hill. Its tailings are seen in the second photo from the left. ballarat, ballarat townscape, panorama, waterloo mine

Central Deborah Gold Mine history: At its peak, Central Deborah Gold Mine reached a depth of 412 metres. It has 17 separate levels and 15 kilometres of drives and cross cuts (tunnels). The Central Deborah was very much a hands-on mine and the conditions that the miners worked in would be considered shocking by today's standards – being lowered underground in a cage with only two sides, often working ankle to knee deep in water, filling up to 32 ore trucks a shift by hand which were then pushed a mile or more along rails in the drives, working by carbide lamp, breathing in the fumes and rock dust and communication by bells. Geez, they were ironmen. However, at the time working conditions were considered to be among the best on the goldfields at Central Deborah, after all it was one of the only mines that had hot showers. Following Central Deborah Gold Mine's closure, the Bendigo skyline began to noticeably change. Obvious remnants of mining such as poppet heads, engine rooms, service quarters, battery houses and chimneys were steadily disappearing. After intense lobbying by the local community, the Bendigo City Council purchased the still very much intact Central Deborah Gold Mine in 1970 for a mere $6,000 to ensure that a vital link to Bendigo's historic golden past was maintained. The Bendigo Trust was then formed to oversee the operations of the Central Deborah Gold Mine, which led to the surface of the mine being opened to the public in 1971. Initially the surface was open for just 12 hours a week and as the demand for viewing a part of Bendigo's history increased, so did the opening hours. In 1974 the mine was gazetted as a Public Historical Purposes Reserve and attracted such visitors as H.R.H Prince Charles. By far the greatest shortcoming at this stage was that no one could view the underground workings, as these had become flooded. After what could only be described as a monumental effort by everyone involved, Level 2 of the mine was officially opened to the public by the Premier of Victoria, the Honourable John Cain, on 20 June 1986, which brought to fruition a long standing dream.Black and white photograph. Two men with hard hats and lights, inspecting quartz outcrop on wall of drive at Central Deborah Gold Mine.gold mining, central deborah gold mine, ray beer, mine manager