Document dated 28th April 1865 "All that the amalgamated alluvial claim at Pottery Flat aforesaid registered Number 881 in the Books of the Mining Register for the Mining District of Sandhurst known as the Royal Oak Company's claim." Listed in "The Bendigo goldfield registry" 1872 as Royal Oak Company: Bignell's Reef, Derwent Gully. Capital £24000., in £24,000 20s. shares. Manager, W. Barker. Newspaper articles dating from 11 Jan 1867 refer to the company as "Royal Oak Mining Company". Both names appear to be used interchangeably. This A3 document is made up of 3 pieces of heavy stock lined paper. The document is bound on the left side with glue and string creating a book which comprises the legal contract of mortgage for mining equipment. The document is handwritten in black ink across 4 pages (2 double sided pages) with the last page acting as the documents cover when folded down into a pamphlet. The signature page includes 9 red wax seals. When held up to the light, the cover page and internal page show an indentation reading G. Wilmot 1862. The first page of the contract shows an indentation of a crest and the initials GW.joseph hocking, alfred inkson gillman, benjamin lean, absalom brewer, donald fraser, william seed, john rowe, william collier, george drake, mining, royal oak company, the bank of victoria, g. wilmot