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

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

A photo of Old Calder Highway in Diggers Rest with houses on one side and a manmade waterhole on the other side beside the railway line. The railway crossing can be seen in the background next to the railway station.A colour photograph of a waterhole on the side of the road and beside a railway line. It is unmounted.old calder highway, diggers rest, diggers rest railway station, railways, george evans collection

The old Calder Highway before the construction of the duplication of the Calder Highway between the Railway crossing and Plumpton Road.A coloured panoramic view of the old Caler Highway at Diggers Rest. It is unmounted.old calder highway, diggers rest, plumpton road, railways, george evans collection

This photograph is of the duplication of the Calder Highway at Diggers Rest in the vicinity of Plumpton Road.A coloured panoramic view of the construction of the duplication of the Calder Highway in the vicinity of Plumpton Road. It is unmounted.calder highway, diggers rest, highway duplication, road construction and maintenance, plumpton road, george evans collection

The Duncan family have occupied 'Glencoe' since 1888 when John Duncan purchased it from M. O'Brien. In 1972 Glencoe was the site for the Sunbury Pop Festival.A coloured photograph of the front facade of a sandstone building. A double hung 8 pane sash window is on the LHS of the wall and a doorway with a 2 panelled and glass door is in the foreground. The woodwork is painted cream. A tea trolley is near the door. The verandah roof is lined with fibro cement. At the extreme end of the porch there is a doorway. Farm implements are hanging on the wall.sandstone buildings, duncan, george, glencoe homestead, sunbury pop festival, george evans collection

A sepia photograph of two men and three children standing near a horse drawn dray loaded with hay.written on back: Load of Hay 1920 / Diggers Resthay bales, harvesting, diggers rest, cullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, horse drawn vehicles, 1920s, george evans collection

A sepia photograph Bayview Farm at 111 Davis Road, Diggers Reston back: Bayview-111 Davis Rd / Diggers Restcullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, diggers rest, davis road, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of a group of men working a threshing machine and building a haystack during hay making in 1922.cullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, diggers rest, harvesting, haystacks, machinery, agricultural machinery, farm and garden equipment, hay bales, 1920s, george evans collection

A black and white photograph three horses harnessed and working with four men during harvest.on back: GROUP / DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, diggers rest, harvesting, hay bales, horses, horse drawn vehicles, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of four men gathering hay to make hay stooks in a paddock.on back: STOOKING / DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, diggers rest, harvesting, hay bales, horse drawn vehicles, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of two females sitting in a horse drawn buggy in front of a timber and corrugated iron shed. One female has been identified on the back of the photograph as Uraina Cullinan. The other is not known.on back: wrtten in pen; "The morning drive" / Uraina Cullinan - ? / DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, bayview farm, diggers rest, hay bales, horse drawn vehicles, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of a bluestone arched bridge over Jackson Creek in Macedon Street. Taken at Easter 1934.on back: written in pen; Bridge @ Sunbury / Easter 1934cullinan, uraina, eileen, sunbury, jackson creek, macedon street, bulla, bridges, bluestone bridge, 1930s, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of a weatherboard house and garden known as Bayview Farm at Diggers Rest. It is the home of Uraina and Eileen Cullinan situated at 111 Davis Road, Diggers Rest.on back: BAYVIEW / 111 DAVIS ROAD / DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, diggers rest, bayview farm, chris, davis road, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of a man shearing a sheep with shears in a farmyard with water tanks in the background with a stack of feed bags. The property if Bayview Farm, Davis Road, Diggers Rest.on back: BAYVIEW / DAVIS ROAD / DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, diggers rest, bayview farm, chris, davis road, farmers, shearers, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of two horses harnessed up to a cultivator. A young girl and a man are standing behind it.on back: DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, cultivators, horses, farm and garden equipment, agricultural implements, george evans collection

Sepia photograph of two drays that have teams of horses harnessed to them. There are three men in the image and they are backdropped by tall trees.on back: DIGGERS RESTcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, cultivators, horses, farm and garden equipment, drays, farming, bayview farm, agricultural implements, george evans collection

A black and white image of twelve turkeys in a farm yard. In the background on the LH side there is a tree and a picket fence next to the farm gate and shed with a wire fence and tree.on back: Melton Shire Council Meeting / Diggers Restcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, farming, turkeys, farms, bayview farm, george evans collection

A black and white image of Miss Uraina Cullinan kneeling on the ground holding a sheep at her farm "Bayview" in Diggers Rest.on back: Uraina Cullinan / Diggers Restcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, farming, farms, bayview farm, george evans collection

A black and white image of Miss Uraina Cullinan and William Clark drenching sheep in a yard at her farm "Bayview" in Diggers Rest.on back: Wm Clark / Uraina Cullinancullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, farming, farms, bayview farm, clark, william, sheep, drenching, george evans collection

A black and white image of Eileen Cullinan with her two dogs 'Lassie' and 'Bobby' on her farm "Bayview" in Diggers Rest.on back: Eileen Cullinan / Lassie / Bobbycullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, dogs, farming, farms, bayview farm, clark, william, sheep, drenching, george evans collection

A black and white image of Uraina Cullinan and William Clark with dog 'Bobby' in a sheepyard on her farm "Bayview" in Diggers Rest.on back: Uraina Cullinan / Bobby / Wm Clarkcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, dogs, farming, farms, bayview farm, clark, william, sheep, drenching, george evans collection

A black and white image of a group of people at a dance in the Diggers Rest Hall. This venue was used by the people of the district for many years.on back: E & U / Cullinan / Diggers Rest / OLD HALLcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, farming, farms, bayview farm, diggers rest, diggers rest hall, george evans collection

A coloured image of Miss E. Cullinan with four calves in her garden at Bayview Farm, Diggers Rest.on back in ink: EILEEN CULLINANcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, bayview farm, diggers rest, farm, clothing and dress, george evans collection

A family photograph of Chris Cullinan Snr., his wife Eileen, his sons Herbert and Chris. Jnr and daughter Rose at Bayview Farm, Diggers Rest.on back in ink: CULLINAN FAMILY c1913 / "Bayview"/111 Davis Road /Diggers Rest/ CHRIS. SNR. EILEEN. Herbert/Chris Jnr/Rosecullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, rose, bayview farm, diggers rest, farm, clothing and dress, george evans collection

A sepia photograph of a haystack being built with a bale elevator at the side and a hay cart at the end at Bayview Farm.on back in ink: HAYSTACK AT 'BAYVIEW'/ABOUT 1934 / 60' (feet) long, 20' (feet) high, 25' (feet) wide / ELEVATOR APPROX 25' (feet) long / 70-100 tons of hay / "Bayview" / 111 DAVIS ROAD / DIGGERS REST 3427cullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, bayview farm, diggers rest, farms, farming, clothing and dress, harvesting, haystacks, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of thirty-one children taken at the Diggers Rest State School on 18 August 1924. There are seventeen boys and fourteen girls. Two girls are Eileen and Uraina Cullinan of Bayview Farm.on back in ink: E & U CULLINANcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, bayview farm, diggers rest, farms, farming, clothing and dress, harvesting, schools, diggers rest state school, haystacks, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of a group of school children and their teacher taken at the Diggers Rest State School No.2479. Eileen and Uraina Cullinan are amongst this group but not identified.on back in ink: E & U CULLINANcullinan, uraina, eileen, chris, bayview farm, diggers rest, farms, farming, clothing and dress, harvesting, schools, diggers rest state school, education, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of twelve men, one horse and three greyhounds in a white wooden frame with glass, at a meeting of the Plumpton Greyhound Races. George Evans (Micko) is standing on the left of the horse's nose; Frank Evans is holding the horse and Bill Aitken is in the light coloured cardigan and bow tie.sports and recreations, greyhound racing, dogs, whelan, kevin, evans, george, aitken, william, kelly, john, frank, plumpton road, diggers rest, plumpton greyhound races, george evans collection

A black and white photograph of men, one horse and four greyhounds in a white wooden frame with glass, at a meeting of the Plumpton Greyhound Races. George Evans (Micko) is pictured second from left; Frank Evans is on the horse and Bill Aitken is in the light coloured cardigan.sports and recreations, greyhound racing, dogs, whelan, kevin, evans, george, aitken, william, kelly, john, frank, plumpton road, diggers rest, plumpton greyhound races, george evans collection