A party of surveyors camped by Yuille's Swamp (later Lake Wendouree) and surveyed the countryside for a map to be produced by the Geological Survey of Victoria. In November 2004 the Central Highlands Regional Library presented a special edition of 200 copies of the 1861 map reproduced from a copy in their collection. Original 1861 map of Ballarat showing streets and leads. Blue dots indicate gold leads, and red lines indicate auriferous quartz reef and outcrops of quartz veins."Compiled & Drawn from the Survey of Mining Surveyors Davidson, Fitzpatrick and Cowan & the Plans in the Surveyor General's Office by J. Brahe, 21st October 1861. R. Brough Smyth, Secretary for Mines. The Honourable J.B. Humffray, M.L.A. Commr of Mines.”ballarat, map, ballarat east, lake wendouree, survey, mines, robert davidson, ballarat gold field 1861, yuille's swamp, wendouree swamp, little bendigo diggings, gold leads, old post office hill, specimen hill, bakery hill, black hill, dead horse creek, brown hill, pennyweight hill, clayton hill, soldiers hill, golden point, gum tree flat, white flat, poverty hill, chinese village, robert brough smyth, ballarat map 1861, ballaarat vineyard, dead horse gully, deadhorse creek, invermay, black hill flat, gaelic church, police reserve, magpie range, dalton's flat, caadian lead, rifle butts, powder magazine, bathing house, government camp, gold office, chinese, llanberrris, victoria theatre, charlie napier hotel, united states hotel, grape's hoel, clayton's hill, cattleyard hill, free trade hotel, esmond lead, bakery hill, black hill lead, juvenile reformatory, ballarat orphanage, lady barkly lead, triffet's slaughter yard, little bendigo, melbourne road, t. cowan, thomas cowan

A party of surveyors camped by Yuille's Swamp (later Lake Wendouree) and surveyed the countryside for a map to be produced by the Geological Survey of Victoria. In November 2004 the Central Highlands Regional Library presented a special edition of 200 copies of the 1861 map reproduced from a copy in their collection. Original geological map of Ballarat showing property, waterways, mines, churches, schools, water races, and garden reserves. It was compiled and drawn from the surveys of Mining Surveyors Davidson, Fitzpatrick and Cowan.Compiled & Drawn from the Survey of Mining Surveyors Davidson, Fitzpatrick and Cowan & the Plans in the Surveyor General's Office by J. Brahe, 21st October 1861. R. Brough Smyth, Secretary for Mines. The Honourable J.B. Humffray, M.L.A. Commr of Mines.ballarat, map, davidson, robert brough-smyth, fitzpatrick, cowan, yuille's swamp, public garden reserve, manure depot, black hill, ballarat east, old post office hill, pennyweight hill, claytons hill, golden point, mining, railway, cricket ground, swamp creek, cemetery, sludge reserve, bakery hill, gaelic church, juvenile reformatory, orphanage, specimen hill, eureka lead, cattle yard hill, dalton's flat, chinese village, poverty hill, railway reserve, little bendigo diggings, pound reserve, allied armies, flour mill, agricultural reserve, marsh, survey reserve, survey corps, white flat, yarrowee, yarrowee creek, brache, j. brache, survey, ballaarat gold field 1861

Diggers & Mining: The Digging - The Diggers. Slide depicts areas of Little Bendigo, Forest Creek Diggings, 1852. Markings: 14 994.LIF:6. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Stores at the diggings. Little Bendigo, Mt. Alexander, 1852. Blacksmiths found plenty of work to do on the diggings. Slide shows a timber building for the blacksmith. Markings: 28 994.LIF. 5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. We could illustrate the migratory nature of the diggings population if we could compile graphs showing the numbers of diggers on each diggings at regular intervals during the gold rush. But this is impossible because of the incompleteness and inconsistencies of the official records. The numbers of licences (September, 1851 - March, 1855) and (there-after) of miner's rights issued are of little use. Why? Markings: 47 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Stores at the diggings. GLORIOUS NEWS!! THE LITTLE WONDER has OPENED a BRANCH STORE near the CONCERT HALL, EUREKA, with an IMMENSE STOCK of - Boots, shoes and clothes. A splendid assortment of Jewellery, watches and Clocks. A superb collection of Musical Instruments and Elegant Musical Clocks with Mechanical Figures. NOTE the ADDRESS!:- LITTLE WONDER, Poverty Point, Balaarat, near the concert Hall Eureka and at Queen's Arcade, Melbourne. Bank price given for gold. Slide reads: An advertisement from the Gold Diggers' Advocate, May 20, 1854. Markings: 17 994.LIF. 5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining: The Digging - The Diggers. Slide: An article from 'Land Labour, and Gold'. By William Howitt. Little more than a year ago the whole of this valley on the Bendigo Creek, seven miles and long by one and a half wide, was an un broken wood. It is now perfectly bare of trees, and the whole of it is riddled of hole 10 to 80 feet deep, on one hugh chaos of clay, gravel, stones and pipe clay. So much has been done on this forest in just one year; and not only one year . . . . . . Markings: 28 994.LIF:6. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. The Diggings The Diggers. Slide: Others were unlucky, working hard and getting little gold. Pictures Depicts 2 diggers having found no gold. Markings: 79 994.LIF:4 S. T. G. Bad Results. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

John Christopher Ruschmeyer arrived in Melbourne aged 26 aboard the 'Essex' from Hanover, Germany via London in 1864. Shortly after his arrival in Australia he travelled to the Bendigo diggings. He became one of many thousands of German diggers on the Central Victorian Goldfields. He married Elizabeth Little Shepherd (Morrison) in 1874, a widow who had travelled down from Brisbane after the death of her first husband (John Shepherd). He became a naturalized citizen in 1893. Shortly after his marriage and having mined Golden Gully for some years he turned to hotel keeping and was the licensee of the Town and Country Hotel in Woodward Road, Golden Gully up until his death in 1911. The family of 4 daughters and 3 sons survived him. The family of Ernest, Maude, Christopher, Ethel and Edith (twins), Charles and Dolly Ruschmeyer all lived in the Bendigo area. His sons continued working in the mining tradition. He is buried with his wife in the Bendigo Cemetery. After his death Elizabeth moved to Thistle St until her death in 1922. Christopher Ruschmeyer and his family lived in a small house (now part of a poultry farm) in Woodwood road opposite the TOWN AND COUNTRY HOTEL. A brother Ernest Walter Ruschmeyer lived in a house next to the hotel. Ernest built the house. After Ernest's death in 1927 another brother Charles Hex Ruschmeyer married Ernest's wife Gertrude. The hotel was first licensed in 1898 and closed in 1916. John Ruschmeyer was the licensee until his death in 1911. Elizabeth took over the license until 1912 when it was sold to a Catherine E Hoffaer. This information is provided by Neil Graham of Strathfieldsaye whose Grandfather on his Mother's side was John Ruschmeyer and John Christopher Ruschmeyer was his Great Grandfather.Digital image: image shows Town and Country Hotel, Diamond Hill. Ruschmeyer's were the publicans. Standing outside hotel, were from left, Ethel, Dolly, Maude, Edith, Elizabeth.person, family, ruschmeyer, john christopher ruschmeyer, town and country hotel, ruschmeyer, diamond hill bendigo

The three transcribed letters, numbers five, six and seven, are from a series of letters written by John Heithfield Wroth Pettit, 1852 - 1868, to his father in England. Letters five, six and seven are written mainly from the Forest Creek diggings at Castlemaine but also describe his time on the Bendigo goldfield. The full set of Pettit's letters describe his journey out to Australia on the 'Atrevida', his arrival, journey to the diggings, tools and methods used to search for gold during 1853 and his later life experiences working with roads and bridges, primarily in Gippsland area. In October 1854 John Pettit settled at Tarraville where he was employed as a superintendent of works connected with Roads and Bridges, later he set up privately as an architect, builder, land surveyor until September 1856, when he was appointed Assistant Surveyor in the Survey Department in which capacity he selected up a new line of road to the Omeo diggings and laid out townships. In 1862 he set up a business in Sale, Gippsland, as an architect/surveyor (Gippsland Times, 5th September, 1862, page 3). Letters from October 1854 to September 1856 give some information on the people, social life, opossum and kangaroo hunting, mustering cattle etc. Letters after 1856 mainly describe the country, methods of work and life led. Vocabularies of the Omeo, Norradyeree and Gippsland tribes c 1859 and a list of names of places, rivers and more, in the language of various un-named tribes in Gippsland c1857 occupy pages 148 – 162. (Source: https://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/collection-items/john-h-w-pettit-letters-his-father-england-illustrated-sketches-writer-1852-1868#&gid=1&pid=3) Albert Richardson, the transcriber of the letters, was a long time member of the Bendigo Historical Society. He was particularly interested in the mining history of the region and wrote extensively on the mines on the Bendigo field. Thirty seven page handwritten transcription on lined foolscap paper by Albert Richardson of three of John Pettit's letters, numbers five, six and seven. The letters describe John's experiences on the Castlemaine, Bendigo and Ballarat goldfields. Extract from letter number five: 'We have been sinking sev'l holes about have obtained gold enough to pay the expenses of living up here perhaps a little more - it is hard work we usually rise with the Sun and keep at it until dark' John Pettit written in capitals in blue pen, top right hand corner of front pagejohn h.w. pettit, gold, goldmining, castlemaine, forest creek diggings, bendigo, gippsland