Historical information

1864 photograph of the Coffer Dam in the River Yarra situated (approximately) opposite Whipstick Gully. Remains of bridge built in 1860(?) wrecked by 1863 flood in background.

Reproduced page 29 of ‘Pioneers & Painters’
Gold was first discovered in this area at Andersons Creek (Warrandyte) in June 1851 by Louis Michel. Discoveries north of the Yarra did not occur until about 1854.
Although it took some months for a true rush to develop it was not long before alluvial workings were being carried on in most of the Shire of Eltham. The last area in which gold was discovered was Kinglake.
As the gold became harder to find, deep mining took over from alluvial diggings in the gullies. Perhaps the most extensive of the deep workings was the Diamond Creek Mine just outside the boundary of the Shire. This form of mining was continued into the 1930s.
There are believed to be some mines in the area still capable of producing gold but present prices make working these uneconomical. Some gold is still found by weekend prospectors.

Photo: Carl Walter 1831-1907 – inscribed on tent “C. Walter Photo”
The State Library of Victoria holds over 150 photos by Carl Walter, most of which are portraits of Aboriginal natives including William Barak.

Significance

This 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 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.

Physical description

Digital image
4 x 5 inch B&W Neg (2)
Print 20 x 25 cm