Historical information
The Phil Wilkin Collection contains a series of 11 Items. The related items can be found by clicking on the reference link below.
The following history of the Young family and their descendants who lived at the Springs is provided by Phil Wilkin. His Great Grandparents were Frances Young and August Wirth. Phil has also provided notes on the Wilkin Family and some history of the gold mining in Sedgwick.
Frances Young's parents Joseph and Margaret Young owned the property called "The Old Place, Preston Vale or Wellington Flat" at Sedgwick near the Springs. Joseph Young owned and Managed the Standard Brewery which was located at Campbells Creek during the slate 1800’s early 1900’s. Joseph and Margaret are buried in the Harcourt cemetery.
In 1880 August Wirth lived at Mosquito Creek (Lake Eppalock, Victoria) when he married Frances Young. In 1902 they moved to part of Joseph Young's property. They milked cows and sold cattle for a living. One of their children Charles Wirth (Phil Wilkin's Grandfather) bought the land in 1935 after his parents had died. Charles Wirth was a councillor and also was president of the Shire of Strathfieldsaye.
The "Old Place" was part of the property owned by members of the family. The old house at the Springs was burnt out by bushfire in January 1944 and much of the stonework was later vandalized by campers.
The original Coliban Water Works were designed in 1863 by the Irish engineer Joseph Brady. The system included 70 kilometres of open water channels, aqueducts, syphons and tunnels to carry water (by gravity) from the Coliban River at Malmsbury, north to Castlemaine and Bendigo. Sedgwick is a locality in Central Victoria, Australia. It is located in the City of Greater Bendigo. Facilities include a public hall that opened in 1958 and CFA Rural fire station. It was named Upper Emu Creek until 1901 when it was renamed as Sedgwick after British geologist Adam Sedgwick.
Physical description
Four photos of the miners and information on the Sedgwick Gold Mine. There are 182 photos in this series and can be found at 8683.1 to 8683.11. The series also includes photos of the surrounding farming land and the remains of an old house. There are also some notes on the pioneers of the district.