Today we set out on another adventure with Lou, Margaret, Clare and Daniel to explore areas associated with the Australian gold rush that occurred from 1851 until the end of the 19th century. Like our American gold rush, thousands of diggers and prospectors flocked to the area and lots of towns sprang up to accommodate the needs of the growing population. Because Australia was settled as convict colonies, naturally there was a fair amount of fraud and crime associated with the gold rush and so the developing towns were one way to try and create a safer environment.
We drove through beautiful countryside, rolling hills, forests, and fields on two-lane roads so we were up close to nature. There is incredible diversity in the geography and I love seeing all the various landscapes.
Our first stop was at a museum and gold mine called History Hill. This is a private collection of an enormous amount of stuff collected over decades that tells the story of gold mining in the area. The person responsible for collecting all the material and laying it all out in a huge building is Malcolm Drinkwater. He met us at the entrance and he is one of the most knowledgeable historians of gold, mining and the gold rush era. We could have spent an entire day going through the museum if we stopped to read all the signage related to the displays. One of the surprising things to me was the collection of items showing the roll and influence of Chinese prospectors. And we certainly could feel what a hard life gold mining was through the photos and stories on display. The museum also had a large collection of glass including glass that contains uranium in the sand used to make the glass. Under black light, this glass takes on an iridescent yellow-green glow. I was also amazed by the drug-related bottles and advertising showing heroin and cocaine as medicinal products. I certainly knew about this, but it is always shocking to see.
We then went into a gold mine. Although the gold was all tapped out, it was quite interesting to enter the mine. The entrance was on the side of a hill and the tunnel was dug into the hill so the hill was increasingly deep on top of you. To think that most of the mine was dug by hand through hard rock quartz was mind boggling. Most of the gold mined in the area was crystalline quartz gold. Large seams of quartz were identified and a mine was dug following the quartz. Chunks of quartz were dug out and sent to a crusher. The gold was then extracted from the crushed quartz. At this mine, an extraordinarily large chunk of gold was extracted, the so-called Beyers and Holtermann Specimen. This was the world’s largest single mass of gold producing 3,000 ounces of gold. There was a replica showing the actual size of the gold piece where we had our photo taken.
The mine went back into the hill about 400 meters. I can’t imagine the effort that went in to digging out the rock. Eventually the tunnel turned upward in a shaft to the top of the hill where the quartz was bucketed up, initially under horse power, and then by steam engine.
It was an interesting foray into the world of gold mining and well worth the visit.
We then drove into the nearby historic gold mining town of Hill End. Several buildings were preserved and it was a quaint town. After a bite to eat, we drove up to a lookout spot on top of Bald Hill. It gave a nice panoramic view of the countryside.
On the way back down the hill we saw a couple of kangaroos, one very near the road so of course we had to stop for a photo. It was only about 10 feet away from the car.
One of the things Daniel was interested in having us experience was panning for gold. He had all the equipment we needed so we ventured off to a spot where he thought we might have some luck. The creek was nearly dry, with only a couple of puddles available for panning, but we got to it.
Gold, as I mentioned, is formed naturally in quartz deposits in the earth. When erosion takes place, exposed veins of gold break off and wash into rivers and streams. The natural movement of the water tumbles the gold against sand and rocks, forming the Natural Gold Nugget. Gold rushes are often first caused when someone finds gold in a stream or creek.
Daniel was very methodical in his approach. He dug up a bucket of silt and creek debris, dumped a shovelful into his pan, and started swirling the water around to loosen mud. The larger rocks are tossed out of the pan leaving very small pebbles and sand in the pan. By swirling the water around in the pan, any gold will become visible as it is heavier and can be seen around the edges of the pan. He did find several small flecks of gold. I, on the other hand, did not. It takes a lot of skill and concentration to be successful. You really have to look hard to find tiny flecks. Clare’s approach was to collect chunks of quartz from the creek bottom and pound them with a stone to break the quartz into smaller pieces in an attempt to find the gold flecks still within the quartz. She found several promising specimens.
After panning for a while, we headed to Mudgee, a larger town. We found a Thai restaurant and had dinner. We then headed back home to Rylstone. It was a long day, with a lot of driving done by Margaret, about 130 miles total. When you live out in the tableland area, one gets used to driving a lot. Mudgee is a main place for shopping, and is 45 minutes from Rylstone. Lithgow, a larger city, frequently visited for health appointments and bigger shopping, is 75 minutes away. So driving a lot is par for the course. But I thoroughly enjoyed the day’s excursion. I love seeing the land and I’m learning a lot, and it’s fun spending time with Margaret, Clare and Daniel.