Bendigo General History - Department of Planning and Community ...

This line is improving, at least a dozen claims are in active work; the lead is shallow, and about
17 dwt appears to be about the average yield. Whip Reef - This line has been very little
worked lately, the company have taken out a lease for their principal claim ... Sheep’s Head
Reef - This line is being extended north and south, and many claims are doing well; the Union
Company, who hold a large portion of the reef and a splendid 12 horse-power crushing
machine of twelve stamps upon the ground, continue to crush all before them... Wills and
Company, to the south, are progressing; they also crush as it comes, and sometimes pays very
well. Curnow and Company, to the south, have lately erected a small crushing machine which
is now at work... the Red, White, and Blue Company to the north of the Union Company are
getting quartz yielding 5 oz to the ton. Hooper and Company’s claim, to the north, are also
realising handsome dividends. Wilson’s Reef, Sparrow Hawk - This line will shortly be
actively at work; they have a drainage company of 5 claims, worked by horse-whims, their
shaft is 190 feet deep... The All Nations claim have the same stone but are not sufficiently
deep for the same lead of gold... Specimen Hill Reef, Long Gully - the various claims on this
line are more or less busy at work raising stone for crushing, which stone is exposed on the
surface in great masses... The Mary Ann, prospecting claim, at a depth of 100 feet struck a
spur of quartz 6 inches thick... Axe Creek, Great Western Reef - This line is looking busy; the
prospecting claims are getting better than half an ounce per ton... there is some talk of
arrangements being made for pumping and crushing machinery... Alexander Reef, Lockwood -
The prospecting claim seems the only one in which gold can be found, and there, eventually it
fell off very much... 1
Sept. 1860: Eaglehawk Division -
The population is as follows:
European Chinese
Alluvial miners 3,500 300
Quartz miners 900
4,400 300
The machinery is as follows:
Alluvial mining:
Steam engines puddling, 5-74
Steam-engines winding, pumping and puddling, 5-92hp
Horse puddling mills at work, 239 at work, 123 idle - 362
Whims, 14
Quartz mining:
Steam engines winding, pumping, and crushing, etc, 41 - 637hp
The most remarkable feature in this division is the great reduction in the number of Chinese
during the last month; in one locality alone, where a short time since there were about two
hundred, I can now scarcely find one; but it is their general practice to move about in large
companies; it may be owing to the wet state of the gullies, as they have been much flooded of
late, and the Chinese may have removed to drier ground. The number of puddling mills is
rather on the increase than otherwise, as grants for six of them have been issued during the last
month... One new crushing machine of 6 horse-power has been lately put up on the Wallace
Reef and is now at work, but the one at the Elysian Flat has stopped work, which causes a
reduction of 4horse-power in the returns for this month. The 80 horse-power condensing
engine at Huntly (40 stamps) is now at work and the company are beginning to bring their
powerful pumping apparatus to bear on the flooded claims - it is the only chance there is of
recovering them; the pumping has not yet reduced the depth of water. The rush lying to the
east of Back Creek is still progressing northward and affords good wages to the miner ... one
claim on the Catherine Reef, however, merits particular notice (the claim of Messrs. Keith and
Company) from which stone of extraordinary richness has been raised and it is supposed that it
will become still more valuable. When the pumping engine that is now at work on this reef has
got the water under so that the workings may be deepened, it is expected that most of the
claims will make excellent returns. 2
1 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, September 1860
2 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, September 1860