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

Jan 1861:
April 1861:
obtained some very fine stone last week ... Best and Company to the north struck the rich vein
again. Sheep’s Head Reef - is looking pretty brisk; about 6 claims together are getting stone
more or less payable. New Chum Reef - This line, with the exception of Gibbs and Lazarus’s
claim is quite at a standstill. The New Chum Company is not at work, and thereby the water
has risen and flooded all the claims again north and south. Victoria Reef is, perhaps not so
briskly at work as I have seen it. Ballerstedt is raising stone from the back of his house, but not
very rich ... The Hercules Company are still raising and crushing stone from their very large
reef. Tyson’s Reef - The company are still crushing from the reef, which appears to thicken as
it deepens ... Engisch and Myers are upon the same stone. Perseverance Reef - Kershaw and
Company ... have had another good crushing. Should say that seventy out of the hundred of
quartz claims in this district are standing idle. Upon the lines where there is pumping
machinery at work some bustle and life is visible, but upon those where there is none, the lines
from north to south appear to be quite abandoned, most of the claims having been thoroughly
worked and prospected to the water. I know that if we had about four times the quantity of
pumping engines well placed upon the various lines, with a good drainage law to suit the poor
miner as well as the rich, we should be able to send down 20,000oz. weekly, instead of onefourth
that quantity, as at present. 1
Eaglehawk and Huntly Division. [G W Hart].
The population is as follows:
European Chinese
Alluvial miners 3,700 400
Quartz miners 1100
4,800 400
The machinery is as follows:
Alluvial mining:
Steam-engines puddling, 4-62hp
Steam engines pumping and winding, 5-92hp
Horse puddling mills at work, 345 at work, 125 idle
Whims, 17
Quartz mining:
Steam engines winding, pumping, and crushing, etc, 42 - 647hp
Alluvial mining, except in the case of puddling mills, I cannot find that any perceptible alteration
has taken place during the last month. In the quartz nothing of importance has occurred, the reefs
in general continuing to yield about the usual amount of gold, nor is there likely to be much
improvement until the reefs are cleared of water, and this cannot be done as long as the holders of
claims are not obliged to contribute to the expense of pumping. 2
Kangaroo Flat Division -
The population is as follows:
European Chinese
Alluvial miners 3,348 714
Quartz miners 1,379
4,727 714
The machinery is as follows:
Alluvial mining:
Steam engine winding, pumping, puddling, &c., 4-105hp
Horse puddling mills at work, 645 at work, 114 idle - 759
Quartz mining:
Steam engines winding, pumping, and crushing, etc, 63-1,127hp
Whims, 17 at work and 30 idle - 47
Whips, 6 at work and 8 idle - 14
1 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, Jan 1861
2 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, Jan 1861