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

Referring to this subject, Mr Koch, the proprietor of the Pioneer works in Long Gully, reports that
‘the quantity of pyrites operated on is much smaller than usual, in consequence of the impossibility
of obtaining firewood, and the cost of coal being too great to make the process remunerative.’ In
consequence of the great number of new companies that have been formed recently, good miners are
rather scarce, and some companies have been inconvenienced thereby. There is no change to report
in alluvial mining, with this exception, that at Huntly results have been rather more satisfactory. 1
Dec 1870: A considerable amount of labour has been expended on the new ground that has recently been taken
up, and which is as yet unproductive, so that calls have been rather numerous; but the general result
of mining operations is very satisfactory, as the yield of gold is above the average, and the deepest
mines, instead of showing any decline, are, as a rule, the most valuable. The deeper they sink on
reefs the richer and apparently more permanent they become. The prospects of some claims that
have no payable quartz in hand, or that do not expect to strike the reef for some time to come, are
considered so good (on account of their being situated on lines that have been proved at much greater
depths) that shares in them readily command a very high price. From every portion of the division
favourable reports are received of new reefs that have been discovered. In alluvial mining there is
little to report, as it is nearly entirely confined to Huntly. The Huntly Deep Lead Company, hitherto
successful, have worked out their ground and sold their engine; but the Bagshot Company, holding
two hundred acres, have erected two engines and twenty head of stampers. As it is proved that the
rich lead the Annabella Company has been working runs through their ground, and as they have
nearly completed their main drives, &c., for working it, they appear to have good prospects. The
other companies in that locality are doing about as well as usual. 2
1871: In Bell and Watson’s claim on the Golden Gully Line five reefs had been discovered, each richer
than its predecessor. On the same line, at Sailor’s Gully, the Argus mine had, in 1871, recovered the
largest lump of gold in quartz to be found in the colony, and in July, on the Hustler’s Line, Collmann
and Tacchi had struck an extremely rich reef at the 650 foot level. The mines on which the investors
had their sights set and whose richness had precipitated the investment flurry, were located in the
northern part of the field. 3
South New Moon:
Adjoining the New Moon's lease on the south was that of the South New Moon. Commencing in
1871, this mine after experiencing some years of disappointment, proved one of the best mines on the
Bendigo goldfield. To the time of its closure in 1931, this company crushed452,661 tons for a yield
of 251,389 oz, paying £522,400 in dividends ... The shaft was 1980 feet deep. From 1901 to 1905 the
South New Moon was the leading mine on the Bendigo field, while in 1903 it was the best in the
state. The most profitable year for shareholders was in 1904 when £120,000 was paid in dividends.
This mine also had a first-class plant, which included a 40-head battery. On 29 December 1901, a
new set of tubular steel poppet legs was in the course of erection. During 1933, a new company, the
New South Moon was formed to re-open the original South New Moon, remaining in operation until
1841. During this period, 46,529 tons of stone were crushed for 8,878 oz. No dividends were
declared. 1930 mining revival - New South New Moon commenced operations on the original South
New Moon shaft in 1933, faced with the formidable task of unwatering the flooded workings. At first
an air-lift pump lowered the water from the original level of 120 feet to 440 feet. In 12 months of
operation, some 300,000,000 gallons of water were pumped from the mine. Not only was the water
drawn from the Company's own lease, but also for a distance of almost seven miles along the line of
reef, extending from the nearby North New Moon to the Great Southern mine just south of Bendigo.
Water levels in al the old abandoned shafts along this line were also being lowered. In December
1934, a multi-stage electric pumps installed in the main shaft took over from the air-lift pump and
were raising water at a rate of 29,000 gallons per hour. Later additional pumps were installed, and
some 2,000,000 gallons per day were pumped from the shaft. At the time of the mine's closure in
1941, the water level had been lowered to 820 feet. Most of the water pumped from this mine flowed
down Napoleon Gully and Sydney Flat. A number of hydraulic sluices were thus able to operate for
some time, and much old alluvial ground was re-worked. 4
1871: The discovery the same year of Feeley’s Reef in The Whipstick gave an added dimension. Just how
vast a maze of reefs lay awaiting exploitation became the subject of wild and fascinating conjecture. 5
1 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, September 1870
2 Mining Surveyors’ Reports, December 1870
3 Cusack, 1973, p150
4 Perry, 1975 pp214-227
5 Cusack, 1973, p150