Castlemaine-Diggings-National-Heritage-Park-Management-Plan

Strategies for cultural values conservation
components of cultural landscapes. They are
not part of the current road network that is
maintained to provide access in the park
(section 6.2).
Archaeological surveys undertaken in the park
since 1990 have identified over a thousand
industrial and habitation sites associated with
the gold rush and continuing mining. There are
still areas of the park that have not been
surveyed comprehensively and new sites
continually emerge in the park. An example is
the recent identification of the focal point of
the Monster Meeting, the first great protest
meeting of the Victorian gold rushes.
Most of the archaeological sites date from the
19th century and are formed out of stone and
local rock. A few sites still have wooden and
metal components. Much of the mining
evidence (especially of early alluvial mining)
is in relatively good condition compared with
many other mining fields.
Common threats to condition include human
interference, natural erosion, weathering and
inadvertent damage from management
practices and, at a few sites, tree disturbance
and concealment by weeds. It is important to
retain the authenticity of the park’s
extraordinary archaeological resources.
Archaeological surveys carried out so far
(Bannear 1993; George 2001; Lawrance 2000;
Stanin 2003) have recorded over 60 different
site types. Some of the individual site types,
such as habitation sites, are very numerous.
Over 300 have been identified, of which a third
consisted of stone and mud mortar chimney
bases. There are some huts with walled garden
plots (e.g. Herons Reef and Quartz Hill), and
Chinese market garden sites (e.g. Central
Springs and McLarens Flat). There is evidence
of hotel sites (e.g. Eureka Reef); mining camps
(e.g. Sailors Gully and Salters Creek); and
mining villages (e.g. Welsh Village, Nimrod
Reef and Cornish Town).
The park also contains six gold rush burial
grounds (Pennyweight Flat Cemetery,
Butchers Gully Burial Ground, Cemetery Reef
Gully Cemetery, Deadmans Gully Burial
Ground, Deadmans Gully Cemetery, and
Vaughan Chinese Burial Ground) and at least
two isolated graves (Escott Grave and Cassies
Grave). Only two of the burial places are
fenced. Threats to burial places include
disturbance by park visitors and inadvertent
damage from management activities where
burial places are inadequately marked.
The physical evidence of gold mining can be
classified within the following four mining
periods:
Period 1 (1850s–60s) – gold rush shallow
alluvial and pioneering quartz mining
Prime examples of:
• Gold rush landscapes are found south of
Vaughan, e.g. Sailors Gully, Sebastopol
Gully, and along Middletons Creek.
• Puddling machine sites (circular
machinery sites associated with dams and
pebble dumps) are found at Cobblers,
Scotchmans, Sailors and Sebastopol
gullies.
• Diverting streams through cuttings in order
to sluice creek and gully beds are found at
Middletons Creek, Butchers Gully and
Sailors Gully.
• Pioneering quartz mining (Cornish flues,
engine houses, battery foundations, dams,
tramways, buildings, mine workings,
roasting kilns, and possible Chilean Mills)
are found at Specimen Gully, Specimen
Hill, Eureka Reef, Cobblers Gully,
Crocodile Gully, Tubal Cain and
Sebastopol Gully.
Period 2 (1870s–80s) – reworking shallow
alluvial deposits and continuing quartz
mining
Prime examples of:
• Ground sluicing (water races, head races,
ground sluices, tail races, pebble dumps
and slum ponds) and include the Loddon
River Supply scheme and the sluicing of
Old Red Hill, Turks Hill and Grogshop
Gully; Hunts water race and the sluicing of
Nuggetty Gully; and Manchester Hill.
• Continuing quartz mining (including new
features such as Cornish engine houses and
water wheels) is found at Eureka Reef,
Herons Reef and Garfield Reef.
14 Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park