Is Doug stone a PA member ? i have a few questions for him .

Just bought the NSW atlas and there isn't a great explanation to where I can and cannot go , It seems to infer that all the "crown(public)land" that is shaded green is freely accessible ?

It might be just the way I read the introduction or maybe the lack of warnings or rules regarding crown land that makes it seem that way.

It also shows a lot of dotted 4x4 tracks, are these for public use as they seem to cross a lot of farm land ?
The few "gate" markers that are shown on these tracks ,are these suggesting we are free to use these gates ?

Apart from a disclaimer saying don't blame the book and the introduction saying how excited and helpful people were to give information for the book, there is not any rules or warnings or explanations that I can find and really the promo I read for the book pretty much said its the goto guide for where you can legally go.

Am I over thinking this or have I missed a page when I flicked through it or is it just a picture guide to help with further research and the hard part of gaining access is still up to me ?

Feel free to tell me I have no idea :lol: I hope it is all freely accessible, but if not the atlas seems to infer to a newbie on land rules that its open slather .

I look forward to the feed back from anyone and if Doug Stone is a member feel free to Shine some light on this or even private msg me and educate me .

Outdoor Press said:

"Outdoor Press gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the Metal Detecting Map nor does it warrant that the Map identifies all features of the subject area. Prospectors should be aware that gold metal and relics exploration areas may contain hidden dangers and should exercise caution in undertaking exploration activity. Outdoor Press is not liable for any loss, damage, expense or cost incurred or suffered by any person relying of this Metal Detecting Map.
This map does not imply public access to all areas shown on this Map. It is the prospectors responsibility to seek permission to enter and/or undertake metal exploration activity on the land areas from the relevant owner, occupier or Authority.

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The above disclaimer is in all Doug's maps/books. It is your responsibility to make sure you can go into any area. A lot of the "crown land" in Doug's maps is under management or under some type of tenure like TSR's, Commons, western lands leases, crown land leases etc. etc. You still (by rights) need to get permission of any land managers, for example TSR's are mostly managed by Local Land Services, or leasees.

Thanks mbasko its a different disclaimer in the gold atlas and doesn't have the last line about permission , I would post it but not sure if that's legit ?

You can pretty much post what you want as long as you quote the source & aren't trying to copy or claim the work/ideas etc. as your own but whole maps, photos etc. would be a different story.
My book has the same disclaimer/s as per above. It is on a lot of the individual maps in the atlas. For example down the bottom of the Hill End map next to the legend.

ahhh yes its in the fine print that I only half read , too small so I stopped early, thanks mbasko for clearing that up. I thought in this day and age the first page of the book should have been dedicated to making the rules very clear as so landholders don't have people just driving in and digging to their hearts content.

True mate it should be more visible & I hadn't noticed it or read it on some old individual maps I had until it was pointed out to me. I kept wondering why some of the "crown land" areas had stock on them or keep out signs &/or locks. It then clicked that they were either crown lands leases or under other crown tenure so for all intents & purposes no different to private land really.

I can only comment on the DS VIC map book. The maps are reasonably accurate regarding scale and aspect ratio etc. Roads and tracks are somewhat simplified as they don't show every twist, turn and slight bend. The green shaded areas in general depict open land such as State Forrest, National park etc.

They are a guide only regarding the historical mining/prospecting information, relative to the tracks and other map detail.

Once in a specific area, you need good topographical maps at least 1:25,000 scale to gain a more detailed and accurate boundary of crown land. Even then depending upon the year of the original survey to make the map, they may not be up to date. Further info an be obtained from the Vic Parks web site for more up to date data.

Having said that about VIC, I suggest the same approach be taken for other states covered by DS gold maps including NSW.

It goes to doing your research before you leave home and being able to navigate to those areas when prospecting. Using GPS or compass and paper map, if you know how, or both.....

the capital letters in the disclaimer measure 1mm high and the whole disclaimer measures 27mm by 29mm and the book pages are 260mm by 400mm so that's my excuse why I missed reading it.

I am still happy with the book as it has given me maps of areas I haven't already researched , but apart from pointing out a couple of campsites I didn't know about and pointing out another campsite that I know has a no camping sign on it the atlas hasn't really helped me with access to the areas I have researched .
I was hoping he might have done the hard yards and shown the obvious places that the general public can go and maybe shown areas where permission can be gained by asking the right people or paying a fee.
It is a wonderful book and I don't want to put people off buying it but don't expect it to have clearly marked spots for prospecting and read the fine print lol.

I think another color of shading for a quick access guide would have made it perfect and even the tracks that are dotted lines marking 4x4 tracks should have been color coded to what you need permission for and what you don't , the marking of gateways and some are marked as locked give a feel that some can be used and some not.
It would help protect landholders and save any confusion and upsets when people half read the fine print like me, I only noticed the disclaimer inside the front page .

I have one of the DS maps but not the book, think its the same as whats in the book though from what I've seen.
While it gives a general Idea on prospecting area's etc, I won't be going out & getting the book, plenty more maps & stuff on the net available for free & with GeoVic 3, some geology maps & google maps/earth most places can be found.
I also have some Stephen Barnham & John Tully mud map books, I prefer them over the DS maps, some good info in them.

ozziii said:

I have one of the DS maps but not the book, think its the same as whats in the book though from what I've seen.
While it gives a general Idea on prospecting area's etc, I won't be going out & getting the book, plenty more maps & stuff on the net available for free & with GeoVic 3, some geology maps & google maps/earth most places can be found.
I also have some Stephen Barnham & John Tully mud map books, I prefer them over the DS maps, some good info in them.

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yep I agree for the spots I have researched his book has revealed very little, I was hoping it would give good information on access, but no it has no more than what the internet had already shown me . So all in all it is over priced for what it is , it is well set out and shows the old mines , diggings and alluvials but a couple of nights on the computer will generate that information anyway.

The promos I read before I purchased are carefully worded and at first read give a feel that it is going to show where you can and cant go . But now I have reread them they say things like "essential tool for prospecting" and "matching recorded gold occurrences with public land (crown land) and state forests."

I think for someone that hasn't done any map research yet it would be worth its money and yes I am still happy with mine and will keep it as another tool in the kit and it has shown me the size and style of the localities I haven't researched yet and gave me some interest into looking into them as well.

Good book would make a good xmas present but if you have done your research you probably already know whats in it.

Theres plenty of spots within the map areas that aren't shown on them also

mbasko said:

Theres plenty of spots within the map areas that aren't shown on them also

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After a quick trip to Dunolly/Waanyarra/Moliagul with the Stone and Tully maps plus printouts from Geovic, that was pretty clear! There were workings you could see from the satellite (Google Earth) and on the ground that aren't on the maps, and some areas mapped as workings on the maps were hard or impossible to find. Sometimes the three maps had a particular lead in three separate gullies!

I have spent a lot of time researching one thing or another, the only seeing is believing worth paying attention to is with my feet on the ground and my eyes doing the seeing!! 8) 8)

Apart from that, it's all hearsay and needs confirmation!!!! even 2 sources saying the same thing can result in 2 different outcomes, go figure???

That's my pearl of wisdom, or not!!!

is Doug stone on this forum?
What is his avatar if so???

"Rolling" sorry, couldn't help it.

Google him, he has his own web site or at least his books, also a Facebook presence.