Hello from East Gippsland

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Hello!

Ive been lurking a bit here lately, reading and learning from the regulars, even sometimes chuckling a bit. So thanks. And apologies, my intro got a bit long...

TL;DR version: I like gold, dont know what Im doing, hello.

I live in East Gippsland, Victoria. Caught the gold bug when I was a kid but only recently got serious about prospecting as a hobby, and Im having a lot of fun. I enjoy 4WDing, bushwalking, history, maps, archaeology and puzzles. Oh and gold of course. So Im not sure why it took me so long to get here, but here I am.

Ive got gold bearing creeks within 20 minutes of home as well as old alluvial diggings dating from the late 1850s. Plenty of later reef and hard rock areas a little further away. More bush than you can poke a stick at.

I started looking for gold north of Bullumwaal a few weeks back armed with nothing but a pan and a license and the confidence born of ignorance. My spot was the first gully I saw that still held a few spots of muddy water, below an old eroded area. I worked all day for 5 microscopic dots of gold, shredded fingers and a dozen tiger leeches. Looking back, Ive no idea what I thought I was doing, puddling about in the mud. But I had fun.

The next weekend (armed with the above plus a hand trowel) I went back and made my way down the gully to the creek in 41 degree heat. Worked twice as hard in loose gravel in the creek, got half as much. Basically nothing. I wondered if I was holding my pan upside down or something... :D But I had fun. And met the fattest black snake I ever saw.

Next weekend I explored some of the old diggings earlier mentioned, trying to piece together what the diggers were doing, and how it might have looked back in the day. Headed down to the creek below (armed with the earlier pack, plus a modified yabby pump, some crevicing tools, a new bigger pan, sieve and stuff... you know how it is!) and found some lovely bedrock areas with big empty cleaned holes. I panned nearby for a few more microscopic specs. I was stoked to find that I was consistently catching dozens of little red and orange stones that showed up in the last of the pan. I must be doing something right. But panning an area beside somebody elses recently dredged hole* wasnt it, even if I did have fun.

[*If anybody else is playing out there, be sure to wave at any tree that might have hidden cameras in it... give the DELWP something to laugh at.]

I worked away last week and Saturday and had plenty to catch up on when I got home, but was itching to get back out. Id spent my nights reading here, on trove, poring over old maps, reading about rocks, panning around Google Earth. I knew where I wanted to go - a different creek below a bend a bit off the beaten track. So with all chores done in the morning I headed off at 1 oclock, bee-lined my target, more or less, and hit the creek by 2.

It was stunning, the creek was running clean, rippling over bedrock, pooling around big moss covered stones (everything is moss covered, including the soil on the banks. Kanuka overhead. The opposite bank is a wide bar of gravel and big rocks some 15 metres wide. Plenty of crevices, patches of old black gravel deposited in the clear water below every rock. Decomposing conglomerate stuff aplenty. I didnt know where to start.

Scooped a couple of trowels of fine gravel and muck from behind a boulder above the water line near the side of the creek. Panned it off to find a line of fine gold and one big chunk winking up at me. Okay, when the excitement died off and I had a proper look, it wasnt as big as I thought. More of a picker.... eh... not even that. But nonetheless, a proper bit of gold, big enough to put on my finger and feel. Though each time I look at it now it seems a little smaller...

I grabbed my backpack and discovered I had nothing to put it in. My specimen bottles and snuffer bottle were in the car, at the top of the hill, through the scrub...

Some time later, Id got there and back, panned several more pans from the same spot, each holding between five and ten little flakes, none as big as the first but all better than the tiny specks Id been finding.

I snuffed them all up, along with the fine stuff, only discovering while cleaning my last pan that the tube in my snuffer bottle went all the way to the bottom, and every squeeze of water was blowing black sand and gold back out. Some went back in the pan, some went back in the water.

But hey, I had fun!

Guess where Im going on the weekend?
 
Hi.

I had a bit of a fossick in Prospect ck at Bullumwaal a couple of weeks ago when I was holidaying visiting family.
Didn't find any gold, but did get a few microscopically sized stones that I think are garnet. Was enough to keep me interested.

I'm looking forward to giving the area another go at some stage.
 
Thanks for the welcomes!

Collene said:
Didn't find any gold, but did get a few microscopically sized stones that I think are garnet. Was enough to keep me interested.

Thats good to know! Ill keep my eye out for any big ones. I was picking 20+ of the little red blighters (2 to 3mm) out of the dregs of each pan. I also kept one perfectly clear little gem that I think is probably just a waterworn quartz crystal, but its very heavy for its size. I found lots of large rocks with pockets and whole sides encrusted with quartz crystals, but left them for the hippies.
 
Onya TM!

1516175161_picker.jpg
 
Welcome TM, there's always so much to learn about how to find rocks and minerals. Going out myself after dinner as it's cooled down a tad here to do some tecting, gotta find my second piece.
 
G'day TM, is it okay if we call you TM? Welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of info here, search bar...yada yada yada.
I hunt the yellow in the same areas as you. There be rugged country up there. Nice intro, sounds like your keen. The research your doing will have you finding better gold in no time. If you'd like, send me a PM (private message) when you reach ten posts. I have a few things that you might find helpful. :Y:
 
Thanks everyone!

Flowerpot said:
Welcome TM, there's always so much to learn about how to find rocks and minerals. Going out myself after dinner as it's cooled down a tad here to do some tecting, gotta find my second piece.

It was warmish here too today. Had to take a couple of breaks hiking out of the creek (same creek as last weekend, different spot).

Got some gold though! And had a lot of fun.
[Not allowed to post links but theres a pic at #2034 in the Show and Tell thread]

Rusty_G said:
G'day TM, is it okay if we call you TM? Welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of info here, search bar...yada yada yada.
I hunt the yellow in the same areas as you. There be rugged country up there. Nice intro, sounds like your keen. The research your doing will have you finding better gold in no time. If you'd like, send me a PM (private message) when you reach ten posts. I have a few things that you might find helpful. :Y:

TM is fine. Ill hit you up via PM soonish, thanks for the offer.

Im on domestic duties tomorrow but already planning for next weekend. I cant decide whether to go back to the spot Im finding gold, or to hike in and see if I can locate the old Merrijig Creek settlement site. I find history side of gold mining almost as compelling as the gold itself. There used to be a pub and a post office and a couple of stores at Merrijig.
 
Welcome to the forum TM,the feeling of getting your first piece you can actually pick up is unforgettable,I had to try very hard to pick up my first real piece just so I could say I found a "picker".Thats it just to the top left of the 5c piece.LOL,I like the sound of Merrijig Ck settlement,hope you find it.
1516451843_image.jpg
 
Hello. As far as not knowing what your doing. That does't matter that much as long as you enjoy doing it and ask questions. Ask many questions. That is how you learn what your doing. And I liked your intro. By the way, roughly where in east gippy are you. I have interest in prospecting that area during the warmer months then I will hit the triangle when its cooler. Age and fittnes restricts me but I have to get out there and enjoy the hobby. I am at the gateway to Gippy at Cranbourne.
Cheers
Doug WD
 
Eldorado said:
Welcome to the forum TM,the feeling of getting your first piece you can actually pick up is unforgettable,

It sure is! I also love when Ive panned down to the last bit and start backwashing, when I see the glow of gold through the black stuff, before I know how much is in the pan. And the rattle bigger bits make in the snuffer bottle in my chest pocket.

wombat digger said:
By the way, roughly where in east gippy are you. I have interest in prospecting that area during the warmer months then I will hit the triangle when its cooler. Age and fitness restricts me but I have to get out there and enjoy the hobby. I am at the gateway to Gippy at Cranbourne.
Cheers
Doug WD

Hi Doug. Im in Bairnsdale mostly (I wouldnt recommend it), and travel as far east as Cann River and as far west as Traralgon and Noojee for work.

Are you looking to pan or detect?
 
Hi TM
That's fine. I have been considering getting back up that way. I have interest in ghost town Stirling. It is off the omeo road just past Tambo Crossig. Turn left and it is about 20 minutes in. It was mined for gold in the old day's as well as I think tin. Chinese diggings in area. If you ever get there let me know how you do.
Cheers
Doug WD
 
wombat digger said:
Hi TM
That's fine. I have been considering getting back up that way. I have interest in ghost town Stirling. It is off the omeo road just past Tambo Crossig. Turn left and it is about 20 minutes in. It was mined for gold in the old day's as well as I think tin. Chinese diggings in area. If you ever get there let me know how you do.
Cheers
Doug WD

I know it, but only by reputation. 54 crossings in 25 km for the full Haunted Stream drive. Its on my list! Part of the track was closed in 2015 because it got too rough, but I think the DELWP opened it again about a year ago. Dogtown is further upstream too, and has some impressive relics (dont know about surface alluvial though as the mines were deep).

Cant post links because Im a newbie, but these should work if pasted in a browser:

autourer.wordpress.com/the-haunted-stream-track/
vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/11056/download-report
handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/116718
 

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