A goldfield in... balwyn?

[pberrett]

Hi all

I was searching today on the Geovic database and activating the mineralogy layer that covers gold bearing areas. I was surprised to find that there is supposed to be a gold bearing area in, of all places, Balwyn.

The rectangular area runs from Corby Street to just south of Belmore Road and from just west of Kelba Street to Jacka Street.

I note that Gordon Barnard Reserve falls within this area. I wonder whether one can prospect there?

cheers Peter

 

[casper]

Hi newbie, Dig a little deeper into the land management overlays to find out what is the land status. My bet is that'll come up kermit green which is usually a no go. However, do a google search re the land status description which will usually pull up a slew of .gov.vic hit's and an explanation of the governing legislation.

good luck casper

 

[loamer]

Balwyn gold is correct. The whole area was generically called Black Flat (Glen Waverley). The first gold was found (reportedly) in 1852 - Argus newspaper article. In 1893 - 1896 companies were most certainly putting in bores through the area. There was a rush to the corner of Springvale and High Street Road. A reef was found which yielded 6 ounces to the ton. The rush finished after two weeks. There are numerous reports of gold throughout Melbourne - there was even the Collingwood Gold Mining Company. If you look at the Mining Division reports, Metro (Melbourne) had 70 diggers listed in 1863. A lot of lease applications were refused around Hoddle Street and Richmond due to residential and factory buildings taking priority - it was during a depressed financial period.

old reporting '(prospecting bore) at Notting Hill and Hartwell early in 1896; companies then working at Balwyn and Hawthorn....'

The most interesting area IMO is out at the old Caledonian Diggings between Diamond Creek and Watsons Creek.