how to wreck Grabben Gullen for others

[Mungoman]

G'day explorer, this was taken yesterday - 01/09/2015 - the banks are well exposed, which indicates the previous levels of the creek

Picked up this bomb - mainly green, but has a small, but beautiful margin of cornflour blue. It dropped out of the wall in the bank, and when I saw it I thought that it was an old champagne bottle.

And yes, their are quite a few mullocky heaps in the bed of the creek where some one has done a rambo with a banker, and cleaned out the bed and the banks of the creek we used to walk on, from the end of the shingle, upstream, down to under the bridge. The recent floods had the creek running at 1 metre above normal levels, so god knows what it looked like before the flood

Any fossicking available now, will be in the creek bed, or, illegally, in the banks, which would leave it looking like the Grand Canyon, in my opinion.

 

[Jimmyjamesc]

Hey all,
Will anybody be at GG on Friday? (04/09/2015)
My brother and I are planning to check out the area for the first time.

Reading this Topic, I understand that there have been some fools there recently... this is extremely sad. Why do people have to spoil these special places for others who are yet to experience it for themselves?

Nevertheless I still want to see what it's like and if anybody else is there it would be really great to have someone point out the boundaries of the public fossicking area. Or share some tips on the places that have yielded good results.
I have also been doing some research on the area too, Is it possible to go up as far as wattle creek? I understand that it is probably on private property, but is it hard to get permission off the owner?
We wouldn't be using any powered equipment, just the shovels, sieves, sweat and most likely tears! 8.(

Thanks
Jimmyjames

 

[Jimmyjamesc]

Hey Mungoman!
That Bomb you posted a picture of is a Beauty!
I'd be thrilled to find one even half that size...

 

[Druley]

Hi Terry,
I do believe this may have been done by the bloke that was camped out there for a few months.
Was he still camped there near the bridge?
He was having a fair go last few times I was out.
Doesn't talk much. Not sure if the locals befriended him or not.

Thanks Mungoman,

When was this photo taken?

You can clearly see the two piles of larger gravels from the high banking in the middle of the stream with a large amount of smaller debris just behind.

Terry

 

[Explorer385]

I guess it doesn't really matter now who actually did it, the thing is by raising it as a topic here we have educated a lot of people about the dangers associated with such activities (digging into banks) and raised awareness of needing to look after what we have got.

We have received lots of posts on the topic and have many views (1253 at this stage) so I guess we are all in a bit better position to look after our free access areas and each other.

Terry

 

[willo1]

The crater in the first photo where the bank has been under cut has been there for some time. A mate and I were up there around May and it was there. The cut on the right was similar in size and had under cut the bank. Looking at the photo it has been dug out some more and the roof collapsed in. Further around to the right there were numerous other holes that had been cut into the bank everywhere. Down towards the bridge a fella had cleaned the creek out all the way down to bedrock between the pilons. There was a lot less water when we were up there and all the water that you can see in the bottom photo on the right side were just holes that had been dug everywhere.

I am planning a trip over there in a few weeks time. Hopefully the recent rain has cleaned up the bank a bit and deposited a few nice gems in the creek for me to find...

 

[Explorer385]

Thanks Willo,

I think maybe they'd been dug further cause it all looked pretty fresh when I was there.

Pity about the amount of digging down closer to the bridge though as it wasn't too long ago that the council had to get big machines in there to push rocks and spoil back up under the bridge to stabilize the area because of digging in that area.

Terry

 

[joe]

Terry, the council work with the rocks under the bridge was due to flood damage. The water came up about a meter from top of the bridge- I know cause I live around the area.

 

[Explorer385]

Thanks Joe,

Thanks for the correction. I was under the impression that it was as a result of digging.
In any event, digging down underneath that area is bad form in my view as it can damage stability.

PS, love your avatar. Local stone?

Terry

 

[joe]

In deed local stone. While back we use to have annual sapphire festival. 100's of newbies and gem hunters use to meet up around and dig,swap,camp etc.. I agree digging in moderation and keeping the place clean for future prospectors is essential.

 

[Eldorado]

Went out this morning,started raining as I arrived and the creek was flowing pretty quick.The creek actually rose a few inches whilst I was there.The bank has collapsed in a few places around near the rocky beach area.Found my first bit of blue,about the size of a match head.

 

[Timhass]

So I had another visit to GG on the weekend and all I could say was WOW.

Its been about a month since I was here last now theres even more holes everywhere. The path in the top pic has caved in, around the bend where there was heaps of deep holes along the wall which made large overhangs had all caved in from floods and from people digging into the holes further which made half of them collapse while they were digging.

If you choose to go to any site please keep it save for everyone, fill in your holes and stop making overhang digs. People camp at sites and could easily injure themselves from stepping in the wrong place at night.

Regards,
Tim.

 

[Explorer385]

Thanks for the update Tim.

Terry

 

[NAPFA]

This is a very bad look for our fossicking community and will inevitably cause access problems somewhere down the line if not sooner.
The regulations say holes need to be backfilled. So fill 'em in and remind others - including old hands - to do the same if it looks like they are not.
Posting some photos of good backfilling operations might be nice as well, but that would not get much interest from forum readers would it?
We all need to be good ambassadors for our hobby & follow the regulations.

Stephen.
NAPFA President

 

[richo966]

I think pictures of how it should be done is a good idea we need to make every effort to stop this form destroying a place we all love so much

 

[KGB]

I know I am late to the party (or is it a lynch mob - forgot my pitchfork) :/

I haven't been on this forum for ages, but seeing posts like this doesn't surprise me any more. I have heard of idiots setting up their high banker out at Black Springs and draining the one dam out there - not really a smart move when it's fire season. Cigarette packets and other junk left out at native dog creek - now I am seeing the same is happening with Grabben Gullen. This is fast becoming an all too common occurrence.

These actions aren't doing our hobby any favours, this is one sure way of putting the locals offside and reducing access for those of us who are doing the right thing. We shouldn't be surprised when the landholders start locking their gates if this sort of behaviour continues.

I am quite sure the people that have done this while they might not be members of this forum - will be reading these messages. Hence why I am cautious about posting what I have found and where - while I want to encourage this hobby for others, I am cautious about causing issues for the landholders involved. The internet is a great resource but it is clearly a double edged sword. We need to hold each other accountable and like Stephen said - remind your mates to fill in their holes if they aren't.

I will get off my soapbox now - I am starting to sound like an old man...

KGB

 

[Druley]

Hey KGB,
don't feel bad about having your say.
The more of us that do it the better.
It is not a bad thing to point out the things that are happening out there.
I have and will continue to pull people up when I see them doing the wrong thing. I also remind people about what is and isn't legal.
Record and report people doing the wrong thing.
Post it here or tell the authorities.
At the end of the day, those that do the right thing will be allowed access as long as we police the idiots.
And a big thank you to the idiot that left the busted beer bottle hanging in the hole at black springs the other day.
Yes you half filled your hole but leaving a trap like that is not nice.
by the way, you missed the big one by 10cm. (shouldn't have wasted your time planting the busted bottle fool!)
Cheers
Druley

 

[AtomRat]

After reading some old 'Australian Lapidary' books from 1967, it seems GGs 'mess' has always been an issue and with property owners / tresspass.