What inspired you to get into prospecting ?

[joao garimpeiro]

I'm prospector for more than 15 years and is the best job in the world for me! I love metal detector, love being in the bush, peace, gold, streams, that is priceless!

 

[bushpig]

I didn't have an interest in prospecting until about 12 months ago my Dad was talking about the goldfields in NQ which at the time I had no idea about.

I mentioned something to my inlaws next door neighbor about gold and he casually said oh I have a gold lease near the Palmer River.

Told my Dad about this so we went halves in a 4500 and as it turns out the sales reps at work know almost every station owner from Georgetown to the tip so it has made gaining access much easier.

 

[Ramjet]

I didn't even know you could fossick for gold and gems in Australia. While away for a weekend I saw Gold Rush Alaska on Foxtel. That started the whole thing for me.

 

[Goldpick]

Gold panning at Sovereign Hill as a kid was probably my first exposure and inspiration to do prospecting, followed up by a visit to Shantytown on the south island of New Zealand for pretty much the same experience.

My Pop used to do prospecting all over Oz to make ends meet in years gone by, I inherited his rock & mineral collection which had inspired me to become and avid collector. Since then, my brother and I have been continually involved in mining/exploration, more so out of interest vs the money, but the money certainly helps.

 

[Goldtarget]

I love this thread. Hearing from all these different people is damn exciting.

 

[ProspectorPete]

I've always had a fascination for gems, as a kid we had weekend camping trips at a friends 10acre property in Talbot where we'd explore the dry creek, around the mine shafts and old ruins and collect lots of quartz crystals. Another family friend had a very large gem collection and I was always fascinated with them.
My mates are always amazed at how I find fishing lures on every camping trip on the Murray River but I tell them you just need to "look" for things to find them, I've always found stuff as long as I can remember, my eyes are forever scanning, at work, driving, in the boat or walking the dog.
The first time I really thought about prospecting was at my year 8 camp to Walhalla in '82, I was overwhelmed in the history of the town and area. I returned back there the weekend I got my drivers licence with a mate from that year 8 camp. We bought steel pans and fly fishing gear and camped on the Thompson River where the train station is now located downstream of the bridge. We caught trout on the fly but had no clue to panning properly so that was the extent of it until I started dating Tracey 2 years ago, her son had a couple of rusty steel pans in the shed and I told Trace we were going to start panning on our camping trips.
Our first pan was about 3 months ago (after much talk) and we actually found our first 5 specs (due to the help and research on this forum), I've been hooked big time since and although I've only managed 3 trips out since I'm planning on getting out a lot more very soon. I've bought a detector, rock crusher, 6 pans, 3 sieves, 2 sluices, picks and other bits n pieces so I need to stop researching and start doing now that my house projects are ready for a break.

 

[DrDuck]

I lived in Doveton for two years in the late 60's, Jaros. Dad was the manager of the Prince Mark Hotel/Motel there. Spent a bit of time in the local creek, too.

I grew up in Noble Park, near Dandenong. We had a creek running in front of the house 1301 Princess Hwy. Noble Park. It's where Heatherton Rd. cuts the highway. It has been lost to the freeway system now. I also like the bush, the creek had eels, little fish, frogs snakes there, all of the normal things you get in a stream. I made bows and arrows , fishing rods, kites, billy carts, (we had a great street Ryder St. running downhill beside us.)
I was always in the creek doing something, building rafts etc. It seemed to all that i loved the outside life. I did, i loved it.
When I was 18 and went on my 1st fossicking trip to Walhalla in Gippsland and got the bug. I don't have to find gold to love fossicking. It's just being out there in the wilderness enjoying the smells of the bush and campfire cooking and noises of bird whistling in the trees. I was in the Gould League of Bird Lovers at primary school and learned a lot about Australian bird life and habits.
I love the bush my dog loves the bush and my wife loves me loving all of this at the same time.
A bit of Gold helps a little, it's the peace i love the most.
Jaros

 

[Jaros]

I had a few (many) beers in the Prince Mark and Sandown Park Hotel when i was 16--2 yrs too young, but i looked older.
Ah memories.
Jaros

 

[mdv]

I was inspired into gold fossicking about 2 years ago when I needed to take a couple of weeks' holiday to de-stress from work. Shortly before then was the finding of the Destiny nugget by a detectorist near Dunolly which got me thinking. My in-laws own grazing property around Tuena/Trunkey which I knew to be notable goldfields so I thought I'd check out the creeks on their properties.

I did a fair bit of on-line research and came across the WalnLiz videos which really got me interested. Subsequent discussions with both Wal and Liz, got me hooked ... and got me a Walbanker too.

While I don't find much gold, despite panning/highbanking at least 2 weekends every month for the past 2 years, I am still hooked, and am inspired by:

• The rich history of gold prospecting in the Tuena/Trunkey/Abercrombie area - I love reading the old newspaper clippings in Trove[/*]
• having 5km of my 'own' private gold-bearing creek - lucky me[/*]
• the absolute 'getting away from it all' when I am in the creek panning or highbanking[/*]
• the fact that although my creek was utterly flogged 'back in the day' there is still some gold to be found - it is just a matter of finding where it is hiding. As I can on a good day find 1 or 2 grams of recent flood gold, I dream of finding that spot in the creek that was not touched by the old-timers, and the prospect of filling my pan tenfold or more - [/*]

 

[kuskus]

I love the bush and camping, have done it since I can remember with the old man and brother. Dad found at least and oz when we were younger with a pan around sofala. Got my 4x4, got back into camping and started to watch Gold Rush lol and then thanks to WalnLiz's youtube channel the rest is history. Now I want my life to revolve around it! :lol:

 

[Gold Diver]

Great thread.

If you'd have Told me I was going to be a mad keen detectorist I'd have sent you on your way.

That was until one of our workers walked in with a 9 ounce nugget in his pocket.
He had found it near Kalgoolie and it now has a home at the Perth mint on display because of it's unusual shape.

That was it for me, then and there.
I love riding my motorbikes, and camping so it was an easy transition of hobbies.
THEN a few year ago I couldn't go on my annual gold hunting trip, so I bought a cheaper coin shooting detector to scratch the itch locally and look for coins.

Bloody hell, now I'm even more hooked, and my detector collection is getting bigger?

My wife thinks I'm nuts BTW

GD

 

[Digginholes]

I always loved everything out doors, there's just some thing about the bush that has always made me happy and kept me amused and out of trouble as a kid ,so Getting out in a creek seemed fun.
When my 4yr old daughter found a fascination with garden rocks which just seemed to get worse as she grew, I decided that if she was going to keep rocks next to her bed then they might as well be pretty ones, then there was a few jokes of her being a goldminer.
Next I was googling stuff.. I wanted to take her somewhere she could find some cool rocks which lead to crystals , gems and of course GOLD then when I raised the idea with a few different people and was basically laughed at each time it became more of a mission lol
Then the fever took over

 

[MDH]

I got hooked on a fishing trip. My father had always been fairly keen for as long as I could remember but I had never had an interest, even to the point of when I went with him metal detecting as a kid I would go fishing while he wandered the bush with detector in hand. We have always had a strong passion for fishing and being in the bush, but on the actual first trip that hooked me my brother and myself were actually taking the old man on a fishing trip to get him his first cod lure casting. We had mentioned that we had seen the odd fossicker in the area and that trip he brought his pan along. After the morning session on the cod, he was happy, he had his first two cod on a lure so while we waited out the heat of the day we went for a pan nearby, first pan and he told us there was 2 specs in his pan, we didn't believe him so went in for a look, low and behold there they were! Long story short for the rest of the afternoon we had a 3way share of the pan for the rest of the afternoon with the one pan and the following week both me and my bro had our own pans and the journey started. It's funny how I spent my life ignoring what was always there, my father had always showed me his gold that he'd found, my sister has worked at sovereign hill for 10 years and I never had the bug until I panned those first couple of tiny specs for myself and seen them against the green in the bottom of the pan...

 

[aushunter]

I got the bug when I was on a school camp up in the Tooloom diggings. Was only 6yrs old back then. The property owner showed us some real nice looking gold nuggets and from then on I was hooked. When I got my drivers licence 10yrs later I headed bush to chase my dream, stayed there for 6 weeks and found zip, until I befriended an old prospector. Been chasing it ever since, done the dredging thing, had a 4'' ,3'' and a 2.5'' machines and all found gold, as Wal said nothing like seeing that gold go up the business end. Havent got rich out of it, don't need to, just flaming good to get out and enjoy the bush and dream of that rich little pocket you may snag one day.
Cheers
Brad......