|
You can also help us to provide you with more resources by making a payment, just click on the PayPal™ button on the left.
This account appeared in the Australian Town and Country Journal, 8th January 1870, p. 12:
“I AND a flood arrived at Goulburn together on Tuesday, 21st Dec., and next day I proceeded in the direction of Spring Creek Reefs, Narramunga [Nerrimunga] Gold-Fields, Jacqua Creek. As I considered it of importance that the geological features of the country I passed through should be carefully noted, I submit the results of my observations by the way.
“Quitting Goulburn by the main Braidwood road, I left it at one and a half-mile out, and crossed the paddocks lying between it and the Bungonia road to examine the bed of the Wollondilly River and the immediate ranges. The bed I found to contain an abundance of quartz, red whinstone and basalt, the latter being trappean rocks, upon which the extensive and rich soil around Goulburn rests. A Gentle rise out of the river is cultivated and is also full of quartz. At the back of this are swamps, partially drained by the Wollondilly, and crossing these we come again on the Bungonia road. Immediately on the left hand are ranges, apparently schistose - for a little creek at their foot, and not two miles out of Goulburn, lays bare immense boulders of quartz weighing several cwts. each, as well as strong leaders in the rock, and in one place I measured, a mass ten feet in thickness. There is much quartz here, in fact, as I have ever seen on the same extent of ground in Victoria. I saw no gold, but I am disposed to think that these ranges would make the ancient bed of a river, underneath the whinstone, and that the railway station may stand on an auriferous drift.
“The open trap country ends in this direction, about four miles out, when stunted gums and rising ground indicate a change of soil, and these are soon followed by stiffer spurs, with stringy bark, blue gum, and scrub. No auriferous indications, however, become apparent until we get seven miles on the road, when a mass of cream-coloured cemented quartz, twenty yards wide, crosses it N.E. and S.W., and then ranges on the right hand, and become frosted with quartz grit. Then, again, as Nature loves variety, one hill appeared, on the surface, to be nothing but basalt. Her features, which had been pretty rigid for some miles, now began to relax, and we came upon the Spring Ponds Creek - which bears incisive marks of suffering at times from too much of a good thing.
“The township of Bungonia is reached at sixteen miles, and is prettily posted on one bank of the Bungonia Creek, the church and other buildings being of granite, from Lumley Park. The little church and school are on a hill of cement. Immediately opposite the Victoria Inn is a ledge of gneiss rock, cropping up which, however, does not appear to continue along the road, though it is found on Lumley Creek, two miles distant from Bungonia.
“Five miles out of Bungonia is the ‘Washed Away Creek,’ on which mining has been carried on since 1852 in the shallow ground, but a shaft was sunk here not very long since, to the depth of seventy feet, when the sinkers encountered a large tree, passing through which, at ninety feet, they met with some cement, and much water, and abandoned it. Now, it is worthy of note, that this comparatively deep shaft is put down between two shallow ones, of four and ten feet (bottomed), and that is the only shaft where water is met with, and, considering that good coarse gold is being got close by in the shallow, (1 1/2 oz. nugget three weeks ago) it is not unreasonable to suppose that a lead may be found in the deep ground. It may, however, require a horse whim, and ten to eighteen gallon kegs to beat the water.
 “Leaving Bungonia and travelling S.E. in the direction of the reefs, at two miles from the village, we traverse a vein of iron ore, then a greenish limestone, then a broken mass of dolemite, then a thick seam of smutty looking mineral, which wears the appearance of black oxide of maganese, with, perhaps, a dash of cobalt; then again come on the red whinstone, the basalt, and the farming country as far as the Jacqua Creek, when, one and a half miles after crossing this, the road to the reef turns up in the ranges and gum, box, and stringy bark again surround us. This series of ranges abounds in iron, and fifteen miles from Bungonia, and within three of Manton’s Mill, a thick vein of almost pure ore crosses the crown of a high spur, and, tracing this up across the ranges that lie between the road and the Shoalhaven River, unlimited quantities might be obtained. I arrived at Spring Creek (eighteen miles from Bungonia) on Christmas Eve, and in the midst of an impromptu race-meeting, at which there were about one hundred and fifty present on, perhaps, one of the roughest courses that could be constructed - stones and timber conspiring to try the skill of the jockey and agility of the steed. There were three principal races - 1st. The Publican’s, won by Sam Woollan’s h.g. ‘Darkie.’ 2nd. Diggers’ Purse, won by Coulen’s ‘Sportman.’ 3rd. Hack Race, won by Armstrong’s ‘Frenchman.’
“It will readilly be granted that Christmas Eve, and Christmas day, being specially devoted by the jovial miners to relaxation and festivity, were not the exact times to select for acquiring knowledge; however, fortune was propitious, and men were obliging: and I felt at home once more with the diggers.
“Taking Manton’s Mill, as municipalities take a post-office to start from, Bungonia, or rather Spring Creek Reefs lie scattered over a considerable extent of country, which is of the usual rangy character, timbered with box, gum, and stringy bark, in fact the timber is both abundant and good. The reefs that I was enabled to examine are nearly vertical, pretty wide at the crown (two to three feet) and pinch up narrow at thirty to fifty feet down, then open out again below. The quartz is highly ferruginous, in fact, it is said ‘the blacker the quartz the more the gold.’ The principal objection appears to me to be a want of firm and decided walls, but these may be found on going deeper - one hundred feet is no depth for a sound and durable reef. Such of the stone as has been crushed averages from 1/2 to 3/4 ozs. to the ton, and Manton’s has crushed some 1500 tons since June last. In their prospecting claim, which is three and a half miles away to the N.W. on Jacqua Creek, three shafts have been sunk, two of eighty and one of forty - only one of which is working. In this, at a depth of ten feet, the stone went from 27 ozs. to ten tons, and at eighty feet it went 15 dwts. to the ton, and was three foot thick. This opens out as much as eight feet wide and closes again almost to nothing. Another reef, twelve feet wide, has been crossed in this claim, but not tried. About 1500 tons have been raised which have the drawback of distance from the mill, and consequent cartage at 7s. a ton. A quarter of a mile west of Manton’s Mill is ‘Harry’s Folly,’ a good reef on Kangaroo Gully. This is O’Meally’s claim; good sample of stone; shaft down seventy feet; and the stone raised is about to be crushed.
“The Nil Desperandum lies half a mile N.W.; is three feet thick at a depth of twenty-five feet, running out and making again. It permeates yellow sandstone, and gold can be seen in almost every stone. Twelve leases for quartz, and four leases for alluvial ground have been applied for here, and it is not unlikely that the Shoalhaven River, if it could be worked, would turn out something ‘alluvially’ good. A lease on it has been applied for, and I am told a long race cut.
“Dillon and Co., on Spring Creek, S.E. of, and close to Manton’s Mill, have an extended prospecting claim, on which are two shafts down forty-five and one hundred and five feet; reef from six inches to three feet, nearly vertical. and E. and W..; the quartz has oxide of iron, some nearly black; about 180 tons lie ready for the mill, but there is some objection to the price charged for crushing; this stone contains sulphuret of iron, and probably diguised gold; it is thick on the surface of the spur, thin at a depth of forty-five feet, and two feet six inches at a one hundred feet. The bedrock appears to be silurian (slate and sandstone) with pipeclay and thin iron veins near the surface, concentrating into hard slate as you go deeper.
“Beside Manton’s Mill, May and Thomas’s from Araluen, is in course of erection, three and a half miles N. of Manton’s near the Jacqua; this is a mill of eight head of stamps in two batteries, and to be completed in January; this is somewhat questionably built on no creek, at all, but dependent on stormwater and a dam for a precarious supply. Eight claims hereabout look for the completion of this mill, in January, when they, by the results of their several crushings, will aid in enlightening the public as to the actual value of the Bungonia stone. The reefs in this locality average two feet; the stone is blackened with iron oxide, and contains blue veins; the bedrock is sandstone. One party here crushed, at Manton’s, on Thursday last, forty-one tons and obtained 26 ozs. 40 dwts.
“I may incidentally mention that the direct fall to the waters of the Shoalhaven River from Manton’s Mill, is about six hundred feet in two and a half miles; the banks of this river here are very lofty and precipitous, and are the home of the lyre bird, many tails of which I saw.
“A third mill, called Mason’s or the ‘Spa,’ stands two miles south of Manton’s, towards the Shoalhaven River, and is supplied with water by the ‘Sandground Springs.’ This has ten head of stamps, and is prepared for fifteen (in all), but unfortunately an unwise economy has been exhibited in the construction of the tables, and the consequence is nearly all gold is lost. The copper plates have been badly treated, and in framing the tables no allowance was made for expansion. This should be promptly remedied, because this blunder is not only a private loss, but a public misfortune. Several quartz claims, are grouped round the mill also, and their reefs appear to average also from one foot to two feet six inches thick, and the yield, when tested, 3/4 oz. to the ton.
“The fourth and (at present only) the last mill is being erected by the enterprising Mr. Barber, of Goulburn, on the Jacqua Creek, and his own claim; - it is to be a single battery of five head.
“As Manton’s is a really good and efficient plant, I shall not be beside the purpose in giving a brief description of it. The engine is one of Robey’s (of Lincoln) portable double cylinder reversing gear, ten-horse nominal power, to drive a ten head battery and fitted with steel ferules to guard the tubes in the firebox from the strongest heat; the stamp heads weigh 6cwt. each, the discs are also unusually heavy; the shanks are 9 ft. 6 in. long, and 2 ft. 3/4 in. in diameter; cams are cast iron steelfaced; the stampers are advanced well to the front of the box to give room behind, and save the back of the box under the fender from destruction by the stone, and the whole is covered by a canvas awning, or ‘save all,’ attached to the guide and stays, to preserve the silver below from contamination by the grease unavoidably used in the machinery above, or from dirt of any kind.
“The tables are twenty-four feet in length, divided into three lengths; the first and nearest the battery being the three copper plates, laid staircase fashion, and beautifully silvered; the next being the ripple tables, the section of the channels in this case being a bevel and curve, which the lip of the next table overhangs a quarter of an inch; and finally, the blanket tables - the fall in the two first tables is one in fourteen, and in the blanket tables one in twelve.
“ A pump, driven by a crank, is attached to the end of the driving rod, which supplies the engine, fills the tank, and ‘toms’ off after panning; a pipe soldered to the tomming pipe also supplies the retort with cold water; the whole, including the retort furnace, forge and dam, were erected in the short space of five weeks by the engineer, Mr. E. Bennett, and two or three able assistants. The mill will crush eighty tons a week, and can be driven easily, both batteries, pump and all, with 30lbs. of steam; the feeding-room is capable of holding one hundred tons of stone. It is supplied with water by Spring Creek, which is said to be perrennial and independent of rain - though but a small stream. The only thing I would like to see here is the amalgam barrel driven by a belt, for treatment of the sulphurets - or Hunt’s patent, for a similar purpose. I should mention that a circular-saw and table are also provided for the timber trade. Altogether, this plant is a credit to the district. The digging township is principally built of cool bark and heavy timber, popularly termed (and very justly) hardwood; and trades run much in couples, e. g. there are two hotels, two stores, two bakers, two butchers - if even numbers denote harmony, this should be a happy family. The District Registrar and Magistrate, F.D. Mant, Esq. (To whom I am much indebted for information, as well as Mr. E. Bennett, and others), if he has a post of honor, he certainly has no sinecure, for his duties appear to be of an unusually mixed and complicated character, involving tact, promptitude, and forethought.
“The postal arrangements, I may mention, do not, strangely enough, meet exactly the wishes of the inhabitants. The postman, or mailman, apears but once a week, at eleven a.m. Saturday, and leaves at three the same day - rather short ‘notice to correspondents.’ The proper address here is Spring Creek, Jacqua, Narramunga Gold-Field.
“Altogether this gold-field, though bearing no promise of rapid fortune or great finds, has, nevertheless, a wide-spread series of quartz reef and veins, which, while themselves yielding half an ounce or three-quarters of an ounce to the ton, may lead on to something richer and better at greater depths. The great error in quartz-mining is generally shown in too much haste to work shallow veins, instead of getting well under the stone, and having large masses to work overhead. This is, doubtless, the result of want of capital in most instances, rather than want of knowledge - it is nonetheless a mining mistake on that account. i am in good hope that when all the mills above-mentioned are in working order, say February next, that the results will attract more attention to the ‘Narramunga Gold-Field’ than it at present receives, - notwithstanding the undoubted fact that, so far and so deep, as at present proved, the gold decreases as the depth increases.”
Black & White Photographs ©Copyright D. Goodland; used under License.
|
