- Joined
- Jul 28, 2021
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 20
Hello everyone.
Recently purchased a 4500 Gpx and love'ing it.
Fairly new to gold and new to this forum. - wondering if anyone know's any history of the Bendigo gold diggings ,about what company owned the horse driven gold carts? Was it Cobb and Co or were there many private companies?
Im trying to find out any information of my great great grandfather Thomas ross Cameron who came to Victoria in 1853 on the ship "the sea" (which sank on its following voyage).
He followed in the footsteps of his many relatives in and around Penola and the likes - (one being his cousin Merry MacKillop who was around 10 or so at the time he arrived, whose parents had lived in Scotland).
Then moving up to Bendigo to drive the Gold wagons (horse driven carts) and finally settling in Kyneton for a number of years before leaving for NZ.
During this time he and Annie had a son in Kyneton called Samuel.
Reason im asking on this forum if anyone knows about these gold wagons is - that i have a tie to the Victoria gold fields that obviously runs natural in me like so many others.
I have always been fascinated with the gold fields before finding out any history.
Finally I have purchased a detecter for the old fulla as well - a Minelab FT16000.
I have no idea what im doing, but it sounds all good and feels rather funny while searching for gold up there in the same territory as my grandfather did.
While im here - heres a quick story id like to share for anyone willing to read on (one of the only ones that have run through- four generations from 1850s Bendigo. Hope i dont bore you but i find it interesting and hope someone on here may .
Thomas Ross was a very good horse trainer from Ardochie Scotland so after arriving in Victoria bound for NZ where many of his close family already were he set upon working the goldfields as a gold horse wagon driver and to pay off the voyage that lasted i think around 6 months.
To cut a long story short apparently one day while driving the gold carts he was held up at gun point from a well known gang of highway men.
Shots were fired and the many people accompanying the team hid under the horse and carts.
This team also consisted of women and maybe some young children , including Annie my GG grandmother (wife ) of Thomas ross.
The story goes - the leader of the gang went by the name of Mc'Caughley (if spelt right? im not sure?) Or a name Captain Snooks !
It is said that when his team of men robbed the men and women of there belongings , captain Mc'caughly warned his gang members that if a lady or child was harmed in the act that he would personally take it into his own actions as to shoot the perpetrator dead on the spot.
Becouse of that he was hailed a gentlemen robber afterwards by my grandfather when ever talked about.
The twist in the story is - Many years latter after moving to New Zealand by complete coincidence Annie answered a knock on the door and when she opened it recognised the same highway man Mc Caughley standing in front of her . Apparently he also recognised her but neither of them said a word and the man carried on .
Its not known what the man wanted or anything other than that. We think Mc Caughly left for NZ afterwards to hide from detection as many crooks from around the world did at that time.
Amazing really.
Cheers everyone - awesome forum. will keep an eye out.
Zane Cameron :Y:
Recently purchased a 4500 Gpx and love'ing it.
Fairly new to gold and new to this forum. - wondering if anyone know's any history of the Bendigo gold diggings ,about what company owned the horse driven gold carts? Was it Cobb and Co or were there many private companies?
Im trying to find out any information of my great great grandfather Thomas ross Cameron who came to Victoria in 1853 on the ship "the sea" (which sank on its following voyage).
He followed in the footsteps of his many relatives in and around Penola and the likes - (one being his cousin Merry MacKillop who was around 10 or so at the time he arrived, whose parents had lived in Scotland).
Then moving up to Bendigo to drive the Gold wagons (horse driven carts) and finally settling in Kyneton for a number of years before leaving for NZ.
During this time he and Annie had a son in Kyneton called Samuel.
Reason im asking on this forum if anyone knows about these gold wagons is - that i have a tie to the Victoria gold fields that obviously runs natural in me like so many others.
I have always been fascinated with the gold fields before finding out any history.
Finally I have purchased a detecter for the old fulla as well - a Minelab FT16000.
I have no idea what im doing, but it sounds all good and feels rather funny while searching for gold up there in the same territory as my grandfather did.
While im here - heres a quick story id like to share for anyone willing to read on (one of the only ones that have run through- four generations from 1850s Bendigo. Hope i dont bore you but i find it interesting and hope someone on here may .
Thomas Ross was a very good horse trainer from Ardochie Scotland so after arriving in Victoria bound for NZ where many of his close family already were he set upon working the goldfields as a gold horse wagon driver and to pay off the voyage that lasted i think around 6 months.
To cut a long story short apparently one day while driving the gold carts he was held up at gun point from a well known gang of highway men.
Shots were fired and the many people accompanying the team hid under the horse and carts.
This team also consisted of women and maybe some young children , including Annie my GG grandmother (wife ) of Thomas ross.
The story goes - the leader of the gang went by the name of Mc'Caughley (if spelt right? im not sure?) Or a name Captain Snooks !
It is said that when his team of men robbed the men and women of there belongings , captain Mc'caughly warned his gang members that if a lady or child was harmed in the act that he would personally take it into his own actions as to shoot the perpetrator dead on the spot.
Becouse of that he was hailed a gentlemen robber afterwards by my grandfather when ever talked about.
The twist in the story is - Many years latter after moving to New Zealand by complete coincidence Annie answered a knock on the door and when she opened it recognised the same highway man Mc Caughley standing in front of her . Apparently he also recognised her but neither of them said a word and the man carried on .
Its not known what the man wanted or anything other than that. We think Mc Caughly left for NZ afterwards to hide from detection as many crooks from around the world did at that time.
Amazing really.
Cheers everyone - awesome forum. will keep an eye out.
Zane Cameron :Y:
