Exempt rivers and creeks Victoria - information and questions

Prospecting Australia

Help Support Prospecting Australia:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MarcusAureas said:
The list of rivers you can pan would be so Miniscule you could write them on a postage stamp :8
Click to expand...

No not necessarily. Dont forget some of these exclusions have manu tributaries which are not out of bounds. Use the Buckland river as an example. It is on the exclusion list but has many gold bearing tributaries not on the exclusion list. Clear creek for example which was a major gold producer being a valley amongst some rich mines.
 
Gravity said:
Not many places left to go in Victoria :-(

https://earthresources.vic.gov.au/l...ick/rivers-and-streams-where-you-cant-fossick

Trying to figure out exactly where you can and can't prospect for gold within Victoria's creeks and rivers can get a little confusing. Victoria has a list of exempt rivers and streams - a list of all the rivers and creeks you are not allowed to prospect in, which is unfortunately very long. When checking out creeks and rivers for gold prospecting, the first thing you should do is refer to that list. If the creek you are thinking of prospecting in appears on that list, you must not prospect there. Simple, right? Well, sort of...

The first thing you might notice that makes you think, "hang on a minute", is that Reedy Creek (tributary of Ovens River) is included on the list. Reedy Creek is one of the most popular creeks in Victoria for prospecting, a place where you are pretty much guaranteed to get fine gold in your pan. This is a creek which is openly promoted for gold panning... yet there it is on the exempted rivers list, plain as day.

The reason for this is that Reedy Creek passes through the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, and Parks Victoria has designated areas within this park for prospecting - which includes a section of Reedy Creek. So prospecting is permitted in this one section of Reedy Creek, but as it is on the list of exempt rivers and streams you are not allowed to prospect in any other parts of Reedy Creek (see the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park Prospecting Guide for a map of where you can prospect along Reedy Creek).

So some creeks on the list of exempt rivers and streams can actually have sections where prospecting is permitted. On the other hand, some creeks which are open for prospecting may pass through areas where prospecting is strictly prohibited, so those sections are off limits. If in doubt, your safest bet is always to contact relevant authorities and ask about the particular river or stream you are thinking of prospecting in.

I have been unable to find a clear and simple list of gold-bearing creeks and rivers in Victoria where you can prospect, so I have put this one together. I'm hoping this list will make it a bit easier for people when they first start looking into which creeks you are allowed to visit for gold panning and sluicing. The following list of creeks and rivers are open for prospecting (or have sections open for prospecting) and are known to contain gold.

Please note that this not a complete list of all the gold-bearing creeks in Victoria, it's a collection of creeks which are well-known for prospecting and are already promoted for this purpose. Also keep in mind that some of these creeks will be dry during hotter months.
Click to expand...

Where's your list, Gravity? Or is it so small, we can't actually see it? :lol:
 
MegsyB007 said:
Gravity said:
Not many places left to go in Victoria :-(

https://earthresources.vic.gov.au/l...ick/rivers-and-streams-where-you-cant-fossick

Trying to figure out exactly where you can and can't prospect for gold within Victoria's creeks and rivers can get a little confusing. Victoria has a list of exempt rivers and streams - a list of all the rivers and creeks you are not allowed to prospect in, which is unfortunately very long. When checking out creeks and rivers for gold prospecting, the first thing you should do is refer to that list. If the creek you are thinking of prospecting in appears on that list, you must not prospect there. Simple, right? Well, sort of...

The first thing you might notice that makes you think, "hang on a minute", is that Reedy Creek (tributary of Ovens River) is included on the list. Reedy Creek is one of the most popular creeks in Victoria for prospecting, a place where you are pretty much guaranteed to get fine gold in your pan. This is a creek which is openly promoted for gold panning... yet there it is on the exempted rivers list, plain as day.

The reason for this is that Reedy Creek passes through the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, and Parks Victoria has designated areas within this park for prospecting - which includes a section of Reedy Creek. So prospecting is permitted in this one section of Reedy Creek, but as it is on the list of exempt rivers and streams you are not allowed to prospect in any other parts of Reedy Creek (see the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park Prospecting Guide for a map of where you can prospect along Reedy Creek).

So some creeks on the list of exempt rivers and streams can actually have sections where prospecting is permitted. On the other and, some creeks which are open for prospecting may pass through areas where prospecting is strictly prohibited, so those sections are off limits. If in doubt, your safest bet is always to contact relevant authorities and ask about the particular river or stream you are thinking of prospecting in.

I have been unable to find a clear and simple list of gold-bearing creeks and rivers in Victoria where you can prospect, so I have put this one together. I'm hoping this list will make it a bit easier for people when they first start looking into which creeks you are allowed to visit for gold panning and sluicing. The following list of creeks and rivers are open for prospecting (or have sections open for prospecting) and are known to contain gold.

Please note that this not a complete list of all the gold-bearing creeks in Victoria, it's a collection of creeks which are well-known for prospecting and are already promoted for this purpose. Also keep in mind that some of these creeks will be dry during hotter months.
Click to expand...

Where's your list, Gravity? Or is it so small, we can't actually see it? :lol:
Click to expand...

Hahaha, yes it's pretty small and you need to go through soooo many links to actually find them, thing is there are limited spots allowed in spots not allowed work that one out... :(
 
Also lots of streams not on the list Prospecting is Prohibited.
Example is the many smaller creeks of the major rivers within the Alpine National Park.
There will be further exclusions with new park proposals under consideration now.

Not to mention negative impacts of people digging into Stream banks like what's been promoted on U Tube https://youtu.be/ztJmo87pGQ0
Above link describes what certain persons are doing and promoting?
 
Aussiedigs said:
MarcusAureas said:
The list of rivers you can pan would be so Miniscule you could write them on a postage stamp :8
Click to expand...

No not necessarily. Dont forget some of these exclusions have manu tributaries which are not out of bounds. Use the Buckland river as an example. It is on the exclusion list but has many gold bearing tributaries not on the exclusion list. Clear creek for example which was a major gold producer being a valley amongst some rich mines.
Click to expand...

If a Tributary flows into a prohibited River - why isnt it part of that same System and also Prohibited? Well thats how i read it?
So theyve got us in all ways to argue our way out if pulled up - Nature does way more damage in a big flood occurrence than
what we could ever do without a front end loader?
 
hey all
please excuse the following posts
seems I'm not allowed to post links until I have 10 posts under my belt
but you'll see why I am so determined
cheers
 
BTW
just realised, after all the time I've been lurking here, that was my first post
 
I don't usually go about resurrecting dead threads, but with the discussion of "exempted rivers and streams" still going on to this day, thought I'd help to clear these muddy waters a bit
 
found the legislation regarding "excepted" (not EXEMPTED) from occupation for mining purposes
 
but for its context to be fully understood, one must look back to the original legislation of the Victorian Miner's Right which entitled the bearer to take up land associated with his/hers mining activities
 
the lands that are "excepted" from occupation for mining purposes are now designated as "for public use"
 
modern legislative acts usually have a "definitions" category where various terms are given legal "weight"
hence then common confusion regarding "exempted" rivers and streams, both amongst the prospecting fraternity and the bureaucrats
I haven't seen in ANY Victorian Act any reference to "exempted" waterways
 
back when the original act was made, occupation of said land was intended to mean "somewhere to reside"
occupation, meaning to reside
for the purpose, of course, to have a bit of a dig
and I haven't, as yet, seen anywhere the revocation of these rights, apart from the said waterways (back in 1914)
in fact, even in the 1958 lands act (vic), it states that any person in persuance to his activities with a miner's right can still allow cattle to graze wherever he is
 
the Govt these days, with regard to legislation, seems to want to impose all of these responsibilities on users, but is not very upfront with regards to our entitlements
 
Yes, we've been here before Nedd. But if you look at the current Earth Resources website, you'll see that they've removed any reference to those old gazettes and have now made it much clearer and to the point. This is the government's stand on it now, and that's what we have to abide by now. Forget the Gazettes - they're history.

1567006858_exempt.jpg


Cheers,
Megsy
 
Got that website bookmarked in my phone , Megsy , incase i ever get pulled up by the authorities.
Handy info if you ever need to use it.

FOZ
 
but whilst the powers that be have a view, unless that view is included in legislation, it's invalid
 

Latest posts

Top