Lead shotty pellets

[SCROUNGER]

I thought they had their tents set up on barren ground Meta, away from the actual diggings? Probably within eyesight though i would presume? I don't know this for sure though, but it makes sense to me otherwise they'd be pitching tents where people would want to dig. I'm enjoying this thread, it's a good chat and i'm learning stuff.

 

[ozziii]

Its definitely interesting to read different opinions & I think the lady in the historic society might have either got her stories mixed up or was talking about a much later time atleast, like the mid 1900's as mentioned above, she didn't actually mention a time frame, only said they had records from 1858 onwards. I don't think I want to tell her she could be wrong though,haha, I still want to go back & read about a few things.
Does anyone know when shotguns (any gauge) were first made & released & when they were bought to Australia.

 

[SCROUNGER]

Around about 1850 as far as i know ozziii. That is shotguns (similar) as we would know them today. But i stand to be corrected.

 

[Metamorphic]

12 ft x 12ft was the claim size in their day......a massive deep lead of alluvial diggings covering 100m width x 1km length.

Not much barren ground too close around Scrounge.

If you were digging nuggets of 20oz+ from the wash gravel on bedrock from your claim, would you camp 150m away?

Most ground outside the lead was taken up by shopkeepers selling wares, blacksmiths stations, sly grog tents, hookers tents etc etc

Have a read of Raphael Carboni's detailed description of the 'Eureka Stockade'....(a man who was actually there)he describes it well.

Tent space was at a premium, after attending court in Melbourne and being acquitted, he returned to his camp on the gold fields only to find that it had been robbed of all his supplies (picks, shovels, cooking utensils etc) and prostitutes had been running their business from his abandoned tent on the claim.

Its a great read mate.

Cheers

https://books.google.com.au/books?i...mCh3KGg1Z#v=onepage&q=eureka stockade&f=false

 

[SCROUNGER]

Cool, i'll check it out, thanks mate. Geez, i'd love to go back in time and just stand back and watch the diggers and activity in a busy gold field.

 

[Metamorphic]

Its just my theory on the day......no one can be totally accurate hey, only assuming.

I reckon camp and claim were both at risk of being pilfered.

If you camp too far away, you wont sleep cause you will wake keeping an eye out at night on your claim in the distance.

Same if your at the hole....always popping your head up to look over to the barren ground where your camp is to see who is trying to steal your supplies?

Made sense to me to sleep right on your gold.....which is only what i reckon they did.

They were hard days mate.

Cheers bro!

 

[SCROUNGER]

Yeah, makes sense what you're saying, but what about those fields where there's barely half a metre between pits and there cover an acre or so in area? Or maybe some worked in groups so that they worked rosters on and off to guard good holes? Wooda been a tough existence that's for sure. bugger all water in some areas and bloody hot in summer and then freezing in winter. You look at the fields up in Kiandra in the Snowies and it's amazing they could survive at all i reckon. Of course many didn't.

 

[Metamorphic]

Yeah your right mate.

I reckon most would have banded together with their claim neighbours to guard rich claims in such a small area.

Water was an issue, so you had to take the chance of leaving your claim to bring the paydirt down to the washplant or stamper at the nearest river.

Makes sense to have someone on guard whilst your gone with a pistol to take security.

And to return the favor, while your neighbouring claim owner went to wash his paydirt, you stood guard for him?

Good call Scrounger

 

[Chewy]

Was it more common to keep your own claim and be neighborly or join forces to form a company and join the claims?

 

[Metamorphic]

Apparently the rule was that you could only work one claim at a time as an individual or a team.

An American crew back in the Eureka Stockade days were pulling a shifty by working 2 claims simultaneously which were a distance apart.

Some shifty operators got wind of this so one day whilst the Yanks were on the far claim, these blokes jumped their other one.

Needless to say a big fight ensued which ended up in the Ballarat Local Magistrates court.

The Yanks tried to sue the claim jumpers, but when it was revealed that they were running 2 seperate claims, the judge ruled in favour of the jumpers and they got to keep the claim they jumped legally.

True story in Carboni's book!

 

[Chewy]

Hahaha thats classic meta. I bet there must have been all sorts of skull duggery going on back in the day. It probably would have been a case of everybody getting away with whatever they could. :lol:

 

[Metamorphic]

Bear in mind im talking only about Alluvial mining on deep leads which the old timers naturally took up first as it was easier digging and not too deep.

Taking the easy low bearing fruit made sense and with much less Labor exerted.

Sinking 10, 15 or 20 feet to bedrock to chase the gold that lay there was more easily done by one or two blokes working together.

With the hard rock miners it was a different story.

These guys were sinking deep shafts chasing the gold bearing reef (source deposit) which lay in bloody hard quartz stone.

We are talking 150 feet plus of hard digging and driving........a larger team of several miners banded together all registered as a company made much more sense.

For these blokes the riches would be far greater, but the work was also on par!

Many died lonely with broken backs, and broken dreams.....the lucky ones prospered.

 

[user 4485]

There were also mines that operated on the tribute system, particularly in the early 1900's. Companies would own the mine or mining area (lease) & sub-lease or tribute portions out. Some hard rock mines were tributed out in full.
The tributers usually worked in gangs recovering the gold/ore which was "sold" to & treated by the company I.e. stamping, puddling, washing etc. depending on location/mine type. The company would recover a royalty on the gold + costs for any supplies or services provided. In essence the tributers were basically what modern day mining contractors are today albeit on a smaller scale.
Even by 1870 a lot of gold mining areas were becoming more organised as it was realised individual claims were becoming harder & harder to "strike it rich". Companies were formed & parties of tributers worked the claims. These are more than likely the more concentrated diggings where there appears to be no room for a camp directly on them. No doubt once this type of organised digging started there would have been night watchmen employed to guard over the portion/s rather than a need to camp on individual claims?