What were they doing here ???

[Teemore]

Thought of this while responding to a members post query.
We've all been out in the goldfields and tried to interpret what the hell they were doing, so why not get a pic and
a) give your own interpretation or,
b) give they correct interpretation or,
c) post a pic and ask someone else to interprete it.

Kick it off with this ....

This clearly an old puddler (LH & RHS) where the soils taken from their shafts or open reefs they were following were treated to separate the gold from the heavy clay. The circular area can be clearly seen, there was usually (but not always) an "exit" shute to drain the puddler and allow them to then process the 'concentrate'. Shallow 'shafts' with little surrounding 'wash' level soil usually means it was taken somewhere else to be treated e.g. to a puddler (as just 1 example).

This is again a puddler but a little more overgrown ... don't think the centre pole is original but would have been where the "rake" or other devise to break down the clays would have been attached.
Fortunately both are in reasonable condition ...... THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISTURBED.

Cheers Tom

look forward to your corrections/additions as well as your contributions .....

 

[AtomRat]

I really appreciate puddler photography mate, they deteriorate over the years fast and get destroyed. I've found a few very close to me I need to make sure stay protected as well as some are on the edge of farmland and probably bulldozed in the near future.

Ill see what photos I can aff, I've got a few things ill have to go take photos of. I know one of them are the shafts or shallow holes which have a likke chute coming out the side about 6" wide. Looks like where they pulled the buckets to the top using rope but it wouldn't have been safe.. is it where they climbed out..etc?

 

[stoyve]

In a spot about half an from Ballarat I was shown two puddlers and found two more all in an area of around 400 square meters.
Lots of shallow diggings and the deepest only being 2 meters deep.
It's truly a magic spot for our gold field heritage.
Cheers Steve

 

[SCROUNGER]

They must have been putting some dirt through to have that many puddlers so close to one another. imagine the activity there in the old days

 

[Teemore]

I know one of them are the shafts or shallow holes which have a likke chute coming out the side about 6" wide. Looks like where they pulled the buckets to the top using rope but it wouldn't have been safe.. is it where they climbed out..etc?

Think I know what you mean ... have seen similar and thought they may have been new, not necessarily part of the original hole/shaft. Will get some photos next time I'm out.
Cheers T.

 

[stoyve]

They must have been putting some dirt through to have that many puddlers so close to one another. imagine the activity there in the old days

That's exactly what I thought SCROUNGER,
In our region of Ballarat I know of some area's where the mining activity was huge , including 2 area's of hydrolic sluicing on an impressive scale.
Just imagine the noise and smell.

 

[SCROUNGER]

Yeah, would be great to be able to go back in time and just stand back and watch what was going on i reckon.

 

[Tathradj]

That's one of the things I enjoy the most.
Standing in an old Gold Field and just imagining the sound of picks and shovels, The low hum of banter,
The crack of a whip and a horse neighing in the back ground just over there.
The yells of EUREKA,
Oh what I would give to have experienced it all.
.
And I have used that analogy to my advantage at times.

 

[AtomRat]

..I swear Wattle Gully has Tommy Knockers...... if you don't know the stories of the tommy knockers then look out!

I'm still tryin to invent them history goggles... just tryin to program the ether..

Hmmm..think I'm getting tired :lol: