Gold - perhaps no word produces such a crazed reaction as the cry of gold. And although the agricultural and pastoral industries had dominated the local economy for more than half a century, the response was no different when the precious metal was discovered near Pambula in the late 1880s. Life on the land was pushed firmly into the background as locals and newcomers rushed to the new field in search of their own El Dorado.
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Father of Australian geology Reverend W B Clarke first noted the presence of gold in the district in 1852 when he wrote "I have reason to believe that [gold] will be found in the creeks running north-east from the Jingery Range, which is about 13 miles south-west from Pambula, as in Greig's Creek [Yowaka River], the saltwater portion of which is crossed by the road from Pambula to Eden, a noticeable specimen of gold has been found under peculiar conditions."
And although it was almost four decades before the local rush, some individuals were apparently aware of its existence - according to local lore, Captain John Lloyd of the Grange covertly drew stores from his "...golden hills...", an area which incidentally formed part of what later became the gold fields.
No doubt armed with knowledge gleaned from Clarke's report, individuals searched the district for the allusive precious metal, but it wasn't until 1889 that gold was finally found in quantities sufficient to trigger a rush.
Among the hopefuls were James Gahan and Samuel Furner, a pair of "...wandering gold seekers...", who began "...getting colours..." on a spur of land that had once been part of Lloyd's property. Finally, in October 1889, they struck "...a wide run of gold bearing quartzite..." about two and half miles southwest of Pambula at a spot later known as Mount Gahan and when their last-minute sample yielded several ounces, they rushed back to peg the claim that triggered Pambula's gold rush.
Proclaimed first in February 1890 and then again in December, by years' end 211 lease applications had been made on the 1,180-acre field.
Anderson of the Department of Mines' Geological Survey Branch wrote the first report about the local deposit in 1890, while the field was still in its infancy. Describing the "...newly discovered gold-field...", he claimed that "The auriferous country at Pambula bids fair to add considerably to our gold yield..." Commenting that "Prospecting operations have been chiefly carried out on the ridges forming the watershed of Pipeclay Creek...", he noted that "A large number of claims have been taken up along the ridges, and on these leases numerous shafts have been sunk, the deepest...being down 50 feet..."
By that time, seven hundred miners were at work on the field, which boasted three complete crushing plants, two more under construction and a further two "...very large ones projected..." By 1891, eleven companies were active, 350 miners were at work and an estimated 2,000 men, women and children were living in the immediate vicinity.
Pipeclay Creek, Yowaka and Mount Gahan villages grew rapidly, developing the facilities and amenities of other larger, older townships - general stores, blacksmiths, butcheries, the all-important hotel, a public hall for entertainment, meetings and church services, and a sporting oval for football, cricket, and athletic clubs.
The Yowaka school opened in 1891, a telegraph station in 1893 and a post office in 1896; while the Yowaka Mines Progress Association was formed in 1894 to "...look after the mining interests..." and aid and encourage "...all matters connected with the mining industry..."
The first six years of the field were the most productive, with 21,249 oz of gold recorded as being extracted between 1889 and 1895. Mining remained active, however, until 1916, and even after this time, particularly during the Depression years, work continued sporadically. The last known miner, Frank Draper, worked the field until the late 1960s.
Today, reminders of this heyday - shafts, tunnels, brick weirs, furnaces, and puddling tanks - remain scattered throughout the site, testimony to one of district's industrial and economic high points.
Gold!, an exhibition at the Merimbula Old School Museum, also highlights the field's heady past.
- Thank you to local historian Angela George.
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