Goldfields

Discovery of Hepburn Springs & Daylesford Goldfields

Unlike many other goldfields, there is little doubt about the discovery of the goldfields of the Hepburn region. James Egan, a local squatter, is credited with the first finds of gold. He later received a reward for his discovery made in August, 1851. Prior to this he prospected with little success around what is now Eganstown, west of Daylesford, about the time of James Esmond’s third hand gold discovery at Clunes.

Egan found 3 pennyweights of gold (4.5 grams), in the company of Cavanagh and his two nephews, the Cantwells. This gold was found on August 4th near the later site of the Concordia mine, which is near the back of the present day Daylesford Secondary College.

From here they found richer gold at what was soon to be known as Wombat Flat. This is now the site of Lake Daylesford. Although they found gold everywhere in this area, and several parties were working there, it was not very rich. The gold here attracted plenty of attention but was not rich enough to start a rush.

Later rich gold was found over looking Wombat Flat on what is now Argus Hill and Cornish Hill. (Behind the BP service station.) Rich mines were to operate on these hills for many years into the 1920’s. A landfill opposite the BP service station covers the adit (tunnel entrance) of the Wombat Hill Company mine. Wombat Hill (The Botanic Gardens) is a volcano. Under this hill are leads (buried creeks). The Wombat Hill Company Tunnel followed one of these from Lake Daylesford and hit a rock wall they thought to be a buried waterfall. They ended up going around it, then realised it was the solidified volcanic vent. This tunnel went right under Wombat Hill and joined a mine (Royal Oak) in what is now the Tourist Railway car park.  Water from this mine can be seen flowing under the Lake Daylesford circuit-walking track, below the mine site. There was a large water wheel located nearby. This mine runs right under Wombat Hill and has links with the mines on Argus and Cornish hills. It also links with another mine that runs across Daylesford's main street under the old Rex cinema site and up Wombat hill near the Police station. There was a mine in the car park of the tourist railway that was also connected to this underground maze.

The first two rushes of consequence in the area were to Spring Creek and Sailors Creek. Spring Creek was opened by Kawerau and party near the Hepburn Mineral Springs in late 1851. Two sailors opened Sailors Creek, James Ballentyne and John Lancey. The sailors made an unsuccessful reward claim.

Sailors Creek in the winter of 1857 was the scene of an anti Chinese riot that built up from disputes about dams across the creek. It resulted in nothing short of violent battle and thirty arrests were made. It would seem from the report that the Chinese gave as good as they got!

There was another successful claimant for the discovery of gold, possibly in March 1852. Thomas Connell found what is now Connell’s Gully, near Tipperary Springs behind the Mobil garage, on the highway to Ballarat. This area had very rich alluvial gold. The first long sweeping curve on the highway, near the DNRE office as you leave Daylesford, crosses over a very rich reefing area.

Up the hill from the Post Office in Daylesford are some churches One of these had its spire removed due to the ground collapsing under it. Another tunnel was unexpectedly found when the Rex Cinema in the main street was being built in the late 1920’s. The foundations for one of the walls collapsed into a tunnel.

Drive towards Glenlyon from Daylesford and you will drive between two dumps on either side of the road a short way up the Glenlyon road from the highway. These were two rival companies that took great delight in underground battles beneath the roadway competing for the rich gold in this area. There are quite a few dumps out this way if you look carefully. They mark the course of ancient north trending creeks and gullies buried by the lava from Wombat Hill.

The steep hill that is the backdrop for Jubilee Lake is Italian Hill and has tunnels going into it. A tunnel adjacent to Patterson street near the lake went in over 1.5 kilometres.

Some of the names of individual gold areas can fire the imagination. Brandy Hot and Butterfly Gullies. Linger and Die Gully along with Christmas Gully, which for irony is located near Humbug Gully. Keep It Dark Gully, Don’t Wake Em Gully and Champagne Gully. What goldfield could claim to be a goldfield if it did not have a "Last Chance Mine", a "Try Again Reef" or the almost obligatory "Nuggetty Gully". What of the romantics who named a pair of gullies, that are side by side, Moonlight and Bridle Path?

This section is based on material researched from these excellent books:
‘One hundred years of Daylesford gold mining history’. Aug 1851-1951 by
Henry T Maddicks.
‘The History of Gold Discovery in Victoria’ by James Flett and ‘Sojourners’ by Eric Rolls.