Most Tasmanian gold is found in either the northeast or the western part of the State. Gold in southern Tasmania is more elusive and harder to find than in the north-east and west of the State. The Cygnet goldfield was the main occurrence, but there were minor finds in other locations as well elsewhere in the Huon Valley.
Continue readingPosts Tagged → gold panning
The Corinna Goldfields
Gold was known in the northwest of Tasmania since at least James (Philosopher) Smith’s discovery in the Forth Valley near the modern-day Lake Cethana dam. None of the workings were on a large scale. It wasn’t until Harry Middleton’s discovery in Corinna in 1879 that the gold rush to the Pieman kicked off. It would eventually lead to the largest gold nugget ever found in Tasmania. Much of the area is still accessible to gold fossickers today.
Continue readingAlluvial gold part 2
In this second post on alluvial gold, I’ll go into other methods used traditionally (and nowadays) by prospectors: the cradle (or rocker box) and the sluice, as well as a modern invention, the highbanker.
Continue readingAlluvial gold part 1: gold panning
Are you interested in looking for alluvial gold? Did you know that most Tasmanian gold rushes and all but one of Tasmania’s great gold mines were found by prospectors originally following leads of alluvial gold? In this post I will briefly describe alluvial gold, and go into places you might go, where to do research, and link to some good videos on how to pan, if you’re just starting out.
Continue readingTasmanian goldfields – north east
This week I’m writing about an area that contains some of our earliest gold discoveries — the north-east. I will discuss a bit of history, linking to newspaper articles from the times of the original discoveries. I also go over places worth a try if you want to find some gold, and finally there’s a section on how I go about finding information by searching online resources. There is quite a bit of information in this post, so I recommend grabbing yourself a cuppa before you start!
Continue reading