Sun, 26th July, 2015 Dargile Reserve, Heathcote-Graytown National Park to Spring Creek Nature Conservation Reserve, Graytown

The sun was peeking through the clouds. At 7.30pm it was 13 degrees in the van. At 8.30 it was only 7.3 degrees outside and the wind was very cold.

Walked over the info board in the picnic area while we had our cuppa. The 12,833 ha National Park was proclaimed with the passing of the Box-Ironbark Bill in October 2002.

Looking back at the van.

Drove into Heathcote to check out the Pink Cliffs. Across from the carpark was the entrance to a winery, very eye-catching entrance.

First past the white mounds where the gold was washed out of the area using hydraulic sluicing which has the left the area looking like a moonscape.

Further on were some info boards about the mining practices.

Certainly left a barren landscape.

Further around we climbed up to a higher vantage point. Info about the miners.

Because there has been rain the pink is more red today.

Headed down a back road to the Spring Plains Nature Reserve where the water race can be viewed. Found a nice camp area too so might come back here later.

Found Hedley Dam though it is nearly full of reeds. To dam to at the back of the photo with the channel coming towards me.

Then it heads away around the hill.

Followed the water race channel hoping to find some of the timber flume parts. Stopped where the road went away from it and there was an area fenced off. The channel came though it but there is a big hole here too.

I followed the channel on foot while Steve got out the detector. The channel when up then turned back on itself heading around the base of the next hill.

Lots of diggings here. Wandered back to Steve as he was digging a target – it was only a bullet.

I went to warm up in the car as it is trying to rain on us now. Steve came back silently so I held out my hand and a popped out this lovely little nugget into my palm. That was the second target he dug so it has been cleaned up well but we will come back and camp after Whroo to see if he can find some more.

Drove back through Heathcote – I will do my history walk etc when we camp here again. Drove up the McIvor Range area to check out Viewing Rock Lookout.

Very aptly named though the wind was a bit strong so I wasn’t feeling to brave, let along it was freezing!!

Great view over Heathcote though. It is reputed to have the longest main street in the southern hemisphere.

Zoomed in on the Pink Cliffs area.

Back to the van and after a cuppa decided to head off again. Drove further towards Whroo and turned off at Graytown into the Spring Creek Nature Conservation Reserve. Graytown, another historic gold rush town, was formerly known as Spring Creek, and was surveyed by Hoddle in 1848. There isn’t much left other than some foundations and a cemetery. Up until 1868, prospecting took place without success. When gold was discovered, the population grew rapidly. The first miners to arrive came from nearby Heathcote, Whroo and Rushworth which significantly reduced the numbers in those towns. Within a few weeks, 2000 residents had arrived with more arriving each day. It wasn’t long before hotels etc started being erected. Up to 90 hotels and wine shops existed in the town, several banks, two newspapers, stores and all kinds of businesses were established. Graytown soon had a police station with a contingent of several officers, a post office, Court of Petty Sessions and Warden’s Court, as well as most of the church denominations. A concert hall and school were opened and a cricket team formed. Between 1868-70, Graytown boasted a population of over 30,000 gold diggers. During this period Graytown was compared in size to the Ballarat gold rush. The 1871 census indicated that there were 511 buildings in the town – Amazing!!

After the ‘rush’ started, lack of water was predicted as the most difficult problem which proved to be true. The main natural source was Spring Creek, a small stream, which was later to bring about the town’s demise. Meetings were held to call for the bringing of water from the Goulburn River, but that never happened. At one state, water was getting low and cost 3d per bucket full; the puddlers had almost exhausted the water supply in Compton’s Creek, so “the gold was washed in beer!!” (which was plentiful and cheap).

During one night in 1870, a sudden freak storm and heavy rain hit Graytown. Spring Creek joined with the torrents of flood waters and neighbouring creeks to flood the many hundreds of mine shafts – some with gold mining tools left from the day before. It the storm had come during the day, many hundreds of miners would have been drowned in their shafts (some 500 feet deep) because the flood arrived so quickly. Ironically, it was this deluge that caused the town to be abandoned – there was too much water in the mines for the miners to cope with – any gold was left where it was and only a few families remained in the area.

There are also some relics of a World War 2 prisoner-of-war camp where we turned off the main road. There were approximately 250 Italian and German POWs detained here.

One of Victoria’s oldest wineries are near here. Osicka Wines was established in 1955 by Czechoslovakian immigrants at a time when such ventures were not common. It has the distinction of being the only winery in the state open for business between 1930 and 1963.

Lovely open spot.

I worked on my blog while Steve wandered off with his detector. He happily returned with two more little bits of gold (0.3grams plus the 0.2g from Argyle so $20 for today!!!). Making up for nothing at Wedderburn!! 

He got the fire going to cook the pork chops on the BBQ plate provided.

Malcolm rang to confirm when they would be arrived at Phillip Island and see how we are going in the cold. I checked the temp to tell him it was only 2.8 degrees outside but we were nice and warm at 21 degrees in the van. They have big black clouds that are going to dump some more snow on the Western Tiers.

Nice and quiet here.