Another
lovely crisp clear morning.
Steve
lent Bob and Margaret his little ‘Sadie’ coil to help them find some of the
little nuglets like he found yesterday. Margaret found a couple and one that
looked like a little pistol.
Packed
up then had lunch before we headed back to explore the other mining areas.
Stopped
at Enterprise Mill then Louisa Mine and Battery. Climbed up the hill for a look at the
battery.
The
Louisa group of mines was first developed in 18776. The Louisa Gold Mining
Company purchased the property and installed a pump in 1881, but production
decreased as the water and costs continued to rise. The company was declared
bankrupt in 1884. The Palmer Gold Mines Company of Cooktown acquired a large
M.A.N. diesel engine from Wolfram Camp in 1915 to pump out the water but
abandoned it in 1917. During the 1920s and 30s a number of unsuccessful
attempts were made to pump the shaft. Finally in 1939 a local miner, C.E.
Barnes, succeeded in beating the water using a turbine pump, but he found the
quartz was unpayable and abandoned the mine in 1941. In 1939, C. Denman the
owner of the Perseverance Battery at Nearby Butcher Creek, decided that the
promised output of the Louisa justified relocating his plant to Thompson Gully.
In July 1940 Denman erected a 10-head steam powered battery cannibalised from
other plant on the goldfield. For 2 years the Enterprise Battery was the
mainstay of the Palmer Goldfield crushing for the Louisa and for other small
miners. Following the failure of the Louisa, Denman abandoned the Enterprise
Battery and plant in late 1942.
Amazing
to think this machinery came all the way from England and over all those rough
tracks up and down the hills.
Went
back down and along the creek where they tunnelled under the hill to divert the
water around to the battery.
Further
up the other side is the Louisa Mine and Battery. Lots of shafts and piles of
tailings.
Continued
on. Steve took me up a steep ridge to check out the memorial Danny built for
Bruce Schuler. We told Bob and Margaret to stop at the house as Steve said the
track was too much for Bob’s car. I just hung on. Fabulous view – took a video.
Danny put in the post which aligns to where Bruce was murdered.
Tried
the panorama view again.
Something’s
burning on the Conglomerates.
A
new mining operation has started up.
Took
a video as we went down to show the steepness of the track. Back down and along
to Danny’s place to where Bob & Margaret were waiting near this tree of
interesting bits and pieces.
Steve
went in to see if Danny was in. He wasn’t but we chatted with the caretaker and
he said it was ok to have a look around. It looks like it might have sold as he
has had it on the market for a while now. He said a Turkish chap who was
caretaking here made all the sculptures along the fence.
Love
the open air toilet and shower. Another lovely little paradise in the middle of
the bush. There were heaps of yellow passionfruit falling off the vine. The
caretaker said to help ourselves which we did.
Up
the hill and down to check out the Comet Mine. A new sign with great
information.
Continued
on to the Mabel Louise Battery. This was built by the Cooktown Quartz Crushing
Company in 1877. The company went into liquidation in 1879 and the battery was
purchased by Jes Jensen who refused to crush ore from mines employing Chinese.
Mary Purdie acquired it in the mid1890s after which it fell into disuse. In
1937 C. Denman took five head of stamps to construct his Perseverence Battery
alongside. The Robey portable engine at the site was manufactured pre 1876 and
is one of the earliest in the region.
On
the edge of the Butchers Creek bank a long pipe goes down into the creek bed so
they could pump the water up to the boilers.
Back
to the Palmer River/Dog Leg Crossing to camp for the night. We decided to go
down by Dog Leg Creek and camp this time as there are nice big shady trees and
bit of water in the creek.
Steve
and Margaret went wandering while Bob and I relaxed. Started on my next Di
Morrissey book about life in Manning Valley, NSW.
Some
cattle wandered down. Bob fed some birds that were hopping about.
Quite
windy but lovely and cool under the trees as it has been quite hot today. Last
night for Bob and Margaret in their roof top camper as they will go back into
their caravan when we get back to Cairns.
Margaret
only found a rusty pocket knife but Steve came back with some little nuglets.
We
had some fish bits we were using for bait so I tossed them in the creek for the
fish and prawns. Instead a whistling kite flew down and helped himself. His
friend got a feed too.
A
flock of Apostle birds flew around and went down to the creek for a drink. Some
magpies were singing for their supper too.
Lovely
evening to finish our ‘trip north’.
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