Mining for Gold in the Old days was not Easy

Hundreds of years ago the men and boys had no machines to move the earth to find the gold.  Instead they worked like rabbits often digging in confined spaces working on their bellies. It was not easy. Sometimes even children work like men in terrible conditions.  Rain, hail or snow made no difference.

They had dug a massive hole which is now partially filling with water.  You can see a small hole in the side where they have continued their search.

This above picture shows two small holes where men have dug trying to improve their luck.

There is also another way of searching for gold and that is by digging in creeks or where you believe gold is and us a gold pan.  You need to put dirt into pan and if in a creek swirl it around until you remove all the dirt leaving the gold in bottom of the pan.

Gold Panning Kit with Mini Sluice Box, 12" Aluminum Gold Mining Equipment, 16 PCS Gold Prospecting Kit with Gold Pan, Classifier Screen, Separating Magnet, Drawstring Backpack and Accessories

The miners working on this one were luckier as they at least had room to move although they still could not have stood up. This would not have improved the aches in there backs from hours spent digging day after day and never finding anything at all.

These photos were taken at the old Mt Palmer mine just outside of Southern Cross Western Australia.

To give you a better idea on how hard it was for the men I wrote a couple of poems about this hardship.

Golden Earth

The lone Guard

Travel to the Goldfields Fossick for Gold or Visit Historical Sites.

If you are thinking of visiting Western Australia then do not miss seeing the Goldfields. If you like to fossick for gold then you will enjoy this even more so. Some people camp out for a week or more at a time with their metal detectors. Mining towns are not only great for gold; the museum has a beautiful collection of historical information on how our pioneers survived the desolation and hard conditions in the early gold prospecting days. Although you will need a gold detector to find those nuggets

Kalgoorlie is rich in gold and has a wealth of beautifully restored hotels, and buildings throughout the town. The York hotel is one of these.  The Picture below is of the biggest Super Pit in the World

Goldfields C. Y. O'connor Pipeline

During the 1890’s CY O’Connor had a dream of building a pipeline from Perth to carry fresh water to Kalgoorlie. This is known as the Goldfields pipeline. Gold rushes in the surrounding areas of Southern Cross, Boulder and Coolgardie led to an influx of people wishing to fulfill their dreams of finding the elusive gold nuggets.

CY O’Connor was the engineer responsible for the building of this pipeline. He was continually criticized by the public and the press for being a failure. In fact, they had not taken into consideration on how long it would take the water to be pumped the 530 kilometers. CY O’Connor took his own life on the 10th March in 1902 on the beach in Fremantle.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Race Round

This is one of the best times to visit Kalgoorlie. People come from all over Australia for this horse racing event. It is held every year in September, coinciding with the start of the blooming wildflowers in Western Australia. This is a very busy time in Kalgoorlie. Then there are many other attractions to visit, like the bush two-up, and the bush horse race out at the Broad Arrow hotel.

Another attraction from the gold prospecting days is the brothels in Hay Street. And of course, there are the skimpies well known for their scantily clad bodies serving behind the bars in a few of the hotels.

Four Wheel Heritage trail

Many of you would love an outback adventure, if so, then take the discovery trail. This is a Nine- Hundred- and sixty-five-kilometer trail. This trail goes from Coolgardie to Laverton in the north through historical gold rush country and aboriginal sites. It has been open since 2003 and is a very popular trip for those with a four-wheel drive.

#golddetector  #C.Y.O'connor  #Kalgoorlie