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Blackman's Lead

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  • Monumentblackmanslead1
Between Trafalgar Street, Stewart Drive and Graves Track, Maryborough VIC

Explore other locations around this area using our interactive map

Features

  • Historic area
  • Many significant gold nuggets have been discovered here
  • Monument commemorating 1858 gold nugget discovery
  • Lots of old gold workings, surface mining, shafts, puddling, etc
  • Bushwalking
  • Gold prospecting
Blackman's Lead, an ancient buried river bed, begins in the Craigie State Forest alongside Majorca Road. It connects with the Main Lead beneath Maryborough.

Many significant gold nugget discoveries occurred on Blackman's Lead in the 19th century and the area is filled with fascinating remnants of old mining activity. Throughout the area you will come across mine shafts and adits, gold puddlers, surfacing, and machinery foundations.

Be careful when walking through the bush as there is a lot of unstable and uneven ground. Be aware of the dangers of mine shafts.

A section of an old Maryborough map showing reefs and leads, State Library Victoria. You can find an extensive list of historical gold maps throughout Victoria over on this page

The following text was printed in The Argus in 1934 and describes some of the impressive gold nuggets which were pulled out of Blackman's Lead during the gold rush:

Two diggers on Blackman's Lead quickly took 690oz from their claim. Taking another claim, they found a great pear shaped nugget more than 11lb in weight, valued at £400. The length of the leads was eight miles. Where Blackman's Lead and Main Lead joined the yield was poorer than where they were separate. In June, 1855, at a depth of 5ft in Blackman's Lead, a nugget of 1,034oz was found and sold for £3,250. Another found in January, 1858, in Blackman's at 6ft, weighed 537oz. Source.

There is a historic monument out in the bush commemorating the discovery of the 537oz gold nugget, the last nugget mentioned in the article above. The monument can be reached by a walk which begins from a nearby dam (the track is also accessible by 4wd vehicles).

Monument commemorating the 1858 discovery of a 537oz gold nugget by the Rice brothers, who lived not far from Blackman's Lead. An information sign about them stands at their house site over at the Bull Gully Battery Dam and Distillery.

Bushwalking and gold prospecting are popular activities throughout the Craigie State Forest.

SEE ALSO


PROSPECTORS AND MINERS ASSOCIATION VICTORIA


Established in 1980, the Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria is a voluntary body created to protect the rights and opportunities of those who wish to prospect, fossick or mine in the State of Victoria, Australia.

You can support the PMAV in their fight to uphold these rights by becoming a member. You'll also gain access to exclusive publications, field days, prospecting tips, discounts and competitions.

Check out the PMAV website for more information.




DID YOU KNOW...

  • Bushwalking is an excellent way to get outdoors and exploring nature.
  • Gold prospecting is the recreational act of searching for natural gold deposits in the ground using tools such as gold detectors, gold pans and gold sluices. The Goldfields region of Victoria is a popular destination for gold prospectors, with many of the world's largest alluvial gold nuggets found in the area!
 

Comments

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Ray swinnerton
12/09/2019
I have just put up a couple of extracts from a book written by a bloke from Maryborough. The extracts concerning Blackmans lead are on the Bendigo Prospecting club FB site.
I will edit later and mention his name and that of the old book.
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