Lot 5569: Long Tunnel Gold Mine, Walhalla, Victoria, Australia

The history of Walhalla is closely linked to the history of gold in Victoria. Major gold strikes on the Jordan River encouraged other prospectors to follow the nearby Thomson River in their search for the valuable metal. A group of four prospectors who had been exploring in creeks flowing into the Thomson River valley found gold in late December 1862. After news of the discovery became known, a rush to the creek began and a small town sprang up. The settlement was initially called Stringer's or Stringer's Creek, but after the township was surveyed it was later rechristened Walhalla - the name of the town's largest mine at that time. The creek running through town still bears his name. Access to the creek was an ongoing problem in the town's early days owing to the goldfield's remote and inaccessible location. In February 1863, two prospectors John Hinchcliffe and William Myers, discovered an immensely rich quartz outcrop in the hill just above the creek, which was named Cohen's Reef, after a storekeeper at Bald Hills. Gold panning and related techniques quickly exhausted all the alluvial (surface) deposits. By late 1863 mining operations began as prospectors sought and then followed the underground veins of gold. Due to the enormous expenses of underground gold mining, small claims operated by individuals or small groups soon folded, being replaced by large companies such as the Long Tunnel Mining Company. This company owned the richest mine working the reef, the Long Tunnel.

9.5 x 11.5 in. 24.13 x 29.21 cm

Albumen

1870

Very good contrast and tonality