ORIENTAL REEF WORKINGS
RELIANCE TRACK WANDILIGONG, ALPINE SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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ORIENTAL REEF WORKINGS - History
The reef workings on the Oriental Reef were the most substantial on the Upper Ovens goldfield - the largest open cut, largest recorded tonnage of ore, and the second-largest gold producer. Quartz mining on the Oriental Reef began very early, in 1858. The Oriental Perseverance Co., which operated from 1861-9, had a 16-head battery and produced a reported £300,000 worth of gold.. Also at the mine workings, about 1000 ft above the valley, during that period was the 'Oriental Restaurant and bunkhouse'. The Oriental Australasia Co., on No. 1 South claim, was active between 1861-76 and had a 32-head battery (of which 16 heads and the engine were later removed to the London & Myrtle Reef, also at Wandiligong).
After the mid-1870s, intermittent work continued on the Oriental Reef until World War One. The largest effort was that of the Bright District Prospecting & Gold Mining Co., which, between 1886 and 1912 (or later) drove a tunnel for over 1,100 m (aptly called the Long Tunnel), in search of the southerly continuation of the Oriental Reef. Local shareholders held 26,000 shares and paid monthly calls of ha'penny per share: in 1899, the 144th call was made. The long-searched-for reef was eventually found, but proved worthless. The Long Tunnel is now used for Wandiligong's water supply.
ORIENTAL REEF WORKINGS - Historical Significance
The site has historical significance. The Oriental Reef was the district's second-highest recorded gold producer. The site has scientific significanceas a relatively undisturbed network of adits, heaps, carting tracks, and one large open cut.
Heritage Inventory Description
ORIENTAL REEF WORKINGS - Heritage Inventory Description
Features of the Oriental Reef are various mine workings and the site of the 'Oriental Restaurant and bunkhouse'.
The Oriental Reef workings site consists of several levels of adits, mullock heaps and benched tracks, representing workings on Gladstone Reef, the Long Tunnel, and of the Oriental Australasia and Oriental companies. A large open cut exists near the top of the ridge, measuring 15 m wide, 9 m deep and approximately 400 m long. The open cut is partly filled and overgrown with trees and ferns. At its northern end is a haulage adit and large mullock heap. Forty metres north of the haulage adit, along a benched track, is a well-preserved stone blacksmith's forge. The number 7 adit liesnortheast of the northern end of the open cut and consists of two open adits with a large heap containing several dumping lines. The hotel site -'Oriental Restaurant and bunkhouse'- is represented by an extensive spread of bottle glass above the upper edge of the open cut.
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ORIENTAL REEF WORKINGSVictorian Heritage Inventory
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