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TRONOH DREDGE HOLES: NORTH HOLE
DREDGE HOLE LANE HARRIETVILLE, ALPINE SHIRE
TRONOH DREDGE HOLES: NORTH HOLE
DREDGE HOLE LANE HARRIETVILLE, ALPINE SHIRE
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Victorian Heritage Inventory
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Statement of Significance
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TRONOH DREDGE HOLES: NORTH HOLE - History
Heritage Inventory History of Site:
In 1938, the London-based Tronoh Finance Co. (already with dredging interests in Malaya) leased river flats totalling 356 hectares on the Upper Ovens. The Tronoh leases extended southwards for a distance of 7 km from a point halfway between Stoney and Smoko creeks. The bucket dredge was the biggest in the southern hemisphere: it measured 167 metres long, weighed 4,813 tonnes, and could dredge to a depth of approximately 41 metres. The dredge was built by Thompsons of Castlemaine, and an electricity line was installed from Bright. Construction costs totalled £380,000.
The Tronoh dredge commenced operations in 1942. Soon after, however, wartime manpower restrictions forced its closure for the duration of the WW2, and it was 1946 before operations commenced in earnest. The dredge turned to face north in 1949, the same year in which it returned its highest average yield of 2.29 grains per cubic yard. In fact, the annual volumes of material excavated by the dredge did not exceed much more than half the projected target. Added to that, continuing low yields and high labour costs eventually made operations unprofitable and the dredge ceased work in 1954. The total gold production of the Tronoh dredge at Harrietville was 54,000 oz. The company failed to honour the land rehabilitation and reclamation covenants on its leases. In 1955, the Tronoh dredge was sold and shipped to Malaya.Heritage Inventory Description
TRONOH DREDGE HOLES: NORTH HOLE - Heritage Inventory Description
Large dredge hole, now largely surrounded by freehold land.
Heritage Inventory Significance: National Estate. The site has historical significance as a relic associated with Australia's largest dredge.
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TRONOH DREDGE HOLES: NORTH HOLEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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