GIFT MINE SITE
KURRAJONG GAP ROAD BETHANGA, TOWONG SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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GIFT MINE SITE - History
Heritage Inventory History of Site:
The New Year's Gift (Gift) Reef, discovered in 1876, was the first reef worked at Bethanga. From 1878, it was worked, in turn, by Harris & Hollow, the Wallace Bethanga Co., and the Bethanga Goldfields Co. The Gift engine shaft was commenced in 1884, following the amalgamation of Harris & Hollow's Bethanga GMC and Wallace & Co. The Gift shaft was flooded out in 1887, forcing its abandonment for some years. In 1899, four years after the Bethanga Goldfields Co. took over the Wallace Bethanga Co.'s leases, the Gift shaft was the main focus of mining operations and the 'best equipped' of the company's shafts.Heritage Inventory Description
GIFT MINE SITE - Heritage Inventory Description
The Gift mine site is bisected by the Bethanga - Wodonga road.
Heritage Inventory Significance: Regional. The site has scientific significance because of its intactness. The site is part of the network, associated with Martin's engine shaft, Welcome shaft and Wallace's smelting works.
Heritage Inventory Key Components: Features on the south side of the road include: Mullock heap - A large, partly-quarried heap with sixteen dumping lines. Mining machinery - To the north-west of the heap is a large pepper tree, growing over a U-shaped brick mounting bed. The bed measures 30 ft x 9 ft x 5 ft high. To the south-west, in a gully, are a small dam and the remains of a brick powder magazine. The brick and concrete-rendered foundations are partly buried and obscured by large pepper trees. Below the foundations are an intact tailings dump and the remnants of a mullock heap. Features on the north side of the road include: Mullock heaps - A small, peaked heap near the road and another low dump in the gully below the site. Mining machinery - 33 ft x 16 ft concrete slab with a 8ft-square concrete winder bed. The winder bed has one inch mounting bolts and is associated with several smaller beds. Concrete tank or vat - To the east of the winder bed is a T-shaped vat or tank (18 ft x 13 ft) with ¥ft-thick brick and concrete-rendered brick walls. A large pepper tree growing in the structure has cracked and pushed over some of the walls. Battery engine - To the west of the winder bed is a set of concrete mounting beds (each bed is 10¢ ft x 2 ft, standing 5 ft, with one-inch bolts). There is a small section of brick floor visible at the base of the concrete foundations. Battery - Little survives of the stampers except for the upper and lower levels of the battery house. The two floors, both 24 ft square, are marked by a largely obscured brick wall. Tailings - In the gully below the battery site is a 30m-wide spread of tailings
Archeological Potential: Yes
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MARTIN'S ENGINE SHAFTVictorian Heritage Inventory
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GIFT MINE SITEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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Bethanga LookoutNational Trust
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