TRY AGAIN GM CO AND TUNNELLING PARTIES WORKINGS
LINTON-PIGGOREET ROAD PIGGOREET, GOLDEN PLAINS SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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TRY AGAIN GM CO AND TUNNELLING PARTIES WORKINGS - History
Contextual History:History of Place:
Heritage Inventory History of Site:
TUNNEL COMPANY, described as being north of the Grand Trunk Protection Company and east of the Alpha Co
TRY AGAIN COMPANY (new name from November 1860)
TRY AGAIN GOLD MINING COMPANY
NEW TRY AGAIN GOLD MINING COMPANY
09.1859: work started
07.1860: confirmed that the Linton and Lucky Woman's Leads pass through this company's claim.
09.1860: have driven several hundred feet but have not yet found the gutter; they may be too high judging by the adjoining claim of the Cleft in the Rock Co.
11.1860: have encountered trap rock abreast of their drive after driving for 900 feet; about 60 feet above their drive is a reef which will pay about 0.5 ozs per ton; this reef was found in the Italians tunnel, which adjoins; the gutter which the Cleft of the Rock Co. found is below their tunnel.
12.1860: abandoned their tunnel after 16 months work and will sink a shaft in Devil's Kitchen at the extremity of their claim so as to avoid 150 feet of basalt rock.
03.1861: shaft is down 80 feet.
04.1861: swamped out at 70 feet.
05.1861: brought a splendid engine.
06.1861: machinery on the ground
07.1861: steam engine nearly fitted up
08.1861: nearly completed the erection of their machinery, the largest in the district.
09.1861: shaft down 73 feet; putting in pumps and their machinery will be erected in 3 weeks.
11.1861: sinking.
12.1861: have not started yet.
stopped to await machinery.
06.1862: restarted sinking again in Devils Kitchen.
12.1862: getting 92 ozs per week.
06.1863: tunnel in 1250 feet; shaft down 250 feet, 7 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 3 inches for the first 150 feet, 9 feet by 4 feet for the remaining 50 feet; machinery includes: 20 inch by 36 inch steam engine for winding and puddling, boiler: 32 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches, puddling machine with cast iron bottom and wrought iron sides, 12.5 inch drawlift, trucks, and cages
07.1863: yield of nearly 80 ozs per week.
10.1863: unable to puddle for 3 weeks while machinery repaired.
02.1864: using: two winding shafts, 2 puddling machines, Round's patent chains, and 15 inch gauge tramway in all drives which is laid with 15 pound rail
03.1864: improving after being indifferent for several weeks.
06.1864: getting excellent wash-dirt.
09.1864: has great fluctuations and is at a low point at the moment.
12.1864: dividend of about £4 per man per week.
1864: gave good returns throughout the year.
03.1865: one of the major mines in the Springdallah locality.
06.1865: yield of 171 ozs for a week recently and should be able to maintain this yield.
08.08.1865: three compartment shaft is 7 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 6 inches clear and is down 190 feet; equipment includes: a 22 inch by 42 inch steam engine for pumping, winding and puddling, a Cornish boiler: 32 feet 6 inches by 6 feet, a 12.5 inch drawlift, 2 puddling machines with cast iron bottoms and wrought iron sides, 16 feet in diameter by 2 feet 4 inches high, a 4 foot by 2 foot amalgamating barrel; the puddling machines and amalgamating barrel are belt driven from the steam engine; a quicksilver cradle is used to finish sand from the amalgamating barrel; a Round's patent flat chains, cages; a 14.25 inch cylinder steam engine is being made by Wright of Melbourne for winding
09.1865: getting excellent returns.
17.10.1865: three days delay due to bursting of blow-off pipe; a 14.25 inch cylinder steam engine for winding purchased from William Wright in Melbourne for £260, which is £60 less than the imported one of the same size; the boiler is 25 feet by 5 feet 6 inches with angle iron stay around flue, it was supplied by J. Birrell Lands for £227 sterling; a third puddling machine was erected for £212 10s; contract let to extend building over third machine and erect a tank, 12 feet by 12 feet by 6 feet, for £74 15s
14.11.1865: erecting new machinery
12.1865: one of the best paying claims.
1865: continued to give good returns, 90 ounces per week giving 7s 6d per share weekly dividend; shares were selling at £40.
02.01.1866: repairing and overhauling machinery; pumping water out of mine for an early resumption
03.1866: paying well and have a large extent of ground in their claim.
29.05.1866: to stop in a fortnight to clean boiler and install kick ups to do away with doors on trucks
06.1866: yield last week of 164.5 ozs; have struck the Smythesdale Lead in their claim and so have access to this and the Happy Valley Lead.
24.07.1866: 3 days lost spent in cleaning the boiler; 44,052 trucks of wash dirt raised for the quarter
09.1866: yield for the week was 103 oz 12 dwt.
06.1867: paying regular dividends.
26.07.1867: mine flooded due to stoppage of the Atlas and other mines adjoining; eventually baled out with two tanks. Incline put in to allow horses to bring wash dirt out of large crab hole;
33,857 trucks of wash dirt raised for the quarter
09.1867: resumed work after several weeks of constant baling along the lead by all mines in the district.
16.10.1867: 47,000 trucks of wash dirt raised between 7 July and 28 September
12.1867: yield for the quarter 2395 ozs 13 dwt 13 gr
03.1868: yield for the quarter 2575 ozs 17 dwt 12 gr
25.04.1868: 50,774 trucks of wash dirt raised for the quarter; 24 hours lost in cleaning the boiler; 12 hours lost due to breakage of pump rods and 12 through breakage of the piston cover of the winding engine
06.1868: will be worked out in a week; yield for the quarter 1422 ozs
08.1868: plant and machinery sold at auction for £746
(new company)
01.1870: shaft down 220 feet; water light; to fix pumps
06.1871: yield for the quarter 365 ozs 8 dwt.
12.1871: fair show of gold but work is suspended pending purchase of a larger steam engine.
1871: average fortnightly yield for the year was 60 ozs.
06.1872: yield for the quarter 484 ozs.
12.1872: yield for the quarter 320 ozs.
1872: average weekly yield for the year was 25 ozs.
03.1873: yield for the quarter 284 ozs 11 dwt.
06.1873: yield for the quarter 287 ozs.57
09.1873: yield for the quarter 303 ozs.
12.1873: yield for the quarter 257 ozs 18 dwt.58
1873: mining ceased between the Trunk and the Lake mines during this year.
1860 to 1873: recorded production of 27,425 ozs (or 853.018 kg).
Italians Tunnelling Party, Lucky Womans
05.07.1862: getting first rate dividends, as much as £100 per week.
CAMPAGLI BROTHERS,
N. D.: worked on conglomerate; it was mined and left out in the open to weather; the party had a tunnel which went through the wall of the Kitchen; some of this conglomerate is on the surface on the east side of the Springdallah Creek valley.Heritage Inventory Description
TRY AGAIN GM CO AND TUNNELLING PARTIES WORKINGS - Heritage Inventory Description
There is a concentration of workings running north south in the east wall and flood plain of the Springdallah Creek. These workings extend along a length of approximately 600 m along the valley. Starting from the northern end there are approximately 15 adits into the wall of the creek valley. Only two are open and even then the openings are very small. Several could only be identified by the presence of mullock heaps and these heaps may even have been a second heap from an adit a little higher up. The adits are between 5 and 20 m apart. The area has been grazed for many years and many features associated with mining have been worn away. There is a section of collapsing stone wall below the northern end of these workings, and what may have been the formation of a road. This group of workings extends over a distance of 200 to 300 m. On the river flat below the adits at the southern end of these workings there are some small mounds of quartz wash between 3 and 5 m in diameter and approximately 1 m high. A little further west between the mounds of quartz wash and the creek there are between 10 and 20 shallow sinkings. South of the adit workings described, for a further 100 m the creek valley wall is eroded away in a group of gutters which may have been caused by another set of adit workings, although it appears that there has been some sluicing or washing of material at this site. There are some large conglomerate rocks on the surface here as well as a few pillars of ground that contain wash dirt. On the creek flats below the valley walls near these workings are the remains of a stone walled building 6 m long by 3m wide. A few sections of the lower parts of some wall still remain, as well as a scatter of basalt rocks. There is a badly corroded wrought iron ore truck near this structure. Approximately 50 m further south the formation of a track runs up and across the slope in a northerly direction before turning and completing the climb up the slope in a southerly direction. On the southern side of the track formation at the base of the valley wall the largest and most open adit in this area has been driven into the valley wall. The cutting leading into the adit is 15 to 20 m long and the mullock heap at the end of the cutting is 10 m long spreading out to be 10 m wide at its base./nThis is an interesting collection of workings and may be one of the largest concentrations of adits in this mining district, the landscape is impressive and open. It is not hidden by any tree cover./nFurther work is required to determine which companies put in the adits. The Try Again is likely to have been responsible for the large one near the track, but their main working was from a shaft located within Devil's Kitchen./nThe only feature at the Try Again Co. shaft sunk in 1861/2 within Devils Kitchen is a heap of containing a mixture of mullock and quartz wash. The focal point of the heap appears to have been in the river, but there is no sign of the shaft. The heap has two fingers arranged at right angles, with one running west from their junction and one running south. Each of the fingers is 35 m long by 20 m wide and up to 4 m high. Although the heap is the only feature at this site, its association with the other features both inside and outside Devils Kitchen gives it some importance./nARTEFACTS:Wrought ore truck, 0.74 long by 0.54 wide and 0.63 deep, constructed of wrought sheets riveted to wrought iron strapping. The wheels have been removed from the truck. There is a gate in one end of the truck which is hinged at the top with iron straps which are bent around a rod running across the width of the truck.
Heritage Inventory Significance: Regional as an individual site, but as part of the group of sites at DevilÆs Kitchen it has State significance.
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NORTH PORT ARTHUR COVictorian Heritage Inventory
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ALPHA COVictorian Heritage Inventory
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SOUTH PORT ARTHUR COVictorian Heritage Inventory
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