CAMP FLAT
CAMP FLAT BUCKLAND, ALPINE SHIRE
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
Statement of Significance
-
-
CAMP FLAT - History
Henry Pardoe and party are credited with the discovery of gold in the Buckland River during the winter of 1853. They were said to have obtained over 360oz of gold within a few days. By December, the increasing population was estimated at 3,000, with as many as 6,000 by January 1854. This represented half the population of the Ovens (Beechworth) mining district. Pans and cradles were initially used to work the gold-deposits in the banks and beds of the river. Water-races and sluice-boxes would soon become the principal means of gold extraction. The mining of gold took many forms over the decades, including, hydraulic sluicing, bucket dredging and quartz reef mining. Camp Flat ‘The Camp’ was the first main commercial centre on the Buckland goldfield, established near richest gold discoveries at Maguire’s Point. Stores and hotels were trading in this locality during the summer of 1853-54 when the surrounding population was estimated as being in excess of 1,000. The site of the Camp was on a bend in the Buckland River, the last of the small open areas of the upper Buckland diggings. The roads and river crossings beyond the Camp became rough and unsuitable for horse drawn vehicles. The generally narrow valley slightly widened and offered a gently sloping flat on the north side overlooking the river, whilst on the south side a lower slightly broader river flat. The locality was central to the rich alluvial river and bank claims. in January 1854 the area of the police camp and immediate surrounds was referred to as St Giles, whilst the area on the opposite side of the river was named Smithfield. St. Giles consisted of the police barracks and yard as well as numerous tents and stores. Whilst on the northern side of the river, on the higher ground overlooking the river, Smithfield was well laid out with a main road lined with several general stores, a bakery, diary, butcher shops, auction house, hotels, a post office, bank, a church, burial ground and school. “The appearance of the stores and refreshment tents at the Buckland forms a great contrast to other diggings. All these erections are well arranged on either side of the road, and very great care and taste have been displayed in their construction. No names have yet been given to the various flats where gold has been found, but the locality where the auctioneers and principal stores and banks are situated has been named. “Smithfield,” while the Government Camp and cluster of tents around it on the opposite side of the river, have received the aristocratic title of St. Giles’s”. Typhoid/Colonial Fever – The Valley in the Shadow of Death By January 1854 the population of the field had reached 6,000, with significantly more than 1,000 in vicinity of the Camp. Cramped within a narrow stretch of the valley, hygiene and refuse management were not a priority amonsgst the population. On the 25th April 1854. The Morning Herald reported, “The constant immersion of the lower extremities in the cold water, while the upper part of the body was exposed to the burning rays of the sun, the large consumption of highly adulterated spirits, sold by the villainous sly grog dealer, and the unrelenting pursuit of an arduous toil, brought out, in the majority of instances, violent attacks of dysentery accompanied by low fever. Will it be believed that last summer under this system of iniquity, in one day, and in one neighborhood of that valley, the number of funerals amounted to seventeen, from eight to twelve were common.” The Camp was central to the outbreak, and within a very short time much of the Camp was all but deserted, with Phelan Brother Great Britain Store one of the few left trading. The Buckland Riot, 1857 On the morning of 4th July 1857 a person left the agitated meeting of Europeans at Tanswell’s Hotel at the Junction and went to the Police Camp to warn the authorities that trouble was brewing. Despite building tensions between European and Chinese miners and a number of isolated incidents, there were only two officers stationed at the Police Camp, Constables Gilroy and Duffy. Gilroy was left in charge of the Camp while Duffy hurried up to the Junction. From his post at the Camp Gilroy had a clear view of the violence and destruction going on, particularly at the nearby Brown’s Hotel. Chinese Camp, Post 1857 Riot In the lead up to the July riot and as a result of smaller incidents against the Chinese population Warden Gaunt visited the Buckland in an attempt to establish some law and order. Part of this was to protect the Chinese from any further attack by organising to Chinese to move into new designated camps one at the Junction and the other near the Police Camp. The camp at the Police camp failed to eventuate until after the riot. The camp at the Police camp was the initial camp where the main population of Chinese settled under the direct protection of the authorities. By the 1860 the Chinese had ventured away from this site to other localities. . The Police Camp Drinking and sly grog on the early diggings saw Sub. Inspector Samuel Furnell request that a party of foot police be immediately sent to the Buckland. The Sub Inspector was the first government official to the new diggings, Arriving on the 15th December 1853 the where he established the police camp and administrative precinct on the inner bend of the Buckland River about fourteen miles from the Ovens River. The locality at the time would be sometimes referred to as the ‘Government’ or ‘Police’ Camp. In late December Acting Inspector of Police in Charge of the Ovens District, Matthew Price visited the diggings. He noted e daily increasing population was reported to be 3,000, with the population in vicinity of the Camp about 1,000. At the time of the outbreaks of typhoid/colonial fever in the summers of 1853-54 and in 1854-5, the notification of the deaths of individual may have occurred with the officials In March 1854 a lock-up and stockade was erected, with the lock up proclaimed a public goal in 1859 In September 1858 construction for the new Court House was underway. The earlier building measured 10 feet by 12 feet and was of slab and bark construction. The new building was 33 feet long by 19 feet wide, fitted with varnished cedar bench, jurors’ box and witness box. The cost of the building was £500. In the early years the Buckland Court was the only place where legal matters could be attended. With a population shift to new gold discoveries at Growlers Creek (Wandiligong) and Morse’s Creek (Bright), the public had to travel great distances to have legal matters attended to. A similar inconvenience occurred to miners whom had to travel from far outlying goldfields to register their claims with the Mining Warden. In August 1861 the pressure on the Buckland Court was relieved when the first Court of Petty Sessions was held at Morse’s Creek with the building of a new Court House. By 1862 the Court of Mines was transferred from the Buckland to Bright and a Warden’s Office opened. In June 1865 the police buildings and stables at the Camp were shifted to the Lower Buckland. Businesses in the Township From late 1853 into the early 1860s the Camp Flat settlement saw the rise and fall of many businesses with the numerous challenges of a remote mountainous goldfields. On the north, Smithfield side, some of the businesses included; Phelan brothers Great Britain Store, Bernard’s New York eating House (which closed and never reopened after the typhoid epidemic), Bell’s Buckland Bazaar, (owned by Thomas Bell, was open until the early 1860s when Bell moved to Wandiligong and opened a Bakery), Captain Chalk’s Store and Dairy, a branch of the Oriental bank, and Lynch’s Miner’s Right Hotel operated by James Lynch. On the south side of the river in the Government precinct was James McKay’s weatherboard and shingle roofed news agents was also the Buckland Post Office. Situated opposite the Police Camp, McKay was also Deputy Registrar of Births, Deaths and marriages until 1858, when the Post Office and store was auctioned as an insolvent estate. Across the road from the Post Office was Bradley’s Buckland Hotel. Also, within sight of the Police Camp was Brown’s Hotel. A private school house also existed on this flat for a short time. Other business at the Camp included; the Glasgow Bakery, a home decorating and sign writing store, a chemist, cordial maker, blacksmith, butcher, auctioneer and dress shop. Chapel and Burial Ground (Great Britain Hill) At the back of the Miner’s Right Hotel was the Roman Catholic chapel. Described as ‘a neat, although plain chapel’. A new chapel was built on the Lower Buckland and the one at the Camp fell to ruin. Behind the chapel was the earliest known burial ground of the Buckland. Many burials would have occurred here in the early years of the diggings, particularly with the typhoid/colonial fever outbreaks of 1853-4 and 1854-5. “-there is a great deal of sickness here. Though the diggings are but a few weeks old, there is a considerable burying-ground already, where you can see numbers of fresh graves surrounded by rude paling, and on the post of each corner placed a square turf, the digger’s monument.” This burial ground may have been called the Great Britain Hill cemetery. This name is mentioned in many death certificates and in the historic record. It is possible that this hill was named after Phelan’s Great Britain Store which was in close proximity to the Miner’s Right Hotel. This burial ground may have had more burials than any of the other Buckland burial grounds. The In the 1950s, a new road was cut through the burial ground to eliminate the river crossings at Camp Flat and the Junction. Bridges and Crossings The crossing at the camp was the weak link between the lower and upper Buckland during periods of wet weather and high river flows. It was treacherous crossing in winter and several lives were lost in attempting the crossing in the early years. A simple log bridge, suitable for pedestrians was the first official river crossing. Attempts were made to construct a bridge suitable for vehicles in the early days, however floods made short work of these structures. In 1858 the “rickety bridge” at the camp could not be crossed without “imminent risk of life”. Newspaper reports lobbied the Government to erect a serviceable bridge in its place to allow the public safe access to the Court House, Police, Post office and school. The following year, further floods rendered the Camp inaccessible, a temporary bridge erected by local parties was entirely submerged. In March the surveyors were at work and by October 1859 the new bridge was near completion. It appears the bridge was largely, if not completely built of stone. With many contemporary comments stating a timber bridge would have been significantly cheaper that the one chosen. The new bridge appears to have ramined for some years, at least into the early 1860s, where contemporary sketches show it clearly. At some point the bridge may have succumbed to floods and was replaced with a timber structure down-stream from the original site. The timber bridge remained in use for many years until it was destroyed in the 1939 bushfires. Welcome Quartz Reef Workings Situated on the eastern side of the river at Camp flat, claims registers show that a number of claims were held along the line of reef from 1865. Principal claim holders were Nicholas Paulussey & party. Large parcels of low-grade ore were crushed from the six foot wide reef, including one 800 ton parcel in 1866 which produced 284 ounces of gold. The initial workings appear to have occurred from a deep vertical shaft. It appears a quartz mill was erected at the mine in 1866, after some mechanical difficulties the mill was operating by October 1866. After a brief period the new company was made insolvent and the mine and plant were sold in April 1868. The mine was tired under several other names over the years, including the Try Me Again in 1882, the Homeward Bound in 1889 and the Blue Peter, held by the Fairley’s Creek Gold mining Co. Buckland South Extended Dredge Pontoons for the Buckland South Extended dredge were launched in August 1902, with machinery expected to be placed on board shortly. The plant started operations in the vicinity of Fairley’s Creek, and had commenced dredging by the end of November. The dredge would have made its way upstream and worked the flats of the Police Camp in about 1903-04. Works were held up in September 1908, owing to the boiler “blistering”; three weeks were lost while waiting for a new boiler to be procured and delivered to the dredge. On the boiler’s arrival it was reported that; “No time will be lost in putting it into position.” In September 1909, William O’Shea, a seventeen-year-old a box-boy, drowned while attempting to cross the river onto the dredge via the cable tow-line. Pulling himself hand-over-hand he lost his grip and fell 16 feet into the river. His body was recovered 350 yards downstream. The Buckland South Extended worked a section of the river downstream of the Junction and then later appears to been dismantled and reassembled in the west branch of the Buckland River. It ceased operations just below the junction of Scotch Bill’s and Nelson creeks.CAMP FLAT - Interpretation of Site
Early Township Site – north and south of river The principal areas of the former commercial and residential areas of the township are situated in and adjacent to areas adapted for more recent activities, including road creation and recreational facilities. Outlying these more recent corridors and activity areas, pockets of early features still remain. These early features contain a range of building footings, archaeological sites and surface artefact scatters . Only the cutting relating to the chapel site a and the Miner’s Right Hotel can be specifically attributed to these features through the historic record. Other sites such as the police camp, post office, etc., cannot be directly attributed to a specific location due to lack of a specific historic record/plans and post occupation disturbance of likely positions. Government Administrative precinct Although the area of the Government administration has largely been destroyed and altered by later mining activity, the locality has important historical values. The site was an important government administrative link between the remote mountain goldfield and the Beechworth (Mining District) administrative centre. Some isolated instances of archaeological evidence may remain in the southern and eastern portions of the south flat amongst the shallow ground sluice workings. Early alluvial workings – north and south of river The areas of early alluvial workings are represented by cobble heaps, sluice banks, head races, water races. Amidst these workings can be found evidence of occupation or building sites as identified by features such as fireplace mounds or artefact scatters. The location of these features amidst alluvial workings may suggest different periods in the mining and occupation history of the Camp Flat area; such as the mining of areas once buildings became abandoned, or isolated dwelling still occupied with areas being mined during the periods of building occupation. Alluvial Tailings/occupation area – north of river Buried archaeological occupation/building site(s) may be evident on the north side of the river, adjacent to the day visitor area, buried beneath post occupation mining activity. Tailings from a sluicing pit near the Miner’s right Hotel site have been discharged over an area that may contain early archaeological remains of the early Camp occupation areas. Bridge Sites The location of the timber bridge abutments, combined with the historic record or earlier bridges shows an evolution of crossing types and define the locality as being an important place in the history movements of population on the Buckland Valley goldfield. The history and remaining fabric emphasise the extremes in weather and the importance of access and public safety. Burial ground & Chapel site – north of river The site of the Roman Catholic Chapel and burial ground emphasise the importance of community spirituality and religion in the remote and isolated mountain goldfields. The burial ground is an important link to the tragic and harshness of life in the remote mountain goldfields; the deaths of children, mining accidents, the lack of good medical practitioners, and the high death tolls associated with the typhoid/colonial fever out breaks of the summer of 1853-4 and 1854-5, when the Buckland diggings were known as ‘the Valley of Shadow of Death’. The cemetery emphasises that many deaths occurred within such a small part of the goldfield. At least part of the cemetery appears to have been on the new road alignment. Part of the cemetery may extend into undisturbed ground on the south/east side of the road. There may also be an extension of the burial ground into the adjacent private property. The chapel site appears to be adjacent to the new road alignment. A small benching has been slightly disturbed by roading works. Chinese Camp site – north of river The site of the Chinese camp after the riot of July 1857 was situated on the higher sloping ground above the Buckland Road on the north/west side of the river, behind the principal commercial area of this sector. Today it is situated on freehold, private property. Rows of Chinese hut sites were apparently still clearly visible in the 1970s and the locality was a popular location for bottle hunters. Large numbers of Chinese artefacts were collected from the area. The site was heavily landscaped in the early 1980s when the block was developed. The Dredge era – Buckland South Extended Dredge The dredge evidence of dredging through the LiDAR imagery and the tailings and possible discarded buckets and pins is important archaeological evidence of the last main phase of mining in the Buckland. It also accounts for the absence of any archaeological remains in the once heavily populated southern area of the Camp.
Heritage Inventory Description
CAMP FLAT - Heritage Inventory Description
The site of the former township is situated at the present formal camping area known as Camp Flat (Twelve Mile). The site is divided by the Buckland River, with features relating to the former township on both the north and south sides of the river. The majority of the site is situated within the State Forest reserve. The site contains a range of historic features relating to the early period of occupation of the goldfield from 1853. Principal features: north side of river: Chapel Site: Located immediately to the south of the Buckland Road and adjacent to a former roadway is a small benched area that is likely to be site of the Catholic Chapel. The site is lightly covered in native vegetation and may have been partially impacted upon by more recent earthworks. Little other features or fabric is immediately identifiable. It may have been partially destroyed with the creation of the new Buckland Road in the 1950s. Burial Ground (Great Britain Hill Cemetery): As indicated on early plans the site of an early burial ground was situated on the rising slopes to the immediate west of the chapel site. This site is reputed to have been obliterated when the new and present Buckland Valley Road was cut timber harvesting in the Mt Selwyn area in the 1950s. It has been suggested that some of the former burial ground extends into the freehold property to the north. Lidar imagery offers some interesting features in this locality. (This site may be considered for a separate listing on the Heritage Inventory?) Alluvial Workings & Water Races: Located immediately to the south of the chapel site on the steep bank falling to the river. These are fairly typical of relatively shallow bank sluicing claims found across the entire goldfield. Former Miner’s Right Hotel Site: Located at the entry point off the Buckland Valley Road into the Camp Flat Area. This locality is marked by an old deciduous fruit tree. Part of the site has been sluiced away as indicated by a square sluice pit. Surface artefacts occasionally appear in the area. The site has also been partially impacted upon by earth works associated with the new Buckland Valley Road. Ground Sluice Workings: Immediately to the north-east of the entry road is an area of alluvial ground sluice workings. This locality is largely covered in thick vegetation and blackberry. It is probable that there may be early refuse sites and or occupation areas located in this area. LiDAR imagery shows some potential undisturbed areas that may contain archaeology of early habitation sites. Early Roadways: Early road alignments exist in this northern section. The present roadway is an upgraded alignment to the ford crossing and the site of an early stone and timber bridge. A disused road alignment to the east is an approach to the former late 19th century, early 20th century timber bridge site. The site of the 1859 stone bridge is likely to be the present-day ford crossing. No features of this early bridge remain. Timber Bridge Site: The site of the timber bridge is still evident, with timber piers still situated in the bed of the river. The earth abutments also are distinct, but currently covered in vegetation. The western abutment, adjacent to early building remains is largely earth and cobble construction. The eastern abutment has cobble and rough rock earth retaining walls. Some corrugated iron nearby suggests the former flat section of road may have been used for a prospector’s shack post 1939. Principal features: south side of river: The remaining historic features on the south side of the river are situated in a large river flat, used as a recreational camping area. Recreational camping has occurred at Camp Flat and the in the Buckland in general, from the late 19th century. Recreational camping significantly increased during the 1920s with greater access to motorised vehicles. The cleared camping area contains several formal firepits and a simple toilet facility. This area has largely been disturbed by post mining activity including shallow ground sluicing and later bucket dredging. The dredge tailing have possibly been levelled to some extent by dozing to help improve camping conditions. Township and Police camp site. This area was largely situated on the levelled camping area. Some of the original peripheral buildings would have extended further south and east into the areas of shallow ground sluicing. These alluvial working areas are heavily overgrown with regeneration bushfire vegetation (2019/20). During post 2006 bushfire inspection of these areas, isolated instances of huts sites and fireplace hearth were noted. Surface artefact scatters from the 1850 to the early 20th century were also noted. Southern and eastern alluvial workings: Immediately adjoining the camping ground is a large area of shallow ground sluicing workings. These consist of head and tail races, cobble heaps and sluice banks. These would have occurred from the earliest period of occupation. It is also likely that some of the workings may have occurred post occupation of specific areas as building became abandoned, with later prospectors opportunistically mining these patches of ground. Water races and head races: on the hillside to the east of the camp are two water races. LiDAR imagery clearly shows head races leading perpendicularly from the main races into the alluvial workings. Some of the hillside workings have sluice faces, or banks upwards of 6 to 10 metres in height. Original Buckland Road: the present course of the fourwheel drive road along the eastern side of the river follows the original course of the old Buckland Road. This alignment is largely original. Welcome quartz reef mining adit: on the eastern most border of the site is the lower adit to the Welcome Quartz reef workings. The blue slate and quartz mullock dump spills onto the adjacent four-wheel drive track. Surface and upper workings located further up the hill were not inspected. The site of the battery has not been yet identified. Buckland South Extended Dredge: the present-day camping area and former river flat of the Camp was worked by this dredge in about 1903-04. At some point, possibly in the 1960s, these tailings have been levelled post dredging activity to improve the recreational camping offering. In the late 1990s several dredge buckets and bucket pins were observed on the eastern banks of the river a short distance up from the camping area. The buckets may have been pilfered since this observation. The corridor of the path of the dredge and its level tailings is clearly evident on the LiDAR imagery.
-
-
-
-
-
NORTH MELBOURNE POTTERYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
STONY CREEK SLIPWAYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
SEASONING WORKS SITE AND TERRACOTTA LUMBERWALLVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
-