BIG HILL REEF QUARTZ BLOW
QUARTZ TRACK LILLICUR, CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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BIG HILL REEF QUARTZ BLOW - History
Contextual History:History of Place:
Heritage Inventory History of Site:
December 1869: The companies on the Big Reef, near Amherst, have not made progress in the erection of machinery .
September 1870: Himalaya Co. at the Big Reef, near Amherst which yields nine dwt per ton...company needs capital to erect steam machinery.
December 1870: Quartz mining in this division does not appear to be well understood, or we should have valuable lodes like Blucher's, White Horse and the Big Reefs, which are known to yield good payable returns, standing idle.
June 1874: Tara's Hall claim, situated on the continuation of Daisy Hill Lead, has commenced puddling with encouraging prospects.
September 1884: Tara's Hall Co. (alluvial) also shows an increased yield.Heritage Inventory Description
BIG HILL REEF QUARTZ BLOW - Heritage Inventory Description
The Big Reef near Amherst appears to have witnessed only one main period of quartz mining. In 1869 the Himalaya Company were working the reef and trying to raise capital to erect steam machinery. Despite the company's claim of 9dwts to the ton it was unsuccessful in getting the necessary capital./nSite 17.2: Big Hill Reef/nAdit - Small mullock heap and collapsed/blocked adit/nAir shaft - Small air shaft on the west side of the quartz reef./nBlow of quartz - Massive blow of quartz, considered to be the largest outcrop of quartz reef in the southern hemisphere.
Heritage Inventory Significance: State Site 17.2 has: Historical significance: Big Hill is historically significant as a reference site for the understanding of quartz mining. The focal points of the pioneering years of shallow reef mining (mid to late 1850s) were large surface exposures (called 'blows') of auriferous quartz. These locations, once proven payable, were quickly divided into numerous claims, each worked by a small party of miners. The quartz blows were usually completely quarried away and ended there lives as open pits. The Big Hill quartz blow proved not to be payable, which enabled the outcrop's survival to the present day. It is a rare geological feature which provides a context for an understanding of early quartz mining. The Big Reef near Talbot appears to have been subject to only one main period of quartz mining. In 1869 the Himalaya Company was working the reef and trying to raise capital to erect steam machinery. Despite the company's claim that it was obtaining 9 dwts of gold to the ton, it was unsuccessful in securing the capital to develop the mine. Scientific significance: reputed to have the largest quartz outcrop in the southern hemisphere. Still bears scars of the shafts and adit excavated to investigate the reef for gold. Natural value: classified as a geological reserve. Network values: Big Hill Quartz blow and Daisy Creek Lead puddler Natural values: already classified as a Geological Reserve
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DAISY CREEK LEAD PUDDLING MACHINE NO.1Victorian Heritage Inventory
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DAISY CREEK LEAD PUDDLING MACHINE NO.2Victorian Heritage Inventory
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BIG HILL REEF QUARTZ BLOWVictorian Heritage Inventory
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