DALEY'S HILL REFUSE DUMP
AXEDALE-GOORNONG ROAD AXEDALE, GREATER BENDIGO CITY
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Statement of Significance
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DALEY'S HILL REFUSE DUMP - History
The majority of the place history is drawn from Haley Geiberras & Rebekka Hocking 2022, Technical report A2: Historical Heritage Fosterville Gold Mine Sustained Operations Project. European settlement within the study area began in the late 1830s, the area attracted squatters who later settled due to the potential for farming. Sheep were bred for their wool during the 1830s-1840s, then in the 1850s sheep and cattle contributed more to the meat market in order to sustain the gold rush population increase (Ballinger 2020, p.14). The squatters who acquired large amounts of land during the 1840s relied upon native grasslands for the grazing of animals, this declined when broadacre wheat farming was established from the 1870s (Ballinger 2020, p. 34). The site was within the township of Axedale, in an allotment which was purchased by John Hughes by 1875 (Figure 6). It appears John Hughes leased a small section of his property which the Refuse dump falls under to J Adams by 1876 (Figure 7). J Adams mine was most likely not profitable unless he was producing a significant amount of gold, considering he was required to pay for a mining lease, the payments for leasing the property from John Hughes and the cost of transporting his material to a battery as the ones nearby were not in operation due to a lack of water resources. There was a long run that was made up of 51 ,200 acres with approximately 16,000 sheep located within the study area that was owned by Henry Grey Bennett (Webb et al. 1985, p. 40). This run was subdivided in 1865 into Barnedown East and Barnedown West. The Barnedown Run was broken down into smaller estates and in the late 1890s, a portion of this former run was known as Adelaide Vale Estate. At that time, dairy cattle, 4,000 sheep, hundreds of pigs and dozens of rabbits were present on the estate (The Australasian, 1896), which consisted of 4,000 acres of land that was used for agricultural activities. Farming continues in this location to the present day with the paddock being used for grazing livestock. During the 1850s, one group’s success from the Bendigo goldfields led to a large rush that extended the Bendigo Creek diggings to Epsom Flat and north Huntly, changing small alluvial mining operations to larger industrial scale mining (Ballinger 2020, p. 42). This area also had a gold boom from 1895 to 1906 (Figure 7). Site 42 is situated near Meagher and Brooks, Windsor Bros, Mason and Ruan, Daly and Weston, Brooks and Adams, Donnellan and Party and lastly East. Donnellan and Barret mines (Figure 8). Daly and Weston’s mine, which is VHI site: (H784-0075), consists of an open cut largely buried stone engine bed and depression indicating a line of battery stamps (20 head), 2 dry dams, 5 sludge ponds, some with stone walling and a dump of treated battery sand (Bannear et al 1992). Daley and Weston’s mine produced stone that would pay well if the stone could be put through batteries close by, instead of being transported five miles to the Axedale railway station and trucked to Bendigo due to a lack of water available for the batteries (Bendigo Advertiser 1895, p. 3). Donnellan and party’s mine produced stone that was not uniformly auriferous and considering the crushing material had to be sent long distances for treatment only the best ore was sent to the mill (Bendigo Advertiser 1909, p. 2) The dates of the newspaper articles that discuss the quality of the ore and ore treatments demonstrates that the site began accumulating rubbish while these mines were in operation. This boom is recorded in both the social and historical events during this period (Marshall 1996, p. 3). Such as Fosterville football and cricket team parties and registered gold mining companies (Snoek 1988, p. 7). Additionally, this period was well documented by George Meyers who collected annual volumes of Bendigo Advertiser articles which concerned Fosterville. From the early 20th century mining declined due to challenges of pumping water from 1910 and outbreak of World War I (Ballinger 2020, p. 45). The first recorded mine closure was that of Daley and Weston's mine, to recoup losses, there was a practice of mine owners selling off machinery to other mines in the Fosterville area (Wright 1989, p. 12). Despite the decline of mining in the area, cyanide works, and ore treatment plants continued to operate until 1939 (Bannear n.d., p.197). After the decline in mining the land use returned to agricultural activities. The Refuse Dump site was first identified during a survey for a 1989 Supplementary Heritage Report (Wright), associated with the Environmental Effects Statement for the Fosterville Gold Mine (at the time Bendigo Gold Limited). The Refuse Dump (Site 42) in Daley's Hill was not discussed and there was little detail provided, other than it being identified as holding some ‘good examples’ of broken oxidised farm machinery and household goods (Wright 1989, p. 10). Snoek describes the site as being situated north of the mining operations at Daley’s Hill and east of a logging site (Site 43). A previous study at Daley’s Hill found archaeological features that consisted of cyanide evaporation ponds and brick machinery foundations (Snoek 1988, p. 8). During the site inspection, Site 43, Logging Site could not be located.DALEY'S HILL REFUSE DUMP - Interpretation of Site
Early to mid-19th century this land was primarily pastoral. In the 1850s, after the discovery of gold, land use shifted to small scale mining. Potential association of the site with 19th century pastoral occupation or small-scale mining cannot be discounted. In the late 19th century, pastoral activities continued; however, there was a shift when broadacre wheat farming was established from the 1870s. From the 1850s the influx of mining led to larger industrial scale mining. This increase in gold mining and population can be seen in social and historical events, such as sports team parties and registered gold mining companies being established. In the early 20th century, mining declined due to challenges with pumping water to the deepest mines and the outbreak of World War I, leading to a decline in population within the township of Fosterville. Mining machinery and equipment were often sold by the mines to try and recoup their losses as each mine closed. With Daley and Weston mines being the first recorded closures, it is possible some of the artefacts at the Refuse Dump (Site 42) were deposited at the site when machinery was being transported north to the other mine sites. Additionally, one of the tanks (Figure 3) shows the re-use of the equipment, because the repair is riveted and not welded, this demonstrates that it is an old repair. Further illustrating that due to the decline in mining, money was limited and repairs to old second hand equipment were undertaken. Mid 20th century even with the closure of many of the larger mines, cyanide works and ore treatment plants continued to operate until 1939. In the late 20th century, gold mining was re-established in Fosterville; however, this did not disturb the location of Site 42. Modern agricultural activities are still continuing at the site, with the area being used for the grazing of livestock. The site comprises an accumulation of late 19th to early-mid 20th century oxidised iron industrial artefacts, demonstrating the site was likely utilised by late 19th to early 20th century miners, as well as ongoing use by farmers. This collection of artefacts included: two partial riveted iron shipping tanks, thick braided cables, harrows, a kitchen pot, cast iron wheels, a pipe gasket, corrugated iron, kerosene tins, a stove flue, old fencing wire, assorted meal components, and the remains of a Ferguson harvester (Geiberras & Hocking 2022, p. 101). The source of the Refuse Dump could possibly be from the dismantling of the Daley and Weston mine. Previous surveying identified this site as holding some ‘good examples’ of broken oxidised farm machinery and household goods (Wright 1989, p. 10). This site has had minimal damage from modern mining, with only surface damage from the site being used for grazing. The site has low-moderate potential for subsurface archaeological remains associated with mining and agricultural activities conducted in the vicinity throughout the 20th century.
Heritage Inventory Description
DALEY'S HILL REFUSE DUMP - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is within the Fosterville Gold Mine’s mining lease, it is within an agricultural paddock used for grazing livestock (Figure 1). The site consists of a mostly flat surface within a group of established trees. The ground surface is made up of short grass and leaf litter (Figure 2) with oxidised iron industrial artefacts scattered around the surface. This includes partial riveted iron shipping tanks (Figure 3), thick braided cables, harrows, a kitchen pot, cast iron wheels, a pipe gasket, corrugated iron, kerosene tins, a stove flue (Figure 4), old fencing wire, assorted meal components, and the remains of a Ferguson harvester (Figure 5). The perimeter of the refuse dump was recorded with a handheld dGPS unit during the site inspection. The site extent for the refuse dump was established by applying a 2m buffer around the footprint of the extant features recorded. The 2m buffer was applied in consultation with our Victorian goldfields mining expert, Dr. Peter Davis and was based on the potential for archaeological deposits/features to exist within close proximity to the refuse dump.
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