Pambula Goldfields, Mt Gahan & Pipeclay Creek:
Although the agricultural & pastoral industries had dominated the local economy for more than half a century, the discovery of payable gold on Mount Gahan set in motion changes that would impact on the entire district.
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Father of Australian geology Reverend W. B. Clarke was the first the note the presence of the precious metal when he wrote in an 1852 report that "I have reason to believe that it [gold] will be found in the creeks running north-east from the Jingery Range, which is about 13 miles south-west from Pambula, as in Greig's Creek [Yowaka River], the saltwater portion of which is crossed by the road from Pambula to Eden, a noticeable specimen of gold has been found under peculiar conditions."
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Although Pambula would wait almost four decades for the rush that gold inspires, individuals were apparently aware of its existence. According to local oral tradition, Captain John Lloyd of the Grange covertly drew stores from what he referred to as his "golden hills", which incidentally formed part of what later became the gold field.
William Branwhite Clarke.
Courtesy of the Australian Museum.
No doubt with knowledge gleaned from Clarke's report, various individuals began prospecting throughout the district in the hope of finding the allusive precious metal, but despite these efforts, it wasn't until 1889 that gold was finally found in sufficient quantities to justify the establishment of a mining industry.
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Amongst the hopefuls were James Gahan & Samuel Furner, a pair of "...wandering gold seekers...", who, after spending several months prospecting Mount Imlay to the south & Pambula in the north, finally began "...getting colours..." as they worked a spur of land that had once formed part of Lloyd's property. Finally, in October 1889, they struck what was described as "...a wide run of gold bearing quartzite between metamorphosed slate & sandstone..." on a ridge about two & half miles southwest of the Pambula township that would bear the name of one of the prospectors.
Soon after, it was reported that "At Pipe Clay [sic] Creek, three miles south of Pambula, a prospecting party have been working some time, & have discovered what is considered payable gold in the pipeclay formation, of which there are miles of country. Parcels have been sent away for assay." According to local oral tradition, it was only Gahan & Furner's habit of taking last minute samples that saw the pair claim the reward as discoverers of the Pambula goldfields - the yield of several ounces sent the pair rushing back to peg the claim that would trigger a new district gold rush.
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February 1890 saw the gold field proclaimed, although a reallocation of boundaries shortly afterwards saw it reproclaimed on December 20 the same year, by which time 211 applications for mining leases on the 1,180-acre field had been made.
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Anderson of the Geological Survey Branch of the Department of Mines wrote the first report of the local deposit in 1890, while the field was still in its infancy. He described the "...newly discovered gold-field...", claiming that "The auriferous country at Pambula bids fair to add considerably to our gold yield..." He noted that "Prospecting operations have been chiefly carried out on the ridges forming the watershed of Pipeclay Creek, although some little work has been done on the hills forming its southern slopes." He added "A large number of claims have been taken up along the ridges, & on these leases numerous shafts have been sunk, the deepest...being down 50 feet..."
The beginnings of Yowaka Village.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
By that time, seven hundred miners were at work on the field, which boasted three complete crushing plants, two more in
Miners and their tents on Mount Gahan.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
the course of erection & a further two "...very large ones projected..." By 1891, eleven companies were actively operating on the field, with 350 miners at work & an estimated population of 2,000 men, women & children living in the immediate vicinity.
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Not surprisingly, the villages of Pipeclay Creek, Yowaka & Mount Gahan quickly began to grow, developing a true community spirit & acquiring facilities & amenities of other larger & older townships. At Yowaka, there were a few substantial buildings, businesses such as general stores, blacksmiths & butchers were opened & a hotel operated. A public hall hosted many a nights' entertainment, & church services were conducted by ministers of the various denominations about once a month. Yowaka school opened in 1891, with Mr. S. H. Fuller as teacher, followed in 1894 by Mr. Cahill.
Eureka Hotel.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
Mt. Gahan village.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
Down in Pipeclay Creek there was another hotel & more business houses, along with a sporting ground for the Yowaka Football Club & Miners' Cricket Club, both of which were established in 1896, with the Yowaka Miners' Athletic Club following the next year. As the population continued to grow, so too did the need for communication, & after much lobbying, the telegraph line was finally extended to Pipeclay Creek in 1893, with the terminus at James Haugh’s Eureka Hotel. Following a petition by residents, the receiving office was converted to a post office in 1896.
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The Yowaka Mines Progress Association was formed in 1894 to “…look after the mining interests…” & to aid & encourage “…all matters connected with the mining industry…” of the district. Among their many undertakings, the association formed the Yowaka Progress Prospecting Company later the same year “…to prospect field & open up new finds…”
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The first six years after the initial discovery were the most productive on the local field, with a total of 21,249 oz of gold recorded as being extracted between 1889 & 1895. The field, however, remained active until 1916, & even after this time, particularly during the Depression years, work was carried on sporadically until the 1940s. The last known miner, Frank Draper, continued to work areas of the field up until the late 1960s.
The Mt. Gahan Gold Mining Company's open cut.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
The Falkner (above) and Britisher (below) batteries.
Both courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
Like most mining settlements, children were pressed into work on the Pambula gold fields.
Courtesy of a private collection. All rights reserved.
Relics and structures including shafts, tunnels, brick weirs, furnaces and puddling tanks remain on the site through to the present day, standing as a testimony of one of district's industrial high points.
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© Angela George. All rights reserved.
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References and bibliography:
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Annual Report, Department of Mines, NSW, 1888.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines, NSW, 1890.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines and Agriculture, NSW, 1892.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines and Agriculture, NSW, 1896.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines and Agriculture, NSW, 1898.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines, NSW, 1900.
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Annual Report, Department of Mines, NSW, 1926
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Annual Report, Department of Mines, NSW. 1949.
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Australian Mining Standard
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Baddeley, Ben & Alma, pers. comm.
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Bairstow, Damaris, for the Forestry Commission of NSW, Panbula Goldfields - Assessment of the Historical Values, June 1990
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Bartley, Joe, pers. comm.
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Batteries in NSW, as at 1st December, 1933, Report, NSW Department of Mines.
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Bazley, H. S., John Lloyd RN of the Grange, Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society, 1994
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Bega Gazette
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Bega Standard
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Behl’s Butchery, assorted business records, private ownership.
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Brassnocker Mine, Pambula, various records, NSW Department of Mines.
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Candelo & Eden Union
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Carpenter, C. A. (comp. and ed.), The Mines of NSW, 1897, George Robertson and Co., 1897.
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CBC Bank, Pambula, Official Records, private ownership
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Clarke, W. B. (M.A.), Rev., Researches in the Southern Gold Fields of NSW, Reading and Wellbank, 1860
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Cornell, John Bernard, Most Obedient Servants on the Monaro and Far South Coast, John Bernard Cornell, 1994
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Creelman, C. A., mining engineer, Pambula Goldfield, NSW, Australia, report, C. 1971.
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Day, Charles & Bell, pers. comm.
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Diorite Mines, Pambula, various records, NSW Department of Mines.
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Dowling, Terry, pers. comm.
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Dunn’s Almanac
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An economic appraisal of the Pambula Gold Prospect, Pambula, NSW, Report, for Planet Resources Ltd
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Eden Magnet
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Eden Propeller
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Falkner Mine, Pambula, various records, NSW Department of Mines.
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Federal Stores, assorted business records, private ownership
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Geology of Parishes Panbula, Cobra, Gnupa and Yowaka, Co Auckland (map), NSW Department of Mines, 1972
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George, A. C. (“Bubby”) (comp.) History of Pambula – Old Records, Early Days, unpublished notebook, n.d.
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George, Allan, pers. comm.
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George, Angela, From Bark Hut to Brick Veneer – 150 years of Public Education at Pambula, Pambula Public School, 1999.
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Government Schools of NSW since 1848, Management Information Services Directorate, NSW Department of Education, 1993.
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A History of Lochiel Public School prepared on the occasion of the centenary celebrations, 22nd November, 1969
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Hodgkins, Lorraine, pers. comm.
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Lindwall, W., The Pipeclay Whalers, unpublished poem, per Stephen Tatham.
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Magnet – Voice
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Magnet, Magnet and Voice Centenary Supplement, August 1992
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McKenzie, J. A. S., The Twofold Bay Story, Eden Killer Whale Museum, n.d.
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Mining Leases in Force, Report, NSW Department of Mines, 1963.
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Mulholland, C. St J., Prospecting Aid, Geological Survey of NSW report, NSW Department of Mines, 1941.
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NSW Births Deaths and Marriages, assorted records
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NSW Government Gazette
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Pambula Gold Developments, Prospectus, n.d.
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Pambula Mines, various reports, 1851 – 1980, NSW Department of Mines.
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Planet Management and Research Pty Ltd (comp.), Pambula Goldfield NSW, Final Report to Draper Mining Co Pty Ltd, Exploration Licence No. 65, 1971
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Raymond, Pat, pers. comm.
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Reed, J. J., Chief Petrologist, Report on Pambula Goldfield, 5 September, 1968
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Rixon and Macleod, Plan of Yowaka Township, 7 November 1891.
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Robertson, James, Pambula gold field, Hand drawn plan, n.d., C. 1953.
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Robertson, James, Pambula Goldfields, Hand written notes, n.d.
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Sand’s Sydney & NSW Directory
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Select Committee Appointed to Inquire into Metalliferous Mining, Metalliferous Mining Inquiry (Decline in Mining), Geological Survey of NSW report, NSW Department of Mines, 1921.
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Southern Star
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Stafford, Ron, pers. comm.
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Swinbourne, Helen, and Winters, Judy, Pictorial History – Bega Valley Shire, Kingsclear Books, Alexandria, 2001
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Sydney Morning Herald
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Taylor, John, & Sons, The Pambula Goldfield, NSW, report, London, C. 1971
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Tetley, Kevin, Bega, pers. comm.
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Willis, J. L., Mining History of Gold Deposits of the Far South Coast, NSW, Bulletin No 24, Geological Survey of NSW, Department of Mines, 1970
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Yowaka Reserve Association (comp.), A Proposal for a State Recreation Area, Pambula, Yowaka Reserve Association, n.d.
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