A look back into the history and a thorough modern day explore of the Mount Shamrock Gold mines. Gold was first discovered in this Goldfield in 1886 and then again nearby at Paradise in 1889.
An important note to all QAM viewers of this episode: Shamrock is currently on privately owned land and also has an active M.L overlaying this private land. Any persons that attempt to access this land without written permission from the land and/or M.L owner, will be deemed to have constituted trespass and may be charged accordingly. The site, due to its scale of old working is now equipped with LTE, trail and motion cameras. The reason QAM was able to include some breathtaking drone footage of Shamrock, is the drone is owned and piloted by the property owner. The drone was purchased solely for the use as a mobile surveillance camera for the old workings.
The term "Mini Gold Rush" is a great description of these two Gold Fields. The population across these two frontier towns in the year 1891 was over 900. Desperate miners and their families moved out to these remote areas in search of profitable Gold claims. For some context, the population of Gympie Proper for the same year of 1891 was over 14,500 and this (Gympie) sits at the other end of the scale for QLD Gold Rushes, and was therefore described by many as "The Wildest QLD Gold Rush Ever"
Hopes of outrageous fortunes at Paradise and Shamrock where never realised, as within the first 4 years of operations, many claim holders and even mining companies needed to consolidate claims in an effort to make the operation economically viable. 6,550 Oz of gold was won from Shamrock and 11,550Oz of Gold was pulled from the workings at Paradise before the year 1900.
The settlement of Mt Shamrock peaked at 200 people in the year 1891. Had it not been for the discovery of Gold at nearby Paradise, Shamrock may have gone on to become far more profitable for the mining lease holders in the late 1800's and become one of QLD's more profitable Goldfields in the immediate area. Miners and their families migrated back and forth between the two Goldfields until the early 1900's, when at that stage, most of the shallower Gold Deposits had been exhausted. Mt Shamrock whilst in operation had a large mill and battery that housed a 10 head stamper, cyanide leaching tanks, several large scale steam power boilers, an assay office and a kiln and rectory house for firing the Gold.
The main shaft of the consolidated number one claim at Shamrock is over 215 feet. The depth of the main shaft that joins to the 100 foot drift level is close to 450 feet deep. We find both of these amazing feats of mining and much more.
We hope you enjoy the history and exploration of the Mount Shamrock Gold Field.
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20 авг 2024
