Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 21:34
It amazes me that
mine sites like the Good Hope Battery at
Talbotville on the Crooked River have the following:
Condition Not assessed.
Threats Not assessed.
Identified Public Risk Not assessed
Tourism Potential High. Limited by remoteness, but with improved access, potential would be enhanced. Site has a remarkable array
of features relating to an early period of quartz mining in Victoria.
When they are so commonly visited. When I was there on Labour Day weekend I reckon we passed about 25 people maybe more going up & coming back down.
It's a prick of a steep track but it's worth a look to try and get a grasp on what the miners were prepared to go through to get equipment in and out.
As for: Access Via foot track from Grant-
Talbotville road
Ignore that (there's no where to park on McMillans Rd) and park at the
carpark just above Crooked River Tk and walk up the
hill from there. My 4 year old did part of it and Dad had to piggy back her for the last pinch to the top, and maybe quarter of the trip back down. I didn't know if I still had it in me. Turns out I do but I wouldn't want to do it again.
Yet somehow with ingenuity, handwinchs, scant little regard for OH & S or human life and a desire to get the gold, they managed to get tonnes of equipment into the most unlikely
places.
It's also interesting to note that it's the impossible
places to get it into that prevented the scrap merchants from destroying what remains years ago as they did in so many areas.
Dave
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