The Bower Bird Goldfield: 1800s Mining Remains (North West Queensland, Outback Australia)
The Bower Bird Goldfield was proclaimed on the 5th of September 1895 - and incorporated into the Cloncurry Gold and Mineral Field on the 9th of January 1913. The area encompassing the Bower Bird workings generally consists of rugged ranges of quartzite cut by streams draining into the north flowing Leichhardt River.
Gold had been found at Bower Bird between 1870 and 1872. Fossickers (notably Bill McPhail) were prospecting the area before 1880 and R L Jack's 1882 maps show a "Bower Bird Goldfield" although no official returns were recorded until 1893. The first reef located was the Victoria and in 1884 it also provided the first stone for crushing which yielded 103 ozs of gold from 17.2 tons of ore, which was carted some distance to the Soldier's Cap (Mount Freda) battery near Cloncurry for crushing.
The Bower Bird Battery of five stamps, four berdans, and concentrator was probably erected in 1895, after being relocated from other places. The stamper was already over 20 years old, having been manufactured in 1873. Between 1895 and 1897 the field's main producer the Victoria reef officially produced 930 tons of ore yielding 811 ozs of gold before being abandoned, possibly due to drought. It is not known whether the battery was also abandoned at this time or continued processing ore from other nearby reefs, such as the Lily of the Valley, Bertha, and Two Mile, which yielded patches of alluvial gold. After 1900, a small quantity of ore was carted from shafts on May Downs Station to the Bower Bird Battery for crushing, with unknown results.
By about 1895 the township, which was some distance from the battery consisted, of three stores, two hotels, and a post office which closed in 1901.
In January 1904 it was reported in Cloncurry that the battery shed had burnt down. Although there is no record, the battery may have been rebuilt because in 1909 the Victoria Reef was reopened and produced a further 8.1 tons of ore yielding 11.5ozs of gold. Hooper records that the battery was renovated in 1908 as a five head battery with a Brown and Stanfield converter to treat ore from the Victory mine. A Commonwealth Government geologist, C.S. Honman, inspected the field in 1937 but did not report on the battery.
The surrounding area contains numerous early workings and crude stone camp sites, which are comparatively undisturbed and may date from the 1890s occupation of the area by miners. The five head stamp battery and frame was built by P N Russell and Co., Engineers of Sydney in 1873 and this is the earliest manufacture date on recorded batteries in North Queensland. It is the only intact stamp battery remaining in Western and North-West Queensland and may be the earliest surviving in Queensland.
Source: Queensland Heritage Register.
The Bower Bird Goldfield: 1800s Mining Remains (North West Queensland, Outback Australia)
The Bower Bird Goldfield was proclaimed on the 5th of September 1895 - and incorporated into the Cloncurry Gold and Mineral Field on the 9th of January 1913. The area encompassing the Bower Bird workings generally consists of rugged ranges of quartzite cut by streams draining into the north flowing Leichhardt River.
Gold had been found at Bower Bird between 1870 and 1872. Fossickers (notably Bill McPhail) were prospecting the area before 1880 and R L Jack's 1882 maps show a "Bower Bird Goldfield" although no official returns were recorded until 1893. The first reef located was the Victoria and in 1884 it also provided the first stone for crushing which yielded 103 ozs of gold from 17.2 tons of ore, which was carted some distance to the Soldier's Cap (Mount Freda) battery near Cloncurry for crushing.
The Bower Bird Battery of five stamps, four berdans, and concentrator was probably erected in 1895, after being relocated from other places. The stamper was already over 20 years old, having been manufactured in 1873. Between 1895 and 1897 the field's main producer the Victoria reef officially produced 930 tons of ore yielding 811 ozs of gold before being abandoned, possibly due to drought. It is not known whether the battery was also abandoned at this time or continued processing ore from other nearby reefs, such as the Lily of the Valley, Bertha, and Two Mile, which yielded patches of alluvial gold. After 1900, a small quantity of ore was carted from shafts on May Downs Station to the Bower Bird Battery for crushing, with unknown results.
By about 1895 the township, which was some distance from the battery consisted, of three stores, two hotels, and a post office which closed in 1901.
In January 1904 it was reported in Cloncurry that the battery shed had burnt down. Although there is no record, the battery may have been rebuilt because in 1909 the Victoria Reef was reopened and produced a further 8.1 tons of ore yielding 11.5ozs of gold. Hooper records that the battery was renovated in 1908 as a five head battery with a Brown and Stanfield converter to treat ore from the Victory mine. A Commonwealth Government geologist, C.S. Honman, inspected the field in 1937 but did not report on the battery.
The surrounding area contains numerous early workings and crude stone camp sites, which are comparatively undisturbed and may date from the 1890s occupation of the area by miners. The five head stamp battery and frame was built by P N Russell and Co., Engineers of Sydney in 1873 and this is the earliest manufacture date on recorded batteries in North Queensland. It is the only intact stamp battery remaining in Western and North-West Queensland and may be the earliest surviving in Queensland.
Source: Queensland Heritage Register.