IF you see an odd dent in a hill as you drive by, chances are someone was digging there.
At Mount William, the local indigenous people mined greenstone to make stone axes, fossil hunters dug for trilobites in the Broadhurst Creek, and bluestone is still quarried off Dry Creek Road while scoria is dug from Mount Fraser near Wallan. Of course, gold seekers made innumerable holes, shafts, and mines at Reedy Creek.
Damage varies in type and scope. The Mount William people dug lots of pits and made piles of the unwanted materials. The trilobite hunters cut into the banks and the Broadhurst Creek waters washed waste downstream. Quarrying mostly leaves behind a flat landscape with a rock wall and piles of broken rock. The gold seekers, in huge numbers and with enormous energy, caused widespread devastation like at Reedy Creek.
Diggers needed to sustain themselves while they sought their fortunes. They cut down trees for housing and fires. They also needed wood to heat the kilns which separated the metals from the crushed ores. Huge areas were made treeless, then the erosion of topsoil and creek beds inevitably followed. They killed and scared off the local wildlife and brought in sheep, cattle, cats, and dogs. They changed water courses, made dams, roads, and railways. Wide areas were permanently changed.
In some un-rehabilitated quarries, new micro-environments have established themselves. Where water accumulates, colonies of birds, frogs, snakes, and more thrive. The Kilmore Goldfields Reservoir is now a peaceful and attractive setting for walkers and golfers. Mathieson’s bluestone quarry, near Wandong, with its miniature railway and plants and animals, puts good use to a flattened quarry floor.
Under government rules, existing quarries and mines are to be rehabilitated when they close. They can be used for landfill, but then you must rehabilitate them like the old Kilmore tip. Create a wildlife habitat, and you could have a tourist attraction! The old quarry next to Kilmore Creek on Andrew Street might be a candidate for this. It’s full of life. By spreading a layer of topsoil over a quarry’s flat area, commercial agriculture has been successful. Residential or commercial developments are also possible. Reforesting is sometimes an option. These sites will never be the same, but they do have historical and practical value for our communities.
These are the mine sites; some of the environments.
