Gold & Gems of The Tablelands Way experience

Gulgong

After the discovery in 1870 of significant gold deposits <Gulgong’s GG-A1> population jumped from nothing to 500 people in just 6 weeks. The gold was discovered at Red Hill by Thomas Saunders. Saunders, accompanied by his brother and two men called Kurt and Bullock, excavated a small fortune from Red Hill. By 1872, when the town was officially gazetted, Gulgong had a population of 20,000.

Today Gulgong is one of the best preserved towns of the gold rush period. It boasts 150 historic buildings, 130 of which are recorded in the National Trust Register. The register includes churches, schools, a police station, and even an opera house originally built from bark in 1871. You can step inside a Gold Rush home when you walk into the Pioneer Museum. Here you will see a reconstructed 1870s dining room, a bedroom and parlour from the 1880s, an 1872 bake house, and an 1872 kitchen.

Mudgee, first sapphires

Small quantities of gold were discovered at Mudgee and Eurunderee in 1863, but never enough to cause a rush. Mudgee prospered in the gold rush years as a service town and food basket for the surrounding gold fields.

In 1851, during the gold rush days, Australia’s first sapphires were discovered in Cudgegong River around Mudgee. This was followed by the discovery of topaz, diamonds and rubies. In 1867 diamonds were discovered at Two Mile Flat, also on the Cudgegong River. In 1916 diamond mining began near the Reedy Creek-Cudgegong River junction.

Turon gold rush

Remnants of Turon gold fields lie in Turon National Park. Old huts and mines are still standing. There is a water race (a channel of diverted water which was used to pan and fossick for gold) alongside the river. Campers and day trippers can experience these relics.

Sofala is a sleepy little village on the banks of the Turon River. It was the township of the Turon gold rush, which began in May 1851. Sofala was home to tens of thousands of people at the height of the gold rush. The Turon River is still a popular gold prospecting site.

Lithgow

Lithgow was more famous for silver and copper than it was for gold. The alluvial gold of the Capertee River and Coxs River came from the same source, but in smaller amounts, as that of the Turon River and Cudgegong River. Records show that Capertee River yielded good amounts of gold. Sites where gold was found include Blackfellows Ring and the junction of Bogie and Oakey creeks, as well as Nuggety and Sandy Gullies. Some gold was found near Rydal, at Coxs River and Solitary Creek. However, the main source of gold in the area was Sunny Corner, where it was discovered in 1875. During the depression gold and diamond deposits were worked at Airly Mountain, near Lithgow, with irregular operations continuing until the 1980s.

Oberon

Fine gold is found in the gullies and river flats of Fish River, but it is sapphires and other precious stones that have put Oberon on the prospector’s map. Gold, sapphires, zircons and on rare occasion diamonds and smoky quartz are all found in this area. The most popular site for sapphire prospecting is the aptly named Sapphire Bend, in the Vulcan State Forest. A variety of opal known as the 'precious opal' was first mined in Australia at Rocky Bridge Creek, in the Oberon district, in 1877. Rocky Bridge Creek is a tributary of the Abercrombie River.

Rockley, a gold rush town

The discovery, in the 1840s, of gold in the Campbell and Isabella Rivers, and around the Abercrombie Caves, brought settlers to the town of Rockley. The population quickly swelled to over 3,000. The prosperity brought by gold and copper mines is reflected in <Rockley’s GG-A5> beautiful collection of buildings. The village is listed by the National Trust.

Upper Lachlan Shire

Tuena, a gold rush town

Tuena was home to a gold rush that was to last over 60 years. The first shipment of gold left Tuena, for Goulburn, in 1851. Reverend John Douglas found gold in the same year at another site, just 1km from the village. Within a matter of months around 500 people were prospecting Tuena Creek. Alluvial gold was easy for individuals to find. Gold bearing quartz was unearthed at Junction Point in 1854. This makes it the oldest reef mine in Australia. Today people still fossick for gold in Tuena Creek.

Most of <Tuena’s GG-A6> original buildings were made of timber and slab and are no longer standing. There are however a few distinctive exceptions. The Bookkeeper’s Cottage is a wattle and daub construction, built in1861. It was the residence and office of the official who counted the gold before it made its journey to Goulburn. The Goldfields Inn was built in 1866 and is the only remaining hotel in Tuena. It also has elements of wattle and daub in its construction. St Mark’s Anglican Church is thought to be the oldest timber church left standing.

Fossicking at Grabben Gullen

Grabben Gullen is a popular fossicking area, with sapphires, garnets, zircons and gold found under the Sapphire Bridge. The name Grabben Gullen means ‘small waters’. This describes the streams which pass through the town feeding into Lachlan River.

Upper Lachlan Shire has also produced gold, diamonds and other gemstones in locations such as Rotten Creek and Spring Creek (16km north west of Crookwell), Upper Tarlo and Wheeo.

Goulburn

Just as in Mudgee, not much gold was found in the local district of Goulburn itself, but the gold rush still benefited the local economy, which acted as a service centre for the gold fields. However it did cause some problems, as it was the gold’s journey through Upper Lachlan Shire on its way to Goulburn which led to the arrival of bushrangers.

Gold reefs were found in the area east of Bungonia and Windellama, and further south to Oallen Ford. These reefs were abandoned by 1875. Alluvial deposits in the Shoalhaven River were worked for considerably longer. The steep gradients of the watercourses and the early practice of sending waste down the gullies combined to cause natural waterholes to fill up, making prospecting for alluvial gold more difficult, particularly in dry weather.

Country roads are often narrow and winding.
Bends and curves are often dangerous due to a build up loose dirt and stones.
Be prepared for changing road conditions and surfaces in wet weather.
Always drive to the conditions, which is not necessarily the posted speed limit.

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