Early Experiences - 1. REMINISCENCES OF LIFE ON THE DIGGINGS IN THE EARLY FIFTIES. by Gordon Duncan

Date: 30 Sep 1852 [unknown]
Location: Victorian Gold Diggings

1. REMINISCENCES OF LIFE ON THE DIGGINGS IN THE EARLY FIFTIES. by Gordon Duncan.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155411083

I was one of 300 passengers on board the ship "Cossipore" when she was hauled out of the St. Katherine docks, London, on the 14th June, 1852, bound for Melbourne, Australia. After a tedious, uneventful passage, we reached Portland, Victoria, on the 25th September, where some passengers and sheep were landed. (The late Mr. Jules Renard, of Mel- bourne, and the late Mr. F. Pyle, of Portland, were two who landed there ). Five days afterwards, i.e., on the 30th Sept., our ship anchored in Hobson's Bay, the passage having taken 108 days from start to finish. The next day pas- sengers and luggage were taken ashore by a small steamer and landed at Coles' wharf. Whilst steaming up the river the skipper collected the fares. In doing so, he had to give change. It was noticed that he deliberately threw overboard se- veral copper coins (pennies). This prodi- gality gave me my first impressions of the difference in the value of money at the antipodes. I experienced my next sur- prise on the same day, whilst sauntering along Elizabeth street. A horseman came sauntering along, immediately dismount- ted, drew the bridle rein over the horse's head, and looked about him as if he didn't care to leave the nag outside. I volunteered to hold it. Thanking me, he disappeared into an adjacent building, returned in less than five minutes, handed me 5/-, and rode off. Before leaving the ship we had made up a party of five for the diggings. We fol- lowed the advice of some returned dig- gers from Bendigo, and carried with us only such indispensable requisites for the journey as clothing, blankets, frying pans, billy, pannikins, knives, etc., which when bundled up we found to be quite, and rather more than, enough of a swag before the journey's end was reached than was pleasant to us — soft and green as we all were — after four months spent on shipboard. With that esprit de corps so conspicuous among diggers in those days, before starting our party pooled their cash. One had £100, another £40, the third £20, the fourth £6, and the fifth (myself) £5. It was mutually agreed to expend this money in furtherance of the party's expedition, subject to adjust- ment and repayment whenever we could raise the wherewithal. At this time it was hoped that the day of settlement was not afar. Ere many days, however, our hopes in that respect had vanished. We started for Forest Creek on the 5th of October, arriving there on the 8th. Nothing remarkable occurred on the journey to any of our party, but we were greatly astonished and our ardor consider- ably damped by the tales of hardship ex- perienced on the diggings by the scores of men returning from the goldfields. These men all told the same unvaried story of their utter disappointment. Many urged us to go no further, as the rumored rich- ness and general prosperity of the dig- gings was greatly exaggerated, conse- quently at Sawpit Gully (Elphinstone) we turned off the Bendigo road and made for the nearest diggings, Forest Creek. We struck that field at Golden Point. Here we got our first glimpse of the diggings, when our preconceived notions — the ro- mance and glamour of a digger's life re- ceived a rude shock. We had read of men sitting comfortably in their claims "picking out nuggets of gold with their knives as easily as plums from a pud- ding." The reality revealed a square shaft, sunk to a depth of 17 or 18 feet. The upper strata, to a depth of several feet, was a rich, black soil, thence to the bottom the stratum were, apparently, gravelly. Water was streaming into the shaft at a great rate, which kept the men (six) busy both above and below. There was mud everywhere. The workers' clothes were soaked with the liquid slush that was being sent up at the rate of six buckets liquid mud to one of washdirt. At this rate slow progress was being made, yet under these (to us) apparently wretchedly uncomfortable conditions the toilers seemed content. After seeing a bit of washdirt panned off, we wended our way down the creek to its junction with Campbell's Creek (now Castlemaine), where the Commissioner's camp was pitched. Here we procured licences at a cost of 30/- each — £7 10/-. These lasted only one month. We trudged on a little further to Moonlight Flat, where we pur- chased a greased tarpaulin, stretched on a fence of saplings, for £5. Our digging equipment cost £30. Picks, shovels, puddling tubs, and cradle cost respect- tively 20/-, 55/-, 50/-, and £5 each ; buckets, ropes, dishes, etc., all equally dear. Thus equipped, we started on Moonlight Flat a paddock 10ft. square in 12 feet sink- ing, which we bottomed on the third day, and washed it for 5 dwts. of gold. This our first essay as gold diggers sufficed for three of our party, who, with blistered hands, aching backs, and blasted hopes, resolved to return to Melbourne at once. With them our capital departed, they being the three principals, i.e., they were the chief contributors to our pooled moneys at starting, the outlay so far having been about £10 per man. We tried to realise on our tents and tools, but failed, consequently the remaining two were left in possession of the chattels and the sum of 1/6 to start with on their own. When our mates were gone, having no provisions and only eighteen pence in cash, we resolved to spend the money to best advantage. I went to a butcher's stall. I " How much do you ask for that shin of beef ?" "Do you want it for the dawg ?" " Supposing I do ?" Well, I'll give it to you." I then bought half-pound rice and a bit of salt and pepper, with our united capital. With these we made a bucketful of soup. That afternoon, by the advice of a digger, we went surfacing on Moonlight Hill ; by evening we had washed out about £1 worth of gold. We continued on at this game for three weeks, having saved about £10. We then left for a rush at Mopoke Gully, where we tried hard for a golden hole — until we were again moneyless. At this juncture we were contemplating another move, when our first stroke of luck befel us — a heavy storm of rain revealed a sprinkling of coarse gold on a heap of mullock in the worked-out part of Mopoke Gully. To this we took tub and cradle, and by nightfall we had washed out 3 oz. of gold. Our exchequer thus reple- nished, we moved off to Fryer's Creek, where we took up a claim under the Bald Hill. This proved to be the best ground that ever came to my lot. The ground being very wet we (two) amalgamated with another party of three, and worked both claims in conjunction, from which we obtained 15lb., or 180 oz., of gold, for three weeks' work. The next claim to ours, however, yielded 75lb., or 900oz., to seven men during the same period. Whilst working here a message reached us of an accident at the Junction (now Vaughan) of Fryer's Creek and the Lod- don. We hastened down the creek in time to assist in digging out the bodies of three young men (Canadians), who had been smothered by the caving in of a cutting, intended as a drain from the last deep hole on Fryer's Creek to the Lod- don River. They and their father in- tended bottoming this hole for the gold they expected to find there. The father witnessed the accident and gave the alarm that brought scores of willing hands to the rescue ; but, alas, they were past human aid when their bodies were re- covered. This locality has been ever since known as Canadian Point. The next day, by a singular coincidence, we were again summoned to the rescue of two men, who had descended a shaft only 18 feet deep. They were overcome with foul air. One was seen by his mate to fall to the bottom of the shaft ; unsuspect- ingly he went to see what ailed his mate, when he in turn was prostrated by the same cause. When it was discovered means were adopted to pump out the foul air — not in time, however, to save these two unfortunate fellows, who were both dead when brought to the surface. On New Year's Day, 1853, a rush set in, and the flat of that name — New Year's Flat — was delved into by several thousand men. This rush, viewed from the Bald Hill, was the most animated sight of those stirring times that I ever witnessed. The area then allowed was only 8ft. square per man. One can easily picture to himself the scene presented by that num- ber of men almost simultaneously break- ing ground within the limited area of that flat. As usual with the rush, all sorts and conditions of men came and took part in it. Van Dieman's Land was largely repre- sented by convict expirees and escapees, and to them most of the deeds of rapine were traceable. An instance of the tables being turned on these scoundrels occurred one night close to our encampment. One of a party of diggers, tented for the night, was lying on his bunk, with his clothing for a pillow, his bag of gold being in one of the pockets, when he heard the sound of the canvas being ripped close to his head. Suspecting robbery, he drew his revolver and fired in the direction indi- cated by the sound. Next morning the dead body of a man was found not many yards away from the tent. A revolver in the early fifties was necessarily a part of a digger's equipment. (To be continued.)

WOMBAT FLAT (DAYLESFORD) IN 1853