Lightning Hill SITE NO. & NAME: 10.1 LIGHTNING HILL 10.1A Lightning Hill mine site 10.1B Lightning Hill surface workings LOCATION: Hustlers/Lightning Hill., Eaglehawk HI NO. 10.1A H7724-0131 10.1B H7724-0132 DIRECTIONS: East of Whipstick Road, Eaglehawk MUNICIPALITY: City of Greater Bendigo LAND STATUS: State Forest HISTORY: 1852: Three quarters of a mile north of the site of the Government Camp rose Lightning Hill ... The pioneers knew it as White Horse Hill ... soon to be gouged and ever scarred. It too, contained golden treasure. By the close of 1852 most of the gullies around Bendigo and as far north as Sailors Gully had been worked, although some were still receiving attention. A few miles north, over the ridges from Sailors Gully, Sydney Flat and neighbouring gullies were perhaps the northern limit of activity on the Bendigo goldfield at the time.1 1858: Lightning Hill/Whipstick ... One of the richest so-called "main" lines of reef on the Bendigo goldfield was the Hustler's ... The reef continued approx. northward, entering the Whipstick ... at the foot of Lightning Hill. It was here in 1858 that a party of Germans began prospecting on their claim that extended for 200 yards long the line of reef. At first they were unsuccessful, but they persevered until in 1861 they struck rich stone which yielded 2-1/2 oz of gold to the ton. A company consisting of 11 partners was formed, and as most of them came from the Black Forest region in Germany, they named their mine after this district of their homeland. On 18 Nov 1861 ... named the mine "Black Forest Reef Company" ... from 1861 to 1867 some 2036 oz of gold was obtained. In 1899 the Black Forest was being worked by the J.R. Exploration Syndicate, when a shaft was sunk to 250 feet ... This syndicate erected a wooden poppet legs and installed a steam winch. Later the shaft was deepened to 1060 feet but with poor results, as calls amounting to £8770 were paid during the years 1904 to 1907, and the mine proved a failure.2 17 Oct 1865: Lightning Reef Co: The first crushing of the company has been highly satisfactory. Some time ago 20 tons of stone yielded 26 oz. of gold, and future crushings are expected to yield equally as well. The stone is from spurs near the surface.3 27 Dec 1865: Lighting Reef Co: is raising stone from above the 40 ft level, which shows gold very fairly and a crushing of 50 tons has been commenced at the Eagle Company’s machine. The stone is from a flat spur having a width of about 40 feet, and the yield of gold ranges from 5 dwts to 1 oz. per ton; the last crushing averaged 10 dwts. In the 190 feet shaft the reef was struck in a drive 15 feet to the west at the level, and the gold was seen but none of the stone has been crushed.4 Sept 1875: Sandhurst Division [N G Stephens]: Ground that has for some time been unworked has been taken up by small parties of working miners, on the Fruhling Reef, Whipstick, and the Lightning Reef, Eaglehawk.5 June 1876: Sandhurst Division [N G Stephens]: a great many small parties of working miners have taken up claims of late in various parts of the division, and a fair share of them have been successful; especially so on the Lightning Reef, at Eaglehawk, which promises well for that district.6 1879: Whipstick: by 1879, much profitable work had already been accomplished on the quartz reefs of the Bendigo goldfield. Several lines of reef had been prospected or worked for some miles but after tracing them from Bendigo to the northern boundary of the Eaglehawk Borough, little effort had been made to locate them further. Beyond this point, several reefs disappeared beneath the dense bush and scrub of the Whipstick. Except for the occasional exposure on hilltop or gully, little trace of them was visible. In 1879, Reginald A F Murray, a geologist with the Victorian Department of mines was engaged to trace two lines of reef, the Garden Gully and Lightning Hill for a distance of three miles northwards into the Whipstick, from the Eaglehawk boundary. The Eaglehawk Borough Council supplied the labour for clearing along these lines. 226 Lightning Hill Much quartz mining had already been done on the Lightning Hill Reef, particularly on Lightning Hill itself. On the Garden Gully line the Robin Hood Company had, with little success, been engaged with mining operations for some years. Although this mine was actually on the Garden Gully line, the locality was known as the Moon Reef ... [Murray's survey] ... disclosed that the two reefs, although 3/4 of a mile apart, were practically parallel. A number of companies worked on the Lightning Reef over the ... years with mostly disappointing results. The Lightning Reef Gold Mining Company was formed in 1864, working on a claim which had previously yielded from 4 to 7 oz to the ton ... Other early companies on this reef were the King of Prussia, the Excelsior and Rifle Companies, none of them particularly successful. The best claim on Lightning Hill was that of Pascoe and Simmonds who in the late 1870's and 80's worked a big reef of 20 to 30 feet wide from the surface to 220 feet. They crushed 12,000 loads for 11,000 oz of gold. After Pascoe and Simmonds had abandoned their lease, their extensive system of tunnels in the hillside became a rendezvous for several generations of Eaglehawk boys.7 June 1883: Eaglehawk Subdivision (F.R. Ellis): On the Black Forest and Lightning Hill lines matters are very quiet. Three new crushing works are being erected in this subdivision.8 March 1885: Eaglehawk Division: The mines from Sebastian are still giving satisfactory yields ... Mining at Sydney Flat is dull, as also at Lightning Hill.9 May 1887: Sandhurst Division--Eaglehawk ... At Lightning Hill the General Gordon Company has resumed prospecting.10 June 1887: The General Gordon at Lightning Hill, the Why Not at Canterbury Reef, and several similar ventures are prospecting, and there is a number of prospecting parties at work in the Whipstick.11 1896, Sept 22: The South Prince of Wales, the starting of whose machinery they were assembled to witness, was formed out of the southern portion of the old Prince of Wales lease, and a lease to the southward including the old Southern Cross claim ... registration in July 1893 ... The completion of this work has been delayed by the fact that the first boiler proved defective, but a new one, answering all tests, has replaced it and work will now be started ... The winding engine was purchased from the General Gordon (lightning Hill) and consists of a single cylinder engine, 10 inches in diameter, with 9 feet 4-inch stroke, with 8 feet drums and a Cornish fine boiler 25 feet 6 inch.12 12 Jan 1906: Lightning Hill: of the four mines included the Lightning Hill and the South Lightning Hill have been the most prominent. The hill abounds in quartz and at an early period the quartz formations and spurs associated with the large bodies of stone were operated on extensively, and some of the pioneer prospectors of the ground were richly rewarded. The most successful of the private claim-holders were Pascoe and Simmonds, who in the early seventies obtained highly profitable returns, from the ground on the North slope of the hill, in close proximity to the present main shaft of the Lightning Hill Company. The reef which outcrops at intervals along its course has also proved payable auriferous at other points, and at one period or another, a large amount of work has been done from the surface downwards.13 Lightning Hill South Lightning Hill--shaft 200 ft. Lightning Hill--shaft 730 ft. Central Lightning Hill--shaft 110 ft. Lightning Hill Mine: Years worked--1866 to 1870; 1903 to 1906. Production--5807 tons for 3171 oz.14 DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL REMAINS: Lightning Hill--Surface workings would date to the 1850s/60s, and Lightning Hill Co. to Period 5 (1888-1913). Lightning Hill Co Winding engine site Two pairs of winding engine beds. One pair is of handmade bricks in concrete mortar, each bed measuring 14 x 4 ft and 6 ft high. They have been modified or repaired with concrete. 1-1/4-inch mounting bolts protrude from the beds’ upper faces. Between the two beds, at their southern end, is a small concrete bed, measuring 5 x 2-1/2 ft and 6 ft high. It has 3/4-inch mounting bolts protruding. The other pair of beds runs parallel to the brick pair, but are constructed of concrete. Each measures 3-1/4 ft wide and 7 ft high, but the two differ in length. One is 28 ft long, the other 21 ft. 227 Lightning Hill At the north end of the concrete beds are the remains of a concrete boiler setting. 23 m north of the machinery site is a filled shaft surrounded by three 4 ft-square concrete poppet-leg pads, 39 ft apart. Associated with the pads is a U- shaped concrete stand, with walls 5-1/2 ft high and 1-1/2 ft thick. A dry dam lies 30 m south of the machinery site, with two others to the north. The mullock has been removed from the site. Surface workings Running north and south from the crown of Lightning Hill is a line of open-cuts and shafts, partially filled with overburden.