POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Photograph 'Baker's Creek Gold Mine'

Photograph 'Baker's Creek Gold Mine'

Object No. P2401

Photograph, 'Baker's Creek Gold Mine', paper / textile, photographer unknown, Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia, c. 1900, printed by W. A. Gullick, Government Printer, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1906

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Summary

Physical Description

Enlarged photograph, 'Baker's Creek Gold Mine', paper with cloth backing, Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia, c 1900, printed by W. A. Gullick, Government Printer, Sydney, 1906. Enlarged black and white photograph with caption 'Baker's Creek Gold Mine, Hillgrove, New South Wales'. Image shows the mine plant situated in a steep gully.

PRODUCTION

Notes

Label on backing says 'W. A. Gullick, Government Printer, Sydney'. The Bakers Creek Gold Mining Company operated from 1887 to 1906. The tramline was completed in June 1889. The mining plant in this photograph appears somewhat rundown so this photograph could have been taken towards the end of the companies operations in 1906 when the image was donated. The mine itself operated under series of owners until 1921.

HISTORY

Notes

The Bakers Creek Goldmining Company was formed in 1887 to exploit a rich reef of gold found in rugged country east of Hillston in the New England region of New South Wales. The initial capital investment was 100,000 pounds. A twenty head crushing plant was installed and a tramway built. The mine met with enormous initial success. Over the following decade 311,225 ounces of gold were mined at Bakers Creek and by 1897 the company's shareholders had received dividends of 247,500 pounds on their paid up capital of 87,000 pounds. However this spectacular success could not last. In the frantic climate of the late 1880s and early 1890s little if any consideration was given to the mine's expensive and inefficient mining techniques and no capital reserve was put aside. As the initial deposit was depleted the mine could not produce enough gold to meet the monthly expenses. The mine continued to produce impressive levels of payable stone but costs skyrocketed as the company was forced to sink deeper shafts (they eventually reached 1,700 feet). Violent rock bursts killed at least eight men during the field's history and expensive timbering and wire gauze guards were required as the shafts went deeper into the mountain. In 1906 the Bakers Creek Mining Company was wound up. The mine itself continued, with largely poor results, under series of owners until 1921. References: New South Wales electronic regional archives, 'Bakers Creek Gold Mining Company (1887 - 1906)', http://www.nswera.net.au/biogs/UNE0041b.htm New South Wales electronic regional archives, 'Hillgrove Mine (1877-)', http://www.nswera.net.au/biogs/UNE0212b.htm The Argus, Melbourne, 10 October 1890, 'The Hillgrove Gold Mines'.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of NSW Government Printing Office, 1906

Acquisition Date

27 December 1906

Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.

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