HILL END

10^th March, 2015

It was time to move on again. We'd had a lovely time visiting with Trent and after moving the caravan from the reserve and replacing the fence panel it looked as it had before we arrived. We do so like to leave our sites as we found them or in some cases better than we found them. After a day of travelling we were pulling into the village camping area at Hill End. 

Camping area at Hill End

We had promised ourselves that we would return to Hill End to spend a few days exploring this historical gold mining town. Robyn's great grandfather (John Lloyd) spent eight months working the Tambaroora/Hill End creeks in 1855/56 panning for gold. He did not make his fortune here but gained a lot experience which would serve him well over the following years. Prior to the 1870's most of the gold was won from alluvial mining but in the early 1870's a rich parcel of earth some 50 metres below the surface of Hawkins Hill was discovered. Speculators poured money into Hawkins Hill's mines and the town provided unlimited opportunity for fraud and swindle. This hastened the need for investment regulations and was the impetus for the formation of the Sydney Stock Exchange. Hill End's boom in the 1870's was based on mining gold still locked up in quartz veins. This meant that the field had the opportunity to continue expanding over years and years. Alluvial gold miners had to move on once they'd worked over all the river bed gravel whereas reef mining ventures could stay in one spot and just keep on developing their underground operations. Most people who flocked to Hill End in the early 1870's came to stay. They bought their families with them and set about either working as an employee or establishing a business. Hill End rapidly developed into one of the largest towns in New South Wales and a major commercial centre in its own right. After the boom had passed and people moved away the town became quieter. With an excess of buildings and little need or money to build new ones, the town landscape gradually opened up as buildings were recycled for other uses. Today Hill End's dwellings are a snapshot of working class life in the 1870's. Our first port of call is at the Information Centre which is housed in the restored hospital.

The Information Centre in the old hospital

Suitably armed with a walking mud map of the town and goldfields area we first take a drive to some lookouts. The first lookout was at Kissing Point which afforded a panoramic view of the Turon River winding its way through the valleys.

Wok takes in the view of the Turon Valley from Kissing Point

Then it was on to Merlin's Lookout

Wok reads the information panel at Merlin's Lookout

which gives an expansive view of Hawkins Hill and the old mine workings.

Some of the old mine workings can still be seen on Hawkins Hill

Five kilometres north of Hill End lies Tambaroora. Although little remains of the town today it was once a thriving community in the early 1850's with over 2,500 people working the rich alluvial gold deposits found along its creeks. We work our way along a dry creek bed to Golden Gully.

Wok wanders along Golden Gully at Tambaroora

Once miners had worked over the surface ground of their leases they'd often dig down to bedrock through the ancient river gravels in search of new gold bearing leads to follow. The results of their work is evident in the gully where massive erosion has exposed evidence of the underground warren of mines that once dotted the creek line.

Early the next morning we set out on a hike along the Bald Hill Track. There are information panels along the track which detail points of interest as well as abandoned pieces of machinery such as this stamper used in crushing the quartz.

Stamper used to crush quartz

Crossing a bridge

Old wooden bridge on the Bald Hill Track

we spotted this lizard happily sunning itself on one of the wooden posts.

"If I stay real still maybe these humans won't notice me!"

The track meandered along the hillside following the creek and we passed abandoned shafts and mines and stone footings of houses partially hidden in the bush. 

Frame over abandoned mine shaft

We gradually worked our way down towards the creek where the remains of Chappells Stamp Battery can be seen.

All that remains of the largest stamp battery building at Hill End

This 24 head stamp battery was the largest on the field and the dams and spillways which were necessary for its operation can still be seen along the creek bed. This is only one of many stamp batteries around the town which ran 24 hours a day. It is so peaceful and quiet here now that it is impossible to imagine what it must have been like to live in the town with the incessant din of the quartz crushing machines pounding away day and night. We make our way back to town and wander along the streets checking out the old buildings and reading the information panels. The first building we come to is the Post Office which is still fulfilling its original function.

Hill End Post Office

As it is a week day it is pretty quiet around town with little or no traffic. Even these geese have no trouble crossing the road.

No need to hurry ... geese have right of way at Hill End

However on weekends and in holiday time the place comes alive with tourist buses, cars and campers. Many come to hike the trails or soak up a bit of history while others come to try their luck at finding gold in some of the designated fossicking areas. We're just happy to have the place to ourselves - without all the crowds. Obviously when you have a sizeable town you also need to have a plethora of places to worship. Hill End was no slouch in that department with several churches dotted about the town. There are only a couple left standing today – the Presbyterian Church is one that has managed to survive being dismantled for other uses.

Presbyterian Church at Hill End

Further along the street is the Great Western Store and a residential cottage,

Wok checks out the Great Western Store

while around in Clarke Street is a lovely two storey building which was once a Grocery and Produce Store operated by Robert Northey.

Robert Northey's Produce and Grocery Store

There are many other buildings from the 1870's at Hill End and we have only put a snapshot of them in the blog. Near the campground is a slab-sided mud brick corrugated iron cottage. Many of these types of cottages would have once dotted the town.

Residential cottage in Hill End

What better way to finish our visit to Hill End than to watch the sunset from Merlins Lookout where echoes of a bygone era drift up from the abandoned mine workings below. 

 

Fortunes won and lost have now faded away. It was but a moment in time.