Gold, Steam and Rail: The Ill-Fated Madame Hopkins Mine

The great deep lead mines stopped operating long ago, and the question many of us have asked is, could there be an untouched deep lead still out there somewhere?

Well I can tell you, there's one hiding beneath the basaltic plains of Bung Bong, near Avoca. The Madame Hopkins Lead was proved by boring in the late nineteenth century, and was found to contain phenomenally heavy deposits of washdirt.

The Madame Hopkins company set to work sinking their shaft in the early 1890s with great optimism, but little did they know, not one speck of gold would ever be released from the treasure chest which lay waiting beneath their feet.

In this video, we're going to look into the story of the ill-fated Madame Hopkins mine, which unfortunately made one of the biggest mistakes you could make in deep lead mining, leaving a huge stretch of the Madame Hopkins Lead totally untouched.

We're also going to check out one of the mine's curious features - or lack thereof. Can you spot something missing here? I'll be meeting with local train driver and rail history enthusiast, Clint Hickson, as we look into this missing feature, and explore one of the lesser known aspects of our fascinating mining history.

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20 Abandoned Mines to Explore in the Victorian Goldfields
https://www.goldfieldsguide.com.au/bl...

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SPECIAL THANKS TO

Clint Hickson

The owners of the Madame Hopkins mine

Locals who provided information about the mine


The Prospectors and Miners Association ofVictoria
https://pmav.org.au/

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REFERENCES

Australian Mining Standard, Special Edition, June 1899

Report on the Rapid Geological Survey of the Parish of Bung Bong. Hunter, S. B., 1902

Deep Leads of Victoria. Hunter, S. B., 1909. GSV Memoir 7

Boring for gold - Maryborough Mining District. Harvey, R., Smith, J. T., and Bray, H.B., 1900

Report re proposed boring near Madam Hopkins Shaft, Bung Bong. Howitt, A. M., 1928

Gold and Minerals. Baragwanath, W., 1946

Deep Lead Gold Deposits of Victoria, Canavan, F., 1988. GSV Bulletin 65

Heritage Report, Maryborough Region, Bannear, D., 1994

Deep Lead Mining in Victoria, The Operations of Talbot Alluvials Ltd. O'Malley, G. B.

Sidings and spur lines of Carisbrook. Tully, J.



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IMAGES AND MAPS USED

Prince of Wales Gold Mining Company, lithographed by Herman Deutsch, ca 1862. State Library Victoria

Duke Company's Mine, Timor. Ca 1860-79. State Library Victoria

Section of the Nelson & Wellington Co.'s Shaft, Sebastopol. History of Ballarat, Withers, W. B

GSV - CANAVAN, F., 1988. Poppet head and part of the plant at the Deep Lead Mine worked by Talbot Alluvials Ltd at Caralalup, near Talbot. Historic Photos. Department of Mines, Victoria

GSV - TAYLOR, D.H., WOHLT, K.E., SIMONS, B.A., MAHER, S., MORAND, V.J. & SAPURMAS, P., 2000. Talbot Alluvials Ltd Norburys shaft opened in 1930. Historic Photos. Department of Natural Resources and Environment

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF VICTORIA., 1936. Madam Hopkins Gold Mining Company Ltd Mine, Glenmona. Plan showing leases, drillhole locations. Parish of Glenmona. Plan No 113D1. Mines Department

Railway Map of Victoria, 1900. https://www.vrhistory.com/VRMaps/Vic1...

[Photo-map of Victoria]. 816 A1, Maryborough [cartographic material] / Aerial Survey of Victoria. [Melbourne]: Dept. of Crown Lands and Survey 1947. State Library Victoria

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Researched, written, filmed and produced by Michelle Ross
https://www.goldfieldsguide.com.au/