Golden Gully and Archway

Item details


Name of item:	Golden Gully and Archway
Type of item:	Archaeological-Terrestrial
Group/Collection:	Mining and Mineral Processing
Category:	Alluvial Workings
Location:	Lat: -33.0159244832 Long: 149.4162729420
Primary address:	Golden Gully, Hill End, NSW 2850
Parish:	Tambaroora
County:	Wellington
Local govt. area:	Bathurst Regional
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Orange

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
PART LOT	1		DP	711491

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Golden Gully	Hill End	Bathurst Regional	Tambaroora	Wellington	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	Golden Gully and Archway is a major site on the Hill End-Tambaroora goldfield where large scale alluvial fossicking was undertaken by European and Chinese miners. The gully is evidence of the onset of the 1851 goldrush. It displays the difference between European and Chinese mining techniques during the 19th century. In particular the eroded gully has exposed the square European shafts and the round Chinese shafts in a dramatic and unique landscape. (Heritage Office file notes 1983)
	Date significance updated: 26 Nov 99
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Builder/Maker:	European and Chinese gold miners
Physical description:	Golden Gully and Archway is a deeply incised man induced braided channel system. The Gully banks contain shafts and drives that demonstrate the mining techniques used by European and Chinese miners to reach gold deposits. Intensive and successive fossicking activities had led to a massive landscape alteration. The course of the Tambaroora Creek has been changed and variegated and in all sections its bed has been lowered below the 1851 level. The combined action of fossicking and erosion and sculptured the former banks of the creek into spires, organ pipes and arches. When viewed from within the Gully these structures appear to change colour according to the time of day and incidence of direct sunlight. (Heritage Office file notes 1983)
	Date condition updated:26 Nov 99


Current use:	Pastoral
Former use:	Aboriginal land, Mining

History

Historical notes:

Wiradjuri Land
The Bathurst Plains are part of the ancestral homelands of the Wiradjuri people. Their lands were nestled between three rivers; Wambool (Macquarie), Kalare (Lachlan) and Murrumbidgeri (Murrimbigee). These rivers provided a good source of fish, duck, kangaroo, emu and various edible plants. The Wiradjuri had a typical Aboriginal social system based on kinship and totemic lore. The Wiradjuri people resisted European expansion into their territory as it was ruining traditional hunting grounds and desecrating sacred places. Settlement following Governor Macquarie's first visit to Bathurst in 1815 saw increasing conflict in the region, particularly under the leadership of Windradyne (c1790-c1835) and martial law was declared in the Bathurst area for a short time in 1824. The eventual surrender of Windradyne signalled a reduction in hostilities, although the decline in traditional indigenous ways of life continued. (Aitken, 2005).

Golden Gully was created by European and Chinese miners during the 19th century. With the onset of the 1851 gold rush, the miners sank shafts, adits and drives to retrieve the alluvial gold deposits which settled on an ancient buried river bed.

In 1983 the National Parks and Wildlife Service nominated the site for listing under the Heritage Act. The site was under threat of damage and disturbance from proposed commercial mining operations. Following site visits and discussions with National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Mineral Resources and mining companies an Interim Conservation Order was placed over the site in 1987. A Permanent Conservation Order was placed over site on 2 September 1988. On 2 April 1999 the site was transferred onto the State Heritage Register. (Heritage Office files notes 1983)

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Cultural: Plains and plateaux supporting human activities-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Aboriginal cultures and interactions with other cultures-Activities associated with maintaining, developing, experiencing and remembering Aboriginal cultural identities and practices, past and present.	Wiradjuri Nation - defending the land-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Ethnic influences-Activities associated with common cultural traditions and peoples of shared descent, and with exchanges between such traditions and peoples.	Chinese mining practices-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of mining-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Mining-Activities associated with the identification, extraction, processing and distribution of mineral ores, precious stones and other such inorganic substances.	Mining for gold-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Technology-Activities and processes associated with the knowledge or use of mechanical arts and applied sciences	Technologies for underground mining-

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	refer file Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) Garden maintenance including cultivation, pruning, weed control, the repair and maintenance of existing fences, gates, garden walls,tree surgery but not extensive lopping; (2) Change of use (3) Pasture improvement, not requiring substantial clearing of existing vegetation; (4) Maintenance and repair of existing farm fences and the provision of internal subdivision fences; (5) maintenance and repair of existing dams, water storage facilities and reticulation systems; (6) eradication of noxious plants and animals (weed species in natural areas to be removed either by manual means or treated by spot application of herbicide to avoid effects on native vegetation); (7) maintenance and repairs to existing access roads; and (8) horticultural and agricultural management.	Sep 2 1988
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) OF THE HERITAGE ACT 1977 Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. I, the Hon James Griffin MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales do by this Order, effective at the time of publication in the New South Wales Government Gazette: 1. revoke the order made on 9 November 2020 and published in the Government Gazette Number 318 of 13 November 2020; and 2. grant the exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 that are described in the attached Schedule. The Hon James Griffin MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Signed this 2nd day of June 2022. To view the standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 click on the link below.	Jun 17 2022

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register	00614	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former	00614	02 Sep 88	140	4657
Heritage Act - Interim Conservation Order - Lapsed	00779	04 Sep 87	140	5088

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Central West Pilot Program SHRP	2001		Heritage Office SHRP		Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written		1983	Heritage Office file notes

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045503
File number:	EF14/4370; S90/6547

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of Heritage NSW or respective copyright owners.