SMITHS REEF QUARTZ MINING & PROSPECTING SITE
Location
SMITHS REEF TRACK GOWER, MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE
Level
Heritage Inventory Site
|
|
Statement of Significance
SiteCard data copied on 20/01/2025:
What is significant?
The well preserved remains of a 19th-century quartz mine
How is it significant?
The site is significance because of it has:
Intactness: retains evidence of the key aspects of an early quartz mine, including dam, water race, mullock heap/machinery platform, open cutting, battery site, and tailings. Also the site has extensive prospecting remains.
Integrity: a compact arrangement of mining relics which demonstrates the basic outlay of an early quartz mine.
Condition: retained fabric in a condition that can be understood and interpreted
Why is it significant?
The site has local significance as a relic of Victoria’s historic gold mining industry. In comparison to other contemporary quartz mine, the mining features are visible and form a compact arrangement that makes the site an excellent one for demonstrating the basic blue print and operation of a small scale gold mine.
Group
Mining and Mineral Processing
Category
Alluvial Workings
