When Roy and I were deciding where to visit today, we thought we should look to see if there were any important events which happened this past or coming week - there were. This coming Wednesday, the 30th of June is the anniversary of an event known as the Lambing Flat Riots where Chinese gold miners were forced off the gold field at Burrangong, not far from Young, NSW. Although I have been to Lambing Flat Roy has yet to visit, but we thought that as a commemoration of the troubles which arose between the various nationalities on the gold fields, we would visit one of the richest and most multicultural goldfields in NSW - Hill End.
Hill End is a beautiful spot with a fascinating history as first a gold mining city and then an artistic retreat. This week, Roy and I will focus on the gold mining history of the town, but we will revisit the site again in the future to show you its role in the history of Australian art. There are many buildings still standing, as well as some of the mining equipment, and an interpretive walking tour with photos of the towns heyday. You can even go on a mine tour at Bald Hill (to find out more click here). If you would like to visit, Hill End is located in NSW, about 85 kilometres from Bathurst. It can be accessed from Mudgee (via Hargraves) or Bathurst via either Sofala or Turondale and each route is between 65 and 80 kilometres long. Although when I first visited as a child the road was bumpy, long and unsealed, today road is mostly sealed, especially from the Mudgee end. Coming via Sofala is evocative of the original travel conditions of the gold miners.
Although now no more than a small town and tourist destination, Hill End was once a large, thriving city. In 1872 it was the largest inland settlement in NSW, with 10000 inhabitants, 28 pubs, an Opium Den and even an oyster bar! It was an amazing place, with a very varied population made up of people from Ireland, Germany, England, Wales, Greece, China, America and the South Sea Islands. At less rich sites, such a multicultural mix could lead to problems like the Lambing Flat Riots as European workers resented the hard working Chinese.
Despite its initial boom, Hill End is now a ghost town and even as little as 70 years after the first boom, only one pub survived! The story of Hill End is actually reasonably similar to that of many other gold mining settlements which are densely populated for the time when mining is successful and then abandoned when the mining ends. What makes Hill End different is that it was so successful in its time. Unlike other settlements which have little left to denote their history, Hill End was a thriving, wealthy city and, as one might expect of such a place, many permanent buildings were erected. In many gold mining settlements where gold is only abundant for a short time, a shanty town grows up and the buildings simply aren't meant to survive for long periods of time, especially if they are not maintained and, like Ophir (you can find out about Roy's visit to Ophir by clicking here), the site is reclaimed by nature.
Yet Hill End was a very successful gold field, and the world largest gold specimen (which is not actually a nugget) the Beyers and Holtermann Specimen was found in the area in 1872. Indeed, Hill End is recorded as having 'the world's richest quarter mile' (the Rose of England Zone), the 'greatest amount of gold from the smallest amount of quartz' (Paxton's Mine at Hawkins Hill) and the place which yielded the greatest amount of gold in the shortest time (Nuggety Gully on the side of Hawkins Hill). You can find out more about these figures by clicking here. With all these riches, the buildings at Hill End, like Hosies General Store and the Royal Hotel, both of which are still standing, were built of 'stronger stuff' - bricks and mortar, and could weather the conditions far more successfully. Even wandering the site of the diggings turns up plenty of evidence of occupation. The ground is scattered with pieces of glass, pottery and china from various goods. Just remember if you visit that you can look at the scattered remnants of settlement, but don't take anything with you! Leave them where you found them so others can have the same experience.To learn more about Hill End click here.