Day 69 Leinster 3.7.24

We all had a slow start to the day – bacon and eggs.. a leisurely breakfast then some routine chores….

There was not a lot to do in Leinster but the surrounding area had some gold rush history sites to look at…

Kerry and Gordie decided to stay back and have an easy morning – the six of us all drove out to the site of the gold rush town of Agnew which is located near the current working gold mine of the same name.

The town had been pretty much decimated with only a couple of ramshackle cottages left and some of the old mine artifacts that BHP had placed on displays with information boards that were very helpful to work out exactly what we were looking at…

The large stamper mill (much like the one in the Mt Magnet Museum) was on display – it was used to crush the ore as part of the process of extracting the gold…

An old steam engine used to drive the machinery was rusting in the background….

A big winder that was used to bring the ore up to the surface was also located nearby….

Looking around it was not difficult to imagine how hard life on the goldfields back in the 1800’s would have been – having to contend with harsh conditions like extreme heat in summer and very cold winters, flies, little water, lack of supplies and medical care…. And the greed which brought out the worst in human nature leading to a violent and unpredictable lifestyle….

After exploring the area, Rose, Dave and Beryl returned to camp and Klaus, Trev and I went on further for a bit of fossicking…. Klaus had downloaded an app which showed areas that were still unclaimed and thus were open for those with a prospector’s permit (which Klaus had) to fossick on.

We drove back along the Sandstone Road to a suitable area and spent the next couple of hours looking for gold…