Australian gold fever

Australia has witnessed many gold rushes. Indeed, they still happen today, only on an industrial scale. Those early gold rushes were built on individual hopes and dreams, desperation and desire, and their consequences shaped our nation.

No one can say for certain where gold was first discovered but the first site to produce payable gold was a small creek in central west New South Wales, not far from Orange. Ophir, the name given to the locality and rag-tag township that sprang up at the convergence of two small creeks, takes its name from the Old Testament. Apparently, Ophir was a place of great wealth from which King Solomon was said to have received many riches.

The man credited with this first payable gold discovery was Edward Hammond Hargraves, an Englishman born in 1816 who was just 16 when he arrived in New South Wales. Two years later he was one of only seven survivors from an ill-fated voyage to Torres Strait and the East Indian Island. In 1849 he joined the Californian gold rush, with apparently little success, but the similarity of the Californian terrain to that which he’d seen around Bathurst stuck in his mind. Returning to Sydney in 1851 he headed west, took on two young assistants - John Lister and James Tom - and set off into the bush from Bathurst.

In March that year Hargraves panned a few grains of gold and showed Lister, Tom and Tom's younger brother, William, how to build a cradle of the kind he'd seen in California. In April, having moved the cradle to the confluence of Summer Hill and Lewis Ponds Creeks they soon accumulated four ounces of the precious metal. Hargraves returned to Sydney to try and claim a £500 Government reward, which he eventually did and which, oddly, was later increased to £10,000 - about $1.25 million today.

Despite the Government's desire to hush-up any gold strike, for fear of losing workers from all other endeavours, word soon got out. By June 1851 more than 2000 people were working diggings along the creek banks and the name Ophir was bestowed upon the settlement. The alluvial gold gave out within a decade or so but, by the 1870s, reef mining commenced and even today, Ophir is a working and viable gold mining area. Indeed, Ophir and surrounding districts supplied all the gold for the Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medals!

Australian gold fever

Australia has witnessed many gold rushes. Indeed, they still happen today, only on an industrial scale. Those early gold rushes were built on individual hopes and dreams, desperation and desire, and their consequences shaped our nation.

No one can say for certain where gold was first discovered but the first site to produce payable gold was a small creek in central west New South Wales, not far from Orange. Ophir, the name given to the locality and rag-tag township that sprang up at the convergence of two small creeks, takes its name from the Old Testament. Apparently, Ophir was a place of great wealth from which King Solomon was said to have received many riches.

The man credited with this first payable gold discovery was Edward Hammond Hargraves, an Englishman born in 1816 who was just 16 when he arrived in New South Wales. Two years later he was one of only seven survivors from an ill-fated voyage to Torres Strait and the East Indian Island. In 1849 he joined the Californian gold rush, with apparently little success, but the similarity of the Californian terrain to that which he’d seen around Bathurst stuck in his mind. Returning to Sydney in 1851 he headed west, took on two young assistants - John Lister and James Tom - and set off into the bush from Bathurst.

In March that year Hargraves panned a few grains of gold and showed Lister, Tom and Tom's younger brother, William, how to build a cradle of the kind he'd seen in California. In April, having moved the cradle to the confluence of Summer Hill and Lewis Ponds Creeks they soon accumulated four ounces of the precious metal. Hargraves returned to Sydney to try and claim a £500 Government reward, which he eventually did and which, oddly, was later increased to £10,000 - about $1.25 million today.

Despite the Government's desire to hush-up any gold strike, for fear of losing workers from all other endeavours, word soon got out. By June 1851 more than 2000 people were working diggings along the creek banks and the name Ophir was bestowed upon the settlement. The alluvial gold gave out within a decade or so but, by the 1870s, reef mining commenced and even today, Ophir is a working and viable gold mining area. Indeed, Ophir and surrounding districts supplied all the gold for the Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medals!

Ophir

We based ourselves in Bathurst for two nights, spending a day on a round-trip visit to Ophir and returning to Sydney on a long loop southward via Tuena, another early gold town.

Bathurst is an ideal town in which to base yourself, because it has so much to offer. Steeped in early colonial history, this elegant rural city boasts wide tree-lined streets, spacious parks and a wealth of architectural history and variety. It also has all the shops and services travellers need plus a huge variety of accommodation.

For the round-trip drive to Ophir allow the best part of a day and leave your caravan or camper-trailer behind, as they aren't allowed down the final, steep and winding dirt road descent into Ophir itself. Motorhomes are iffy, too, but a normal car is okay - unless it's been raining.

Head for Orange on the Mid Western Highway (about 50km) and watch for the brown tourist sign to Ophir pointing right, just as you come through Orange's industrial area and before you get to McDonald's. That's Lone Pine Ave and you follow it for nearly 2km, during which time it changes name twice, before turning right again at a T-intersection into Ophir Road.

It's all quite well signposted and once you're on Ophir Road, you're only about 26km from the destination.

Just a couple of kilometres further on, as the road sweeps down a hill to the right and approaches a small creek, you'll see a white cairn on the right-hand side of the road.

Be sure to stop. It overlooks the site of Narrambla homestead where, in 1864, Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson was born.

Continuing on, follow the Main Entrance signs for Ophir and it's not long before the road turns to dirt. It's a good road although very dusty in dry weather. The countryside opens out into rolling hills and sprawling sheep properties and eventually you pass the signs welcoming you to Ophir.

Watch for the signpost to the old cemetery, just down the road on the left by the sign for historic Gunnadoo gold mine, and be sure to visit. It's less than a kilometre down the side road and well worth visiting, although if it's been raining, the final track up the hill to the cemetery, from the road, will be slick with mud.

Returning to the main road for the final stretch you'll see a dilapidated, rusting corrugated iron building on the right which was the original blacksmith's complex. It's on private property now but there's a surprising amount still intact and you can get quite close along the roadside fence.

The final descent is steep and twisting and the road surface loose, so take your time and watch for oncoming traffic. There's a narrow causeway across Summer Hill Creek at the bottom of Ophir’s steep-side valley and the main camping ground and amenities block are on the other side - in case you packed a tent. Fees are $5 per car or tent-site per night and can be left in the honour box on the amenities block wall. You'll also find a map of bush walks and the various points of interest there, too, and the grassy creek banks are an excellent place for a relaxing picnic lunch or short stay. Just back over the causeway and on your right is the site of the original gold discovery and subsequent settlement of Ophir, although nothing remains of the township today.

When it's time to leave, continue the loop drive by heading south out of the campsite and up the steep climb on the opposite side of the valley to which you arrived. It's short and sharp but the road soon resumes its casual perambulation through rolling hills and grazing land.

About 6km along turn left at the Gowan Rd (signposted for Bathurst), then 14km later turn right at Freemantle Road. From there it's plain sailing though magnificent countryside, via Freemantle and Milkers Flat into Eglinton and the backblocks of Bathurst. Remember to take some water, lunch and clothing appropriate to the season and you’ll have a terrific day discovering Australia's golden beginnings.

Heading home

The drive home is a rather long way round but spectacular and well worthwhile.

From Bathurst take the road to Goulburn (Rocket Street leads you straight to it) and settle in for roughly a 200km drive. Later on you'll pass through Tuena and Crookwell but the first stop is Trunkey Creek, some 60km down the road. Once home to thousands, Trunkey Creek is another gold rush town that somehow survived. Stop for a cuppa in the neat park, proudly proclaimed Trunkey Creek's Epicentre, or grab a drink at the terrific little Black Stump Hotel, the only pub for miles.

Tuena is about 30km further on but it's a slower drive with plenty of dirt road. You cross the Abercrombie River, too, on an immaculate wooden bridge of the type common when I was young, but is now rapidly becoming a museum piece. Tuena also owes its existence to gold and in its heyday was an important town and government administrative centre.

Today only about 50 people keep Tuena's lights burning, according to the post mistress. The post office is in Parson's General Store, which is also the petrol station and dates from 1866. It's been in continuous operation ever since and inside is a time-warp of lost Australian treasures.

Be sure to stop and visit, along with the Goldfields Inn, which dates from 1860. It's Australia's oldest wattle and daub hotel and the front verandah is a great place for a cold drink and to watch very little go by...

There used to be a regular Tuena Gold Rush Festival but too few people now live in the town to make it viable. There's talk of the event being resurrected and let's hope it is because it was a fascinating and fun weekend that brought thousands to this otherwise sleepy town.

Next stop is Crookwell, the first sizable town south of Bathurst and the Hotel Crookwell has a terrific and reasonably priced bistro which is a great place for a latish lunch.

Heading south for Goulburn, be sure to stop at the Crookwell Wind Farm, the first to be connected to the main power grid. Eight 45m tall wind turbines sit atop a perpetually windy ridge and make a spectacular sight against the oft-leaden skies. Goulburn brings this back-road adventure to an end and the Hume Freeway provides quick access to Sydney, Canberra and beyond.