Comment
Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Unexpected open mine shafts are a fairly common sight throughout the bush of the Victorian Goldfields. The 19th/20th century gold mines which once dominated the region now lie abandoned. Some mines have been capped, but many are still open. It is astonishing how much history remains beneath our feet in Victoria's forgotten underground.Mine shafts are just one of the many fascinating remnants of our region's rich gold mining history, along with machinery foundations, discarded boilers, the remnants of gold puddling machines, cyanide vats, mullock heaps and more. Mine shafts most commonly present as shallow, leaf covered dips in the bush. Although these holes look shallow and solid, it is important that you do not walk in them, and definitely do not allow children to jump in them. (Toddlers see a shallow hole while out bushwalking, the first reaction they have is to jump into it for fun). False bottoms in mine shafts A deep open mine shaft developing an unstable 'false bottom'. The above image shows how 'false bottoms' can develop in open mine shafts. Branches, rubbish, or other debris falls (or gets dumped!) into open shafts. If anything gets stuck at the opening, over time more and more leaves, sticks and dirt will accumulate at the top of the shaft. The mine shaft pictured below is very deep and you can see it is already starting to fill in at the top. If a fallen branch gets stuck in that open corner, it will be completely covered over before long. It will look like a shallow dip in the ground but it will definitely not be very stable. If a person puts their weight on a 'false bottom' mine shaft it could easily fall through. These shafts can be hundreds of feet deep! Many mine shafts have been abandoned for well over a century, allowing plenty of time for them to cover over. Capped mine shaftsMany mine shafts have been capped in modern times, with large steel grates covering them for safety. Others have absolutely no cover, no safety fence, and no warning. The following image shows a great example of a capped mine shaft at the Red, White and Blue Mine in Muckleford. Many mine shafts were capped a very long time ago using inferior materials such as wood or corrugated iron, and the caps are now deteriorating and falling in. Some of the more modern safety grates
Add Comment