Tubal Cain Mine and Big Chimney Hike - 15.2 Kms

U3A Hike No 94

Hike Report by Ian Egerton

The walk was a circuit which started in light rain and finished with a clear sky at the Vaughan
Springs picnic ground on the Loddon River and followed sections of the Goldfields Track, which
is well signposted, although we also went off-track along a couple of ridges and then along
Sebastapol Creek through light scrub. Features along the way included the Tubal Cain Mine,
which had quite a ‘tall’ Cornish chimney running ingeniously up the slope of the hill; and a cavelike
adit running into a hillside with a deceased kangaroo inside the entrance (we didn’t dare go
any further!), and a large mullock heap out front. The track also passed through a number of
areas dotted with old gold-diggings pits, others with extensive scatterings of quartz, as well as
the odd section of water race and associated dams. We saw the remains of a number of stone
buildings, many with just the chimney left standing. The ‘Big Chimney’ was the largest of these,
but not a lot larger.

As the Tubal Cain Mine was a major feature of the walk, some of us had to find out more about
the name en-route, as you do these days. We found out that, according to Wikipedia: “Genesis
4:22 says that Tubal-cain was the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron" (ESV) or an
"instructor of every artificer in brass and iron" (KJV). Although this may mean he was a
metalsmith, a comparison with verses 20 and 21 suggests that he may have been the very first
artificer in brass and iron. T. C. Mitchell suggests that he "discovered the possibilities of cold
forging native copper and meteoric iron." Tubal-cain has even been described as the first
chemist.” In addition: “Alternatively, E. E. Kellett suggests that Tubal-cain may have been a
miner.” So there you go - maybe a tad too much info.

The walk was very scenic: especially along the river near Vaughan Springs; the old mining sites
and heritage; and the creek habitat, with flats and gullies and glimpses of bird-life, in particular a
fairly gregarious ‘yellow-eared honeyeater’ that kept us entertained for a few minutes. Again,
according to Wikipedia: “The yellow-tufted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops) is a passerine
(‘perching’, like many!) bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia from south-east
Queensland through eastern New South Wales and across Victoria into the tip of Southeastern
South Australia; and A Field Guide to Birds of Australia: “A striking medium-sized honeyeater:
sides of head glossy black with bright-golden ear tufts; crown and upper parts olive green, to
olive-brown on wings and tail, sides of throat bright yellow; centre of throat and breast yellowgrey".

As technology ‘on-the-go’ seems to be coming more and more ubiquitous, we had various
electronic maps and guidance to help us along the way, and some debate on the total length of
the walk at the end. Not surprisingly, none of these measures were identical for one reason or
another, but since I’m writing the blog I’ll give my two-bobs worth on this: we walked 15.22 km in
3h 35m with an elevation gain of 366 m. But, how can this be so, given that we started and
finished at the same spot? Well, we obviously went up and down along the way!

Photos by Andrew Parker