Cosgrave Reservoir and Water Races Circuit, Creswick State Forest - 10.8 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 139 

Hike Report by Fiona Deutscher

Thirteen members of the U3A Ballarat Hiking Group began this circuit hike near Eatons Dam within Creswick State Forest. This walk explored early historic gold mining construction of water storage and channels for alluvial diggings in the area.

Firstly we inspected the early stone and earth construction of Eatons Dam (circa 1862) as we walked beside and along its wall. Nearby, we could also see sections of the adjoining water race which transported the water over many kilometres to the diggings. After a steep short ascent up a gully we reached the newer Cosgrave Reservoir. We walked for some distance around it’s perimeter- stopping to admire the beautiful views and reflections across the water.

We then turned sharply to follow a section of the water race ‘off track’ heading back toward Creswick for a few kilometres. The terrain was rough and involved stepping over many logs and hopping across the water race multiple times. Eventually we met a dirt road which we walked along through bush and surrounding pine forests. We caught further glimpses of the water race as our track intersected with the Goldfields track toward the end of the walk.

We had an interesting conversation with a gold ‘detectorist‘ whom we met during one of our rest breaks. He was eager to show us his equipment and a small gold nugget he had found in the area.

We all enjoyed a cuppa at the end of the walk and agreed we had gained a good appreciation of those who were involved in construction of the dams and water races in the area.


Photos by Mark B





















The water race that we partially followed is the red dashed line.

LINKS





BOOKLET: Water and Gold: Interpreting the landscape of Creswick Creek Note: As this booklet is copyright it should not be downloaded but read online.


Comments

  1. Marianne Kennedy1 March 2021 at 17:52

    A nice report Fiona; you described the hike really well. And some great photos Mark; you have an eye to capture interesting photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jane1 March 2021 at 18:23

    Lovely report and illustrations

    ReplyDelete

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