Boots Gully - Charlesford Mine - Henderson Spring Circuit

Boots Gully - Charlesford Mine - Henderson Spring Circuit - 13 Kms

July 15, 2021

U3A Hike No. 157

Hike Report by Dick

The U3A Hiking Group met at Kirks Reservoir carpark at 7.45 am on a cool and foggy morning. The seventeen walkers rearranged themselves into cars and headed up the Midland Highway towards Creswick. Shortly after Eganstown we turned left on to Basalt Road and headed north to park at the southern end of the small Basalt farming community approximately four kilometres north west of Hepburn Springs.

After an introduction by Andrew, who had selected the interesting track, we headed south to Old Werona Road. From there we entered a series of winding tracks that basically took us on an 13 kilometre circuit through a range of roads, tracks and off track walking.

The foggy morning was cool but we were fortunate that the forecast rain was mainly absent and our rain coats were only required for warmth. The native vegetation was looking at its best being well wrapped in the fog. The track was wet but not very slippery given the large sections of underlying clay.

The area had been central to the mining activities of the 1860s through to the 1920s. The evidence we could see was given additional meaning by Andrew’s research of newspaper snippets of relevant information. Those who dream couldn’t help but note the 220 ounce nugget found in the area and made a mental note to return with gold pans.

Our track was following Boots Gully and along a number of water races at different stages. The most impressive of all was the one constructed along an impossibly sheer rock face. The water race clings to the rock and transported water for the miners of the 1860s. The area had many signs of the activities such as the minimal test diggings through to the large areas of sluicing and the occasional hut and quartz burning furnace.

The walk took us over several creek crossings that were flowing quite briskly as a result of the recent rain and in particular the 6 mm that fell on the previous night. We walked well off track and along the very edge of a precipitous gorge along the edge of Bald Hill Creek Gully.

The water in the old races ran around the contours and took many additional twists and turns. At one point a water race ran though a fifty metre tunnel and under the road. One end of the tunnel looked more like a wombat hole. Clearly it needed closer inspection. The other end was a little smaller which would have prevented the exit of anyone who dared enter. It was a shame we didn’t have a wombat to demonstrate that the tunnel was traversable because only an adventurous wombat would enter it!

The circuit continued along small tracks that seemed rarely used and as a result provided good experiences of finding our way over logs and under low branches. The early wildflowers were looking fresh after the rain. The fungi of at least fifteen different species were clinging to the logs. These colours were in contrast to the range of lichen colours.

The mining ruins included the extensive battery remains and the associated settling pond above the creek. The dam built with rock and cement contrasted with the earth banks of all other dams that we normally see in such settings. The engineering was good as it still stands after 100 years and many floods.

The farming community certainly had a sense of humour. We soon realised that the legs disappearing into the dam were those of a shop model. The two left feet helped allay our worries. The name Boots Gully prompted the obvious: boots and many boots hanging everywhere. The other decorative items were the aged and disused farm equipment such as stripped down tractors, ploughs and harvesters. The families have very strong Italian connections and the farm and road names to match.

One mining artefact at Yam Gully that we had not seen before was the intact charcoal site. The wood was piled high and set alight and then smothered with dirt which reduces the wood to a valuable charcoal which was used by blacksmiths and the mining industry.

Andrew gave us information about the slate quarry that was dug well into a steep hill and very deep. This remote quarry which was difficult to access indicates the efforts undertaken to produce this valuable building material.

Another interesting location was the Henderson Spring memorial that commemorates the local farmer, turned soldier, Gordon Henderson, who paid the ultimate price in Burma in 1943 on the notorious Burma railway and who had earlier modified the spring with stone. The Spring has been of significance for this pioneering family since the 1850s.

Another Henderson soldier, a First War digger, was welcomed home and congratulated on his efforts at the Basalt School. (see the link at the end for Historical Notes to read more about the Henderson's)

The final section of the walk was along the Basalt Road and back to the cars. Even though we had taken a morning tea break on a log and a lunch break at a dam we sat again in the sunshine as the fog lifted for final cup of tea at the cars.

We had a wonderful 13 km of different and contrasting tracks, full of history and a wide range of vegetation. When it comes time for voting it will be on my shortlist.

Thanks Andrew for leading it.