Monster Meeting Circuit, Castlemaine Diggings National Historical Park - 11.7 Kms
Hike Report by Colin
Last Thursday morning six doughty hikers departed Kirks Reservoir car park and headed north hoping to escape the thunderstorm predicted for Ballarat.
We started the 12 km walk at the Garfield Wheel, north of Chewton, and part of the Castlemaine Diggings National Historical Park. Only the stone foundations remain of the historic Garfield Wheel, one of the world's largest water wheels.
Along the way we saw lots of evidence old mining activity – adits and shafts, some fenced off, most not. There were also the foundations of early quartz processing equipment and the rusted remains of old boilers. There were also the remains of some rough stone houses of the era, not much bigger than a modern garden shed.
The walk took us past some rural houses. In the front yard of one place was an emu, presumably a pet. In a paddock next to another place, along with a herd of goats, was a belligerent looking male kangaroo, staring at us in a threatening manner. In another paddock a herd of goats were cleaning up a patch of gorse bushes.
We came across three people looking for gold with metal detectors. One of the party told me her detector cost $8000, and that some cost $10000.
We saw the remains of a Cornish chimney against the hillside, which was built to service a steam boiler. Bricks were expensive, so instead of building tall chimneys, Cornish miners built stone chimney flues along sloping ground. Smoke would drift uphill inside the flue and emerge from a short upright chimney at the end.
Near the end of the walk we came upon a large open area with a flagpole at one end. This was the site of Monster Meeting, where 15,000 gold diggers met in December 1851 to protest an unfair increase in the mining licence fee.
On the walk we experienced only occasional showers. It was only when we were about to have lunch that the rain came. Gordon suggested we retire to the Das Kaffeehaus (German café) in Castlemaine - we agreed without hesitation. Jan and Fiona certainly enjoyed their dessert with cream and ice cream. I ordered what I thought was a mug of coffee; what I received was a cup the size of a soup bowl. The coffee was good.
Thanks to Gordon for organizing and leading the walk, and Jan for being the whip.
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