Rediscovering the Lost Hellyer Diggings After 150 Years

Mineral Matters #560

An interesting video turned up in my YouTube feed. Rob Parsons video “Rediscovering the Lost Hellyer Diggings After 150 Years” is shot in rugged northwest Tasmania. Having been to that area many times, I can appreciate the difficulty in finding areas such as this. Well worth watching.

As an aside, the photo below is of a gold specimen that comes from the region.

Rob says:

The Hellyer River diggings are nestled along the banks of a remote river in North Western Tasmania. This important chapter in Tasmania’s rise out of a depression, into mineral wealth has been lost to time.

150 years ago, the hut sites, tracks and worksites of these courageous pioneers were prominent features in this newly explored wilderness. But as the Wild West was gradually opened up, newer tracks and larger discoveries soon cut off the diggings from the outside world. With-in a matter of years the richest claims were worked to their potential, then soon abandoned, and the once important network of tracks leading into the area became overgrown.

This, along with with geographical name changes has resulted in the locations of this treasure trove of history, remaining a mystery for over 100 years, and it’s story has survived only as a collection of ancient newspaper articles - until now.

Below: Gold, Rocky River, Corinna-Savage River district, Waratah-Wynyard municipality, Tasmania. Width of view 17.25mm.