MAGPIE CREEK ALLUVIAL GOLDFIELD
MAGPIE HISTORIC RESERVE BEECHWORTH, INDIGO SHIRE
Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Magpie Creek Gold Mining Diversion Sluice consists of a 200 metre long stone embankment which was probably built in the mid 1860s when the site was extensively reworked by Chinese miners. The embankment was used to divert the waters of Magpie Creek away from its natural bed which was then mined for its alluvial gold.
How is it significant?
The Magpie Creek Gold Mining Diversion Sluice is of historical, archaeological and scientific importance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Magpie Creek Gold Mining Diversion Sluice is historically and scientifically important as a characteristic and well preserved example of an early form of gold mining. Gold mining sites are of crucial importance for the pivotal role they have played since 1851 in the development of Victoria. Water diversion and sluicing are important key ingredients in an understanding of gold mining technology as it was employed in mountainous country where water was plentiful and perennial.
The Magpie Creek Gold Mining Diversion Sluice is archaeologically important for its potential to yield artefacts and evidence which will be able to provide significant information about the cultural history of gold mining and the gold seekers themselves.
[Source: Victorian Heritage Register]
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MAGPIE CREEK GOLD MINING DIVERSION SLUICE
Victorian Heritage Register H1253 -
MAGPIE CREEK ALLUVIAL GOLDFIELD
Victorian Heritage Inventory -
MAGPIE CREEK ALLUVIAL WORKINGS
Victorian Heritage Inventory
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