MURRINDAL SILVER-LEAD MINE

BASIN ROAD BUCHAN, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    MURRINDAL SILVER-LEAD MINE - History

    Contextual History:History of Place:
    Heritage Inventory History of Site:
    In 1873, the Murrindal Silver & Lead Co. was working a 30-yard-long quarry, and had erected smelting furnaces and smelting house, blacksmith's shop, and powder magazine. The failure of the company's furnaces was blamed on defective construction and lack of skilled smelters. In 1881, the Nevada Co. made 'certain alterations' to the furnaces, but their operations lasted less than a year. In 1885, the old furnace was pulled down, and a large excavation cut into the hillside to house a new furnace 'on the latest improved principles', but the 'flues, stack, &c.' were still to be used. The Melbourne syndicate which held the Murrindal lease at that time had an English-made Vortex turbine on the Buchan River, as well as a steam engine on the Murrindal, supplied with water from a well. In 1898, Rosales wrote that earlier smelting techniques at Murrindal had employed 'an American ore hearth and a Spanish reverberating furnace'. These were presumably the furnaces employed by the Murrindal Co. and the later Melbourne syndicate.
    In 1894, the Buchan Proprietary Co. took over the Murrindal and Back Creek mines, using its plant at the Murrindal mine to treat ore from Back Creek. In 1896, the plant at Murrindal (treating ore from the Back Creek mine) comprised a Flintshire furnace, 8-hp engine, 7-ton boiler, ore-breaking machine, sluice-box for cleaning ore from clay, and two jigging sieves. Also mentioned was a dressing plant, constructed by May Brothers of Gawler, SA, on their patented system. It was estimated that £100,000 had been spent on mine works and plant, and thirty men were employed at the mine and works. The mine closed in 1896.
    
    

    Interpretation of Site

    MURRINDAL SILVER-LEAD MINE - Interpretation of Site

    Heritage Inventory Interpretation:

    Heritage Inventory Description

    MURRINDAL SILVER-LEAD MINE - Heritage Inventory Description

    The only features of the Murrindal silver-lead mine known to survive are remnants of the stone-lined hillside flue. (Photographs taken by Clive Willman [Geological Survey, DAEM] in 1995.)/nAccording to the East Gippsland Regional Planning Committee's report, the (original?) flue ran up the hillside for 505ft, 2ft wide and 18" thick, with local rock and mortar as the building material. A 70-ft brick chimney stack dispersed gases above the flue. The mine machinery was scrapped in WW1 and the bricks were removed and re-used for house chimneys around Buchan.

    Heritage Inventory Significance: The site has scientific significance because of the well preserved stone lined hillside flue. The site has historical significance because silver - lead mining sites containing tangible evidence are rare.

    Heritage Inventory Key Components: Heritage Inventory Site Features:

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