BIRTHDAY CO

SNOWGUM ROAD BERRINGA, GOLDEN PLAINS SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

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  • History

    BIRTHDAY CO - History

    Contextual History:History of Place:
    Heritage Inventory History of Site:
    BIRTHDAY GOLD MINING COMPANY/
    QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY GOLD MINING COMPANY (BIRTHDAY GOLD MINING COMPANY)
    30.10.1897: lease for 18 acres 3 roods and one perch taken up.
    1897: It was not until 1897 when the Birthday mine was opened, that this moribund goldfield witnessed, what Baragwanath described in 1949, as practically the last revival of a Victorian goldfield.
    25.12.1897: property sold to the Queen's Birthday Gold Mining Company for £1200 in cash and a one-sixth interest in a company with 24,000 shares paid up to 7 shillings and 6 pence.
    1898: company formed to work the Birthday line of reef which David Le Page had discovered in 1897 by loaming on the slopes of Schicer Gully, and had since proved to be payable.
    08.1898: 1915 ounces of gold worth 7836 pounds obtained so far; main shaft down 100 feet with drives north and south; ground stoped out 250 feet north and 300 feet south; the company has a 10 head battery small steam winch and a Cornish boiler.
    03.1899: 10,905 ounces 10 pennyweight 12 grains of gold obtained to date from Nos. 1 and 2 levels and stopes.
    09.1899: 6244 ounces of gold obtained from 3784 tons of stone from Nos. 1 and 2 levels and stopes.
    1899: £23,000 worth of gold obtained within five months of the company first commencing to crush. The main shaft is down 200 feet at a distance of 65 chains south of the township of Kangaroo.
    1899: continued to produce good yields and upgrade its operation with a cyanide plant and additional 10 head of stampers.
    12.01.1900: the company is likely to clean up its battery and cyanide works each fortnight.
    02.02.1900: all works connected with the cyanide plant will be let on contract.
    03.1900: 7820 ounces 12 pennyweight 6 grains of gold obtained from 6043 tons of stone from Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 levels and stopes.
    09.1900: 7123 ounces of gold obtained from 6377 tons of stone from Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 levels and stopes.
    10.02.1901: to introduce boring machines to improve driving.
    03.1901: 7595 ounces of gold obtained from 7028 tons of stone chiefly from No. 3 level.
    22.06.1901: another boiler added to supply power to the air compressor that drives the rock boring machine.
    05.07.1901: additional 10 head battery likely to be erected to increase the amount that can be processed and maintain the yields; the work of erecting the compressor and its accompanying parts is progressing well.
    20.07.1901: yield for the quarter of 3102 ozs; 150 men working at the mine; value of plant is £12,000.
    09.1901: 5685 ounces of gold obtained from 6470 tons of stone; 285 tons at No. 2 level, 945 tons of stone at No. 3 level, 1800 tons at No. 4 level, 2639 tons at No. 5 level, and 801 tons at No. 6 level.
    03.1902: 4858 ounces of gold were obtained from 9524 tons of stone; 806 tons at No. 3 level, 378 tons at No. 4 level, 5534 tons at No. 5 level, and 2806 tons at No. 6 level.
    09.1902: 4771 ounces of gold were obtained from 9262 tons of stone; 200 tons at No. 4 level, 5785 tons at No. 5 level and 3277 tons at No. 6 level.
    1902 ; 30 head battery.
    10.01.1903: crushed more ore during 1902 in order to keep paying dividends.
    03.1903: 4595 ounces of gold obtained from 9946 tons of stone; 2560 tons at No. 5 level, 1835 tons at No. 6 level, 5064 tons at No. 7 level, and 487 tons at No. 8 level.
    24.10.1903: intend using two rock drills to ensure better progress.
    09.1903: 3907 ounces of gold obtained from 11,560 tons of stone; 100 tons at No. 6 level, 7936 tons at No. 7 level, and 3324 tons at No. 8 level.
    1903 : electric lighting installed; 30 head battery.
    23.01.1904: after connecting the pumps to level 10 a more substantial balance bob will be required.
    05.03.1904: balance bob erected; pipe track cut to dam to supply water to the condenser.
    26.03.1904: half yearly report is confident about the future; this company has distributed £123,000 in dividends since it began.
    03.1904: 3855 ounces 13 pennyweight of gold obtained from 12,980 tons of stone; 673 tons at No. 6 level, 4583 tons at No. 7 level, and 7724 tons at No. 8 level.
    09.1904: 4038 ounces 19 pennyweight of gold obtained from 13,712 tons of gold; 683 tons at No. 6 level, 3283 tons at No. 7 level, and 9746 tons at No. 8 level.
    1904 : 30 head battery.
    03.1905: 3472 ounces one pennyweight of gold obtained from 14,223 tons of stone; 1219 tons at No. 5 level; 1670 tons at No. 7 level, and 11,334 tons at No. 8 level.
    10.06.1905: still paying but not working out as well at depth.
    24.06.1905: paid dividends totalling £134,000 over seven years; the ore is at 810 and 910 foot levels and is only yielding 4.5 dwt per ton and even though the cost of mining and crushing is reduced to 12/- per ton there is only a small profit.
    06.1905: 72,398 ounces 8 pennyweights obtained from 122,987 tons of stone crushed to date, with £133,800 paid in dividends.
    09.1905: 2542 ounces of gold obtained from 13,026 tons of stone; 500 tons at No. 6 level, 1541 tons at No. 7 level, 7850 tons at No. 8 level, and 3135 tons at No. 9 level.
    1905: 30 head battery.
    25.08.1906: prospects have improved which could bring this back to a dividend paying mine.
    1906: 30 head battery.
    1907 : 30 head battery.
    No. 10 level down 1021 feet 2 inches from the surface; equipped with complete crushing and gold-saving appliances; surface works illuminated with electric light; pumping machinery erected.
    01.08.1908: again on the call list; have done a good deal of development work.
    28.11.1908: purchased the South Birthday lease and resumed driving south at the No. 12 level.
    1908 : 30 head battery.
    02.10.1909: decided to sink further.
    13.11.1909: offered a £1000 grant by the government conditional upon the company spending £2000 to sink the shaft 300 feet.
    27.11.1909: trying to negotiate a better arrangement with government for the grant.
    1909: 30 head battery.
    05.03.1910: operations suspended for the time being; this was a shock for the local residents and the workforce; the winch used to deepen the shaft has been sent to the surface; the reason for the halt to operations was the poor response to calls by the shareholders and the failure to obtain a grant from the government; sinking has gone 100 foot below the No.12 level and it is hoped that this work will not be wasted.
    23.04.1910: still idle, but the company expects to place the shares that it holds and make another start.
    21.07.1910: auction of the plant, machinery and equipment at the mine.
    1898 to 1911: recorded production of 88,789 ozs 4 dwt from 190,176 tons (or 2761.717 kg from 193,227 kg).
    The Birthday was an exceptional mine, it made no calls during its life apart from the original call up of £1800.

    Heritage Inventory Description

    BIRTHDAY CO - Heritage Inventory Description

    /nDespite some disturbance there are several substantial brick foundations at this site as well as a very large mullock heap. The mullock is located at west of the shaft and consists of 5 large fingers fanning around from south west to north. The fingers are between 6 m and 20 m high and vary in length from 30 to 45 m. A large dry dam is located north of the mullock heap and a water race runs south from the dam down the west side of the mullock heap. There is a smaller dam, 25 m by 25 m, south of the mullock heap. A brick pump bob pit 10.2 m by 2.6 m in very good condition is immediately east of the shaft and 6 m further east are the winder foundations, part of which is has been broken down. 10 m south east of the pump bob pit are some other small sections of brick and concrete walling/foundation, and some depressions that may have been part of the boiler settings. North of the boiler settings are two brick compressor foundations, which together are 3.75 by 9 m. Another set of brick and rough concrete foundations are located south of the compressor. This may have been for the battery engine, unfortunately the battery foundations have been removed. The battery was moved to the New Jubilee mine. 25m further south are two cement rendered brick vats covering an area 6.2 by 6.2 m. The gully which runs south from the mullock was the site of the tailings dam. The tailings have been treated and/or removed. This area is now covered in grass and weeds.

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