SADOWA COMPANY

ROCKY FLAT ROAD TALBOT, CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

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  • History

    SADOWA COMPANY - History

    Contextual History:History of Place:
    Heritage Inventory History of Site:
    1859: Scandinavian Lead - The last and richest gold discovery was the Scandinavian Lead, which was opened in early 1859 on the site of Talbot, and around which the town grew. For those comparatively late days of gold digging the rush was an enormous one. The lead, near the present Talbot railway station was discovered by diggers Adolph, Carl Olsen, Carl W. Hallem and Joseph Bell... Other discoveries were made during the Scandinavian Rush in 1859. Rocky Flat, east of the main lead was discovered separately, and the Union Lead, north of Talbot was opened by a party of Welshman. Joseph Barnes and party opened Long Gully, Talbot, in May 1859, and Mt. Glasgow diggings were started in June 1859 by a party consisting of Rolstone, Wilson, McLoughlin and Wood.
    August 1859: Rocky Flat Lead - Giving employment to 300 men. Believed by many to be a continuation of the Scandinavian Lead. 10 hp engine erected on the east end of the lead and two others in the course of erection. Scandinavian Lead has attracted such a large population 18 months ago, responsible for founding present township of Back Creek. Being traced in a northerly direction, at least 1300 actively engaged.
    September 1859: Engine shaft on Rocky Flat Lead struck payable gold at a depth of 90 feet. Scandinavian Lead: richness of lead - West of England claim, 210 oz from 43 loads (principally cement); United Miners, 373 loads yielded 656½ oz Rocky Point - Sinking from 85 to 90 feet through 60 to 70 feet of basaltic rock.
    February 1860: Rocky Flat Lead - 27 frontage claims in full work (200 men employed). General opinion is lead is trending towards Gibraltar. Ground in that direction being taken up in 3 acre blocks, by parties of 18 men to each block.
    May 1861: Rocky Flat frontage claims yielding good dividends. Scandinavian Lead has joined Rocky Flat Lead - mining dull.
    March 1864: Rocky Flat - 400 men. Mining matters improved, particularly near McCullough's Paddock - Prince Alfred Co,. British Standard Co., Lancashire Lass Co., Irish Lass Co., and Rocky Flat Paddock Gold Mining Co.
    September 1864: Progress good on Rocky Flat lead. Band of Hope and Rising Sun companies completed erection o machinery. Paddock Co., good weekly dividends. Britannia, Prince Alfred and Irish Lass being rewarded for labour. Royal Standard Co's engine started.
    December 1867: Sadowa Co., heads the list of alluvial mines... has given an impetus to deep lead mining.
    March 1868: Sadowa Co. - 1166 oz.
    June 1868: Sadowa Co. - 1705 oz.
    September 1868: Sadowa Co. - an increase of 532 oz. Nil Desperandum Co., Scandinavian Lead, has spent 9 months erecting steam machinery.
    June 1869: Sadowa Co., 2105 oz from No. 3 shaft. No. 4 shaft sown 120 feet and has two substantial steam engines in course of erection.
    March 1869: Brunswick Gold Mining Co. - 27 hp steam engine.
    September 1870: The Brunswick Co. have just completed the erection of a winding engine.
    December 1870: Sadowa Co., 1381 oz., Brunswick, 580 oz.
    September 1871: Sadowa Co. 934 oz; Band of Hope at Cockatoo, 542; and Brunswick Co., 466 oz.
    December 1871: Sadowa Co. 657 oz; Band of Hope at Cockatoo, 555 oz.
    June 1872: Sadowa Co. (Talbot Tribute Co.) returns of 679, New Band of Hope (Cockatoo) 627 oz, Lease No. 776 (Golden Gate) have sunk a shaft and found deeper ground than any yet worked on Rocky Flat.
    December 1874: Band of Hope Co., has collapsed, reformed under the title Narrigal G.M. Co.
    March 1875: The New Greenock Park Tribute Co., Rocky Flat, have entirely suspended operations.
    June 1875: The Narrigal and Prince of Wales companies have ceased work and their plants are for sale.
    December 1876: Golden Gate Co. completed their shaft. The machinery from the Sadowa Co. and from the Greenock Park Co., valued at £5000, has been removed to the neighbourhood of Creswick.
    March 1877: Golden Gate Co. and United Miners Co., Rocky Flat, have both bottomed their shafts.
    December 1877: Golden Gate Co., Rocky Flat, have mastered the water from the Sadowa Co. old workings.
    March 1878: The Golden Gate Co. burst their boiler and have stopped for want of funds.
    September 1886: A large tract of country has been taken up under the Mining of Private Property Act, on the basaltic plateau lying between McCallum's and Back Creeks, which was thought by old mining men to be highly auriferous, as the old Brunswick and Martell's Paddock Company obtained a large amount of gold from the west side of the plateau, near Back Creek.
    September 1888: Plant of Rip Van Winkle Co. (Mt Greenock) may be sold or hired to pump Scandinavian or Black Leads, on both of which profitable employment for many hundred would be available is leads were drained.
    December 1889: Messrs Toe and McKenzie applied for lease and proposed to form company to work Rocky Flat Lead at its supposed junction with the Mysterious Lead.
    June 1891: Phoenix Co. proved wash dirt payable, but require more powerful machinery.
    March 1891: Black Lead Co. - Favourable indications.
    1905: Rocky Flat Co. - Very good developmental work being carried on.

    Heritage Inventory Description

    SADOWA COMPANY - Heritage Inventory Description

    The Sadowa Company was Talbot's leading deep lead mine in the late 1860s. Rich gold yields - 1,000 to 2,000 ounces a quarter - from 1867 to 1870 promoted a mining boom. The Sadowa Company sunk four shafts. The most substantial plant erected by the company was at the No.4 shaft: in June 1869 this shaft was down 120 feet and two steam engines were being installed. The company's fortunes changed in the early 1870s and as gold production decline - by 1872 the company was only producing 600 ounces or so a quarter - the mine was placed in the hands of tributing parties. The mine closed down shortly after. The Sadowa, from 1867 to 1869, produced 1,559kg of gold making it one of the more productive mines to operate on the Chalks Subgroup of the Loddon Group of deep leads. /nCompany worked from c.1867 to 1872. /nLead workings - Line of four large heaps running parallel to the north side of Talbot-Majorca Road.

    Heritage Inventory Significance: Regional. Site to be protected [Line of mullock heaps, as viewed from Talbot-Majorca Road] The site has: Historical significance: Site of the richest deep lead mine in the Amherst Mining Division. Social value: the line of mullock heaps form a prominent landscape feature. The significance of the site comes from its history and the landscape qualities of its mullock heaps EXISTING HERITAGE LISTING: Site 7.1 - A significant deep lead mine opened during the early period of deep mining at Talbot and culminating in one of the largest cyanide works in the district. In terms of gold production at a state-wide level the mine ranks among the top fifty deep lead mines. The physical remains of the mullock dumps and gravel heaps are some of the largest and most visible in the district and form part of a network of sites on the Rocky and Mount Greenock Leads.(pp.50-51) Schedule Three: Buildings and sites recommended for inclusion or retention on the Register of the National Estate - Sadowa mine and cyanide works, off Champions Road, Rocky Flat (p.51) INTERPRETATION: Sadowa mine and cyanide works. This mine was one of the richest mines in the district and Bowen records that the Sadowa won 1559 kg of gold during its operation. This makes it comparable to the mines at Clunes in terms of gold production and also slightly greater than the Hoffnung mine at Dunach. On a state wide basis the Sadowa was among the top fifty deep lead mines in terms of production.

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