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GARFIELD WATERWHEEL QUARTZ GOLD MINING SITE
NORTH STREET CHEWTON, MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
GARFIELD WATERWHEEL QUARTZ GOLD MINING SITE SOHE 2008
GARFIELD WATERWHEEL QUARTZ GOLD MINING SITE SOHE 2008
GARFIELD WATERWHEEL QUARTZ GOLD MINING SITE SOHE 2008
1 garfield waterwheel quartz gold mining site quartz hill track chewton front view jan1990
garfield waterwheel quartz gold mining site plan
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Statement of Significance

Quartz reefs near the site were being worked as early as 1856. During the mid-1880s the reefs were being mined by the Garfield Company. In 1887, the company relocated their 23-head quartz crushing battery, replacing its steam boilers with a 70ft diameter waterwheel. The wheel was mounted on large stone foundations and was set in motion by a supply of water from a nearby water race. The race had been installed by the State government, as part of the Coliban Water Supply Scheme. The battery and waterwheel were later operated by the Forest Creek Gold Mining Company until about 1903.

The Garfield Waterwheel Quartz Gold Mining Site is of historical, archaeological and scientific importance to the State of Victoria.

The Garfield Waterwheel Quartz Gold Mining Site is historically and scientifically important as a characteristic example of an important 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. As well as being a significant producer of Victoria's nineteenth century wealth, quartz mining, with its intensive reliance on machinery, played an important role in the development of Victorian manufacturing industry. The Garfield abutments are associated with the largest waterwheel ever erected in Australia, and along with a similar but smaller example at Mopoke Gully are testament to an innovative use of waterwheel technology in an environment that was too dry to accommodate it, until the arrival of water from the Coliban system. The Garfield Waterwheel Quartz Gold Mining Site is a rare and well preserved artefact of what was once a relatively common technology on many Victorian goldfields, particularly those in the alpine regions.

The site of the Garfield Waterwheel Quartz Gold Mining Site is also scientifically significant for its potential to yield artefacts and evidence which will be able to provide information about the technological history of gold mining.

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    • Permit Exemptions

      GARFIELD WATERWHEEL QUARTZ GOLD MINING SITE - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      EXEMPTIONS FROM PERMITS:
      (Classes of works or activities which may be undertaken without a permit under
      Part 4 of the Heritage Act 1995)

      No permits are required for the following classes of works provided they are
      carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Conservation Plan For
      Historic Mining Sites prepared by David Bannear in 1996.

      Mineral Exploration
      Fire suppression duties
      Timber production
      Weed and vermin control
      Public safety
      Rehabilitation

Public contributions

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