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ROSE THISTLE AND SHAMROCK QUARRY GOLD MINING PRECINCT
CEMETERY LANE HARRIETVILLE, ALPINE SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
1 rose thistle & shamrock quartz mining precinct harrietville lower treatment plant
1 rose thistle & shamrock quartz mining precinct harrietville lower treatment plant
1 rose thistle & shamrock quartz mining precinct harrietville lower treatment plant
rose thistle & shamrock quartz gold mining precinct harrietville plan
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Rose Thistle & Shamrock mine was the largest recorded gold-producer and had the deepest workings in the Upper Ovens gold field. The mine was worked almost constantly from 1860 until 1934. One of the mine's most productive periods was during the 1920s when 46,000 ounces of gold were obtained from 49,000 tons of quartz ore. The precinct contains a wealth of archaeological evidence of the evolution of quartz mining and mineral processing technologies

How is it significant?
The Rose Thistle & Shamrock Quartz Gold Mine Precinct is of historical, archaeological and scientific importance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Rose Thistle & Shamrock Quartz Gold Mine Precinct 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 use of machinery, played an important role in the development of Victorian manufacturing industry. The Rose Thistle & Shamrock precinct is quite different from other Alpine mining sites in presenting an easily interpreted sequence with each mining period surviving as a virtual time-capsule with its own mine workings, machinery relics, and engineering works. The educational value of the precinct is enhanced by its proximity to a major highway, ease of access, and natural setting in the rugged foothills of the Australian Alps.

The Rose Thistle & Shamrock Quartz Gold Mine Precinct contains a wealth of archaeological evidence crucial to an understanding of the development of mining and ore treatment technologies between 1860 and 1934.
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    • Assessment Against Criteria

      ROSE THISTLE AND SHAMROCK QUARRY GOLD MINING PRECINCT - Assessment Against Criteria

      Criterion A
      Its importance in the course, or pattern, of Victoria's cultural history

      Criterion B
      Its possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria's cultural history

      Criterion C
      Its potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria's cultural history

      Criterion D
      Its importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of Victoria's cultural places

      Criterion E
      Its importance in exhititing particular aesthetic characteristics valued by a community or cultural group

      Criterion F
      Its importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period

      Criterion G
      Its strong or special associations with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

      Criterion H
      Its special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria's cultural history

      Permit Exemptions

      ROSE THISTLE AND SHAMROCK QUARRY GOLD MINING PRECINCT - 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

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

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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1850 - 1879
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1880 - 1909
1910 to 1939
1910 - 1939
1940 to 1969
1940 - 1969
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