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YOUNG AUSTRALIAN BATTERY AND GOLD CYANIDING WORKS
GLENDART TRACK DARTMOUTH, TOWONG SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
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Statement of Significance

The Young Australian mine was founded in 1883 and despite being heralded as a promising venture it only operated for a few years. The existing remains at the mine site - a crushing battery and cyanide works - relate to a later (20th-century) phase of the site's history. The 1927 Dodge chassis and engine suggests that the surviving mining plant dates to the Dart River mining revival of the later 1930s.

The Young Australian battery and gold cyaniding works is of historical, scientific and archaeological importance to the State of Victoria.

The Young Australian battery and gold cyaniding works is historically and scientifically important as a characteristic and well preserved example of an important form of gold mining. The ore treatment plant has not been disturbed and the site is very important due to the survival of substantial evidence of a cyanide works. The cyanide process is based on the fact that sodium or potassium cyanide, in the presence of oxygen, will quickly dissolve gold that is in a fine state (tailings or concentrates). The process was introduced during the late 1890s and due to its cheapness and relative simplicity, was undertaken by both small-time miners, and on an extensive scale by large companies. The remains of cyanide works in Victoria are still quite common, but the vast majority are poorly preserved and have been the focus of on-going re-treatment operations.

The Young Australian battery and gold cyaniding works is archaeologically important for its potential to yield artefacts and evidence which will be able to provide significant information about the technological history of gold mining.

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    • Permit Exemptions

      YOUNG AUSTRALIAN BATTERY AND GOLD CYANIDING WORKS - 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

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