Hi there Robyn : There was an extensive gold mining company called the Black Horse Mine; later to be called the new Black Horse Mine in the Mt Egerton area of the central Vic goldfields. The operations ran from the 1860's through to the early 1900's. While many mines had the intent of mining for lead, etc, they often ended up mining gold. An extract from a report from the Victorian Department of Natural resources and Environment (1994) follows : VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS PROJECT HISTORIC GOLD MINING SITES IN THE SOUTH WEST REGION OF VICTORIA REPORT ON CULTURAL HERITAGE Department Of Natural Resources & Environment August 1999 NAME: NEW BLACK HORSE MINE LOCATION: Mount Egerton-Gordon Goldfield HI NO: H7722-0044 LOCATION: Egerton, immediately east of town MUNICIPALITY: Moorabool Shire CURRENT STATUS: Crown Land SITE HISTORY: The Mount Egerton goldfield was discovered in 1853 by a party of Ballarat miners led by George Grell. The field was rushed in 1854 with miners concentrating their efforts on extracting gold from one long line of quartz reefs. This line was eventually traced from Mount Egerton to Gordon and beyond. The dash for quick profits saw the bulk of early quartz workings abandoned by 1858-59 when the shafts dropped onto water. During the early to mid 1860s the Mount Egerton field experienced several disastrous mining booms and busts. In 1867 confidence in the field was maintained when the Egerton Company, along with an adjoining Black Horse Company, were successful in obtaining steady and sometimes outstanding yields. These two companies, through various re-organisations, continued to dominate the Mount Egerton field for the next twenty or so years. The Black Horse had three main re-organisations--Black Horse (1867-1874), New Black Horse (1874-early 1880s) and Black Horse United (early 1880s- 1900s). Both the Egerton and Black Horse companies had their turns at being the division's largest gold producer. The former held the record throughout much of the 1880s, and the latter for a shorter time during the late 1880s/early 1890s. The Egerton was to pay out some £300,000 in dividends and the Black Horse obtained £460,000 worth of gold and paid out £178,000 in dividends. The Black Horse mine continued to work through the 1890s and into the early 1900s. The later mining efforts of the company proved unprofitable because of the expense of working at great depths--by the 1900s the company was exploring below the 2,000 foot level. Machinery. The mining register records the following machinery installation for the Black Horse mine: Sept 1870 30-hp engine; June 1877 22-head stamp battery; June 1877 New boiler and brick stack; and March 1879 Erection of new 30-head stamping battery. Foundations surviving today would date to the 1870s. References Flett, J., The History of Gold Discoveries in Victoria, 1979, p.374. Mining Surveyors Quarterly Reports: December 1860; July 1863; September 1870; June 1877; December 1877; March 1879. Department of Mines, Annual Reports 1903 and 1904. Australasian Mining Standard, June 1, 1899. DESCRIPTION & INTERPRETATION OF FEATURES: Mining machinery. Site is obscured by black berry bushes. Only visible feature is a massive brick mounting bed which measures 50 ft x 5 ft, stands 9 ft and has line of thirteen, 2½ inch mounting bolts. The bed, set in an excavated platform, has stepped brickwork and bricks are set in concrete mortar. Tramway. Traces of an embankment to the north of the mine site. The tramway once connected the mine to a battery (now obliterated) which was located near site of government battery. The tramway largely runs through freehold land. Tailings. Have been extensively quarried CONDITION OF FEATURES: Site obscured by blackberry bushes. The engine bed in good condition and there is the prospect for buried (or obscured) foundations. SIGNIFICANCE RANKING: Site Listed Heritage Inventory. Assessed by: David Bannear Date: July 1994. See http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/2131dff1538839554a25697e001553fd/$FILE/SouthWestRegionfinalreport.pdf for more information. Do a text search within this PDF document for "Black Horse". Hope this helps. Rick White Wollongong NSW -----Original Message----- From: Robyn Jones [ mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, 29 March 2005 22:57 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AVG] Black Horse Lead Mine Does any one know anything about the Black Horse Lead Mine? I'm not sure if it is the Central Vic Goldfields or the far East Gippsland area. I only know that it was in Vic according to my gg grandfathers obituary. Any help appreciated. Thank you. Robyn ==== AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND Mailing List ==== Anyone seen any good GIPPSLAND websites lately. 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