The Buckland Valley Goldfield, Part 2 - Shallow Diggings & Water Races

In this episode of the Buckland Valley Goldfield, we get a little soggy as we explore the early shallow mining techniques used to extract gold from near-surface deposits. From simple hand-worked diggings to more organised small-scale operations, we uncover how miners chased the easy gold in the valley’s creeks and flats. We also examine the extraordinary lengths miners and small companies went to in order to move water across rugged mountain terrain to power their operations. Through steep gullies and dense bush, they engineered an impressive network of timber flumes, siphons, and stone-retained races — remarkable examples of bush carpentry, ingenuity, and sheer determination in remote country.