Eltham Cemetery - Artistic Recollections Booklet

45 / 72

Gold was first discovered in Diamond Creek in
1863 by Messrs. Peers, Haley and Wilson. The
Diamond Creek mine was opened some years
later and at the mine’s peak the shaft reached
a depth of 350 metres, employed 200 men in
continuous shifts and raised gold to today’s
equivalent value of $2,000,000 a year.
The value of gold taken from the mine is
reported to be between £1,000,000 and
£2,000,000 Australian at the time. Since gold
was discovered in Diamond Creek, gold mining
and prospecting have been probably the most
important factors in the prosperity of the
township and district.
By 1915 the Diamond Creek Goldmine’s engine
house contained five boilers, powering the
winder, battery, generator, air compressors and
a massive beam water pump. This pump ran
constantly to keep the mine dry. In early 1915 a
fire broke out. Fortunately no lives were lost but
the mine was closed.
The featured indigenous plant in this panel is the
Brunonia australis or blue pincushion.
Creek MineAND BLUE
PINCUSHION
PHOTOGRAPH
Rail truck and line at gold mine,
Diamond Creek, circa 1905
MuseumsVictoria
Photographer Albert Jones
INFORMATION
Diamond Creek,Victoria
accessed at
wiki/Diamond_Creek,_Victoria
Gold mines in Diamond Creek
accessed at
Union Mine and
Diamond Creek Mine
accessed at http://www.
Historical-sites/Union-Mine-and-
Diamond-Creek-Mine