THE theme for this year’s Sale Show is ‘Gippsland’s Goldfields’, the Sale and District Agricultural Society has announced.
A pavilion of goldfields-related displays is being co-ordinated by the Prospectors and Miners Association, East Gippsland Branch, and will display material including photographs of the search for the alleged fabulously rich Lasseter’s gold reef in central Australia.
Harold Lasseter, who claimed to have discovered the reef, lived for some time at Foster.
After several unsuccessful expeditions to locate the reef by different parties, Lasseter’s skeleton was subsequently located in a cave.
The show will include exhibits from of the “thunderegg” mine near Briagolong, the McMillan Rockhounds lapidary display, photos of Glen Wills (Gippsland) goldmining, the Bairnsdale School of Mines mineral and photograph collection, Hobo gold smelting, and children’s hands-on metal detecting.
There also will be vintage metal detectors dating from the 1970s, Gippsland goldfields’ post offices memorabilia compiled by historian Laurie Smyth, mineral exploring equipment by Aussie Disposals, and history books on Gippsland’s goldfields for sale.
Tickets to ride the Walhalla Goldfields vintage railway will be given away two lucky families.
The Miners Association branch president, John Munn said that the display would comprehensively encapsulate tangible reminders of Gippsland’s rich gold mining history.
He said Sale played an important and active role for more than a decade, with much gold passing through en-route to buyers. The association’s members held regular mining expeditions, some with considerable success.
The Agricultural Society President, Laurie Jeremiah said that so relevant was gold mining to Sale that the Sale Show at the height of Gippsland’s gold rush included gold and precious metal competitions.
Cowwarr’s James Rice won the auriferous quartz category and Tinamba’s John Richards the alluvial.
Sale historian, Peter Synan, who has written a short history encapsulating Sale’s role in early-days gold mining (to be published in the schedule) said Sale’s population quadrupled at height of the gold rush, many successful miners depositing nuggets at the Bank of Victoria on York Street.
Mr Synan said the “rush” gave impetus to establishing a branch of Cobb and Co. coach line stables in Sale, providing armed escorts carrying ingots from Sale at first to Port Albert and later direct to Melbourne.
He added that Sale possessed a relic of the era in the former government powder magazine, built fortress-like in 1864 in the Netherlands, restored some 25 years ago by Sale Historical Society, its original use being housing black powder for mine blasting.
This year’s Sale Show runs from November 1 to 3.
Lucky strike – gold! Photos: Contributed
