Gold prospector's incredible find in 'remote' Aussie bush
'Locals have always kept quiet about it, and it's pretty remote,' prospector Bart van Uyen told Yahoo News after an expedition to photograph the site. The structure's symmetrical brick walls tower over three metres from the ground, almost resembling an Aztec temple. However, it's never had a mythological use — its purpose was purely industrial.
Back in 1887 when the walls were built, a large wheel was placed between them, and when it spun, it powered the Bendigo and Fryers Goldmining Company's large stamp battery — a device used for crushing ore to extract gold.
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You won't find the Mopoke Gully water wheel in tourist brochures. But locals living close by, in a tiny town south of Castlemaine in Victoria, know where to find it. And in recent years, a few online posts have popped up about its history. Yahoo has chosen not to publicise its exact location.
Bart has been visiting the ruin for a few years, and it has a special place in his heart. When he first saw it, much of the state had been locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and stumbling upon something so unexpected while he was searching for gold left him 'amazed'.
'I was travelling around doing some prospecting. I tend to go down every dirt track possible, and it was just sitting there,' he said.
The structure is similar to the better-known Garfield water wheel, which attracts history buffs from around the country. That one is in a state park, while the Mopoke Gully water wheel is on private land which Bart has permission to enter. Both structures were built in 1887, but the wheels themselves were disassembled in the early 1900s.
It's seen better days, and it's covered in moss, but that's all part of its charm. 'Standing inside it is awesome, it's such an impressive thing. There's gorgeous bushland around it. 'It's great to see something like that still intact,' he said.
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Bart likes to imagine what life was like back in the gold rush, and their work ethic and sense of adventure leave him in awe.
'It's quiet there now. But I just imagine the hustle and bustle around that place when it was going,' he said. 'People risked life and limb to come to Victoria to dig for gold. People died, others made money, some went broke.'
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