The Golden King Mine
Mining activities in the area date back to the late 1800’s when many hundreds of Chinese miners searched for gold among the banks of Plenty River. One popular area was known as Smuggler’s Gully, a farm area recently owned by Walter Stuchbery and family, and now part of Plenty Gorge Park. During the 1940’s and 1950’s there were four operating goldmines in Yarrambat. Mines like Golden Crown, Golden King, Golden Stairs and Golden Gate were well known names in the district and provided employment for many Yarrambat residents.
The Golden King mine was located on the eastern slopes of North Oatlands Road hill was founded in 1939 by Bill Clayton senior. Bill’s brother, Wilfred, had established the Golden Crown mine on the north side of North Oatlands Road in 1937 and convinced his brother to try his luck across the road. Diggings commenced on the main shaft and gold-bearing ore was transported to the State Battery at Queenstown (St Andrews) for processing. In 1941 Bill purchased two four-head batteries and a large tin shed from a mine at Spargo Creek, between Daylesford and Ballan, and re-assembled them on the site of the Golden King mine.
Several large wooden poppet-heads were constructed over the shafts and during the following decades hundreds of tons of ore were crushed, yielding many thousands of ounces of gold. Originally the battery was powered by a 15hp. kerosene engine, but in 1954 with the arrival of electricity, a 15hp. electric motor was installed.
Mining operations were scaled down in the late seventies, the wooden poppet-heads removed and replaced with the smaller iron poppet-head now located at the Yarrambat Primary School. The origins of this later poppet-head are unknown.
During the 1960’s and 1970’s the Golden King was operated by Bill senior’s sons, Bill junior and Desmond before it finally closed down in 1984. The main shafts were filled in and capped in 1994 thus ending an era in Yarrambat’s history.
The battery-shed and remaining four stamp battery have been reconstructed at the Yarrambat Heritage Museum by the Yarrambat Historical Society Inc. as a working display, and together with the relocated poppet-head at the Yarrambat Primary School are the only remaining traces of the golden era in Yarrambat. ( Source – Mr Des Clayton, 1997)
