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| Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve Victoria | |
|---|---|
 Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve | |
  Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve | |
| Nearest town or city | Heathcote, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 36°55′49.6″S 144°42′18.5″E / 36.930444°S 144.705139°E |
| Established | 1870 |
| Area | 0.38 km2 (0.1 sq mi)[1] |
| Website | Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve |
| See also | Protected areas of Victoria |
The Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve is a former gold mining area in Heathcote, Victoria, where hydraulic sluicing and water races were built to remove layers of soil between 1870 and 1890. This activity created the unique, lunar-like landscape of the area. The site is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1352.[1] It is identified as a Terrestrial and Inland Waters Protected Area, and has an area of 0.38 square kilometres.[2]
Tourism
[edit]The Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve is located on Pink Cliffs Road, close to the town centre of Heathcote, Victoria, Australia, in the City of Greater Bendigo. This is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Melbourne.[3] The site is on the traditional lands of the Taungurung people.[4] It is managed by Parks Victoria, whose signage helps to protect the natural, historical, and cultural features of the reserve.[5]
The reserve is one of the region's most notable sites, popular with tourists and nature-lovers, especially bushwalkers and photographers. The site consists of mini gorges, hills of fine pink clay with an almost talcum-powder texture, and smooth ironstone. These colourful and unusual geological features, which resemble a lunar landscape, result from the sluicing gold-mining processes used by miners in the 1880s. There are several walking tracks[6] throughout the Pink Cliffs reserve. These take you on an educational circuit walk, and to upper and lower lookouts over the pink cliffs.[3][5][7][8][9][10][11][12]
History
[edit]Before the discovery of gold in the Heathcote area, the site of the Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve was open box forest with scrubby undergrowth, growing on red-brown soil over a layer of gravel. In 1852, early prospectors discovered the first nuggets of gold in the area. The significance of the site stems from it being a well-preserved example of a form of gold mining that is now redundant. Hydraulic sluicing was an important late nineteenth-century development in mining technology, which enabled the continued and more efficacious exploitation of Victoria's dwindling alluvial gold deposits.[1][13]
Hydraulic Sluicing
[edit]In 1865, the McIvor Hydraulic Sluicing and Gold Mining Company Limited proposed to bring water from the head of the McIvor, Sandy, and Wild Duck Creeks to an elevation at Heathcote for sluicing purposes. Hydraulic sluicing is a mining method that employs high-pressure jets of water to blast away large areas of earth and wash it down to be run through a sluice box. Water for the sluicing was delivered to the site by water race and high-pressure pipelines and hoses were then directed at the gold-bearing deposits. Gold gets caught in the sluice, and the remaining slurry created from the top layer of earth is washed away. [12] The company began constructing a water race from the headwaters of the McIvor Creek near Mt Sugarloaf at Tooborac, to convey water 'at a sufficient elevation to command the whole McIvor gold field'. The race anticipated to carry six million gallons per day, to operate 60 sluice heads.[12][14] In 1874, Thomas Hedley, on behalf of the Hon. John A. Wallace, made application for water rights on the McIvor Creek and Long Gully and proceeded to bring a race belonging to the Water Trust to Heathcote.[15] The water race, which runs for about 42 km (26 miles), is largely intact.[13] The engineering feet of creating the fall of the water along the length of the race was measured using a beer bottle containing water as a level. Hydraulic sluicing at the Pink Hills Geological Reserve site was carried out from the late 1870s through to the 1880s under Hedley's direction. Hedley was a pioneer in the development of sluicing and dredging in Victoria and a prominent figure in Victoria's late 19th-century gold mining industry.[1][13]
In 1887, Hedley and Wallace began experimenting with hydraulic sluicing by pumping, instead of relying on the pressure gained from the gravity-fed water race. This method of mining is extremely effective, but it causes significant environmental damage and impacts waterways, along with agricultural operations. In 1887, mud and gravel (sludge) washing back into the creek became a significant issue and The Sludge Inquiry Board was formed. A large volume of sludge was running over grazing lands and ruining the local landscape and the water supply for the town, stock, and landowners. In 1890, the gold mining operations at the Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve were closed down when the Heathcote Sluicing Company's mining lease was not renewed. This was mainly due to the decisions made by The Sludge Inquiry Board.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Pink Cliffs Hydraulic Gold Sluicing Site: Victorian Heritage Database Report". Heritage Council Victoria. 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Protected Planet | Pink Cliffs G.R." Protected Planet. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Wander Through These Sprawling Pink Cliffs Just 1.5 Hours From Melbourne". www.theurbanlist.com. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ "VicScreen". assetlibrary.vicscreen.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Sheer beauty: 8 spectacular rock formations in Victoria". www.parks.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ Romaneix, Julia. "Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve". Walking Maps. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ Scott, Eleanor (5 November 2019). "Nine Essential Outdoor Adventures to Have Throughout the Bendigo Region". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ Dubecki, Larissa (8 March 2024). "Heathcote: The former goldrush town with pink cliffs and top drops". Domain.com.au. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ "Pink Cliffs Reserve, Attraction, Goldfields, Victoria, Australia". Visit Victoria home. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ "Pink Cliffs". Bendigo Tourism. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ "Heathcote - Historic Attractions". www.heathcote.org.au. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve". https. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "VHD". vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ "Hedley's Water Race: Victorian Heritage Database Report". Heritage Council Victoria. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Randell, John O. (1985). McIvor: a history of the shire and the township of Heathcote. Burwood: [Drucker:] Brown Prior Anderson. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-9588783-0-2.
Category:Victorian Heritage Register Category:Geography of Victoria (state) Category:Tourist attractions in Victoria (state) Category:IUCN Category III