Prospecting for gold at Ararat
Jim Foster tells you where to go (in a nice way) and what to expect when you get there.
MCDONALD PARK
This is one of the easiest spots to find and is right on the edge of town. Thousands of nuggets have been found in the park over the years. The biggest nugget I know of that came from the park was 10oz while the biggest nugget I have actually seen weighed 4oz from just outside the park boundary on the lower slopes of Bridal Hill. My biggest was 24 grams but there were a lot of smaller bits in my bag as well.
To find McDonald Park take the Adelaide Road out of Ararat for about 3.5 to 4km from the post office and you will see a track going into the bush on your left. There is a large parking bay/rest area on your right so you can’t miss it. I don’t need to direct you to any particular spot here as the entire park has gold scattered around. The main gullies have old diggings but it is the unturned ground that is the best prospect these days. Map co-ordinates are 37. 15. 02. S. 142. 54. 39. E.
BRIDAL HILL
Camping is not allowed in MacDonald Park but there is a good camping area at Bridal Hill. A few hundred metres before you get to the McDonald Park turnoff there is another track leading up to Bridal Hill. It is the first turnoff past the last house on the left before McDonald Park.
The Quarry at the top has been revegetated but like McDonald Park, this entire hill is good prospecting ground. Map co-ordinates are 37. 15. 16. S. 142. 54. 35.
OTHER LOCATIONS
McDonald Park is part of the Ararat Regional Hills Park. The entire park has gold on it to a greater or lesser degree. McDonald Park and Bridal Hill were probably the richest but there are many other good areas in the Regional Park as well.
On the northern boundary of McDonald Park there is a gravel road, Majors Road. Take this road just past the northern boundary of McDonald Park and you will see a small white hill on your left. Many nuggets have been detected on this hill and surrounding ground and a new model detector/coil combination is almost certain to turn up more gold. Running right alongside the road on the side opposite McDonald Park is a gold-bearing gully with diggings along it. This gully has a good deal of rubbish in it but some good gold has been found there by the handful of people patient enough to put up with the trash.
Back near the highway across from McDonald Park, a track can be seen turning into the bush just above the power lines. This track will lead you into numerous diggings and gullies where you are likely to find gold. Following the track right through may be impossible during the winter unless you have a 4x4 as the one big gully you have to cross gets very slippery when wet. If you do follow it through, it brings you out at Petticoat Gully. If you aren’t driving a 4x4, drive further up the gravel road until you find a road going off to the right. This road is a bit narrow and winding but you won’t get stuck on it.
In 1857, a party of Chinese miners en route to the Central Victorian gold fields, struck gold at the Canton Lead. This marked the beginning of a settlement that took its name from Mount Ararat, 10 kilometres south-west of the town. Ararat is the only city in Australia to be founded by Chinese people and it boomed until the start of the 19th century, after which its population dwindled. Today it is home to some12,000 people in the town and surrounding areas
PETTICOAT GULLY
This spot can be found at map co-ordinates 37.13.52. S. 142. 53. 17. E. The other option is to drive along the highway for about 3km past McDonald Park until you see the sign posted turnoff on your left at map co-ordinates 37. 13. 39. S. 142. 53. 34. E.
The slope above the gully is your best prospect as many small, and some larger, nuggets have been detected here. Across the road is a hill with some tempting diggings running down the face but do not enter here without permission as the owner can get a bit snarly if you do. Most of the gold I have found here was on the new ground, not the diggings.
ARMSTRONG
This is another large area but a fair bit of it is privately owned. Despite this, it is always worth asking for permission. A way I always made myself welcome was to give the landowner a bit of the gold off his land, assuming you find some. Most are thrilled to get a bit of gold and I always carried a few little display pods to put the gold in for them.
EAGLEHAWK GULLY
To find this gully continue on past the Petticoat Gully turnoff for about 1.5km to the Eaglehawk road. Follow this until you come to the end. The country along the creek is public land. You can walk up the creek and up the hill to Murphy’s Hill or take the other track in from Armstrong Road. Back toward the highway you will see a house next to the road. If you ask at the house and gain permission to enter, you will find a good many diggings over the rise on private land. I found a fair few nuggets on these working with VLF machines but have never been back with a pulse induction (PI) detector. And by walking up the creek you can enter the public land section of Hospital Hill where good gold can also be found.
Hospital hill can also be entered from the highway by asking at the nearest house opposite where Thomas Road enters the highway. I did well on Hospital Hill many years ago with VLF machines but haven’t been back with a PI.
MURPHY’S HILL DIGGINGS
Continue only a little way past Eaglehawk Road and take the next left into Garden Gully/Armstrong Road. Continue over the bridge and take the next left, Westgate Road. Immediately turn left onto the track that crosses the creek. The creek up along Westgate Road has diggings for a fair way and the slopes have also produced a great many nuggets for detector operators over the years, and will continue to do so.
Taking the left-hand track once you’re over the creek will take you up to some good areas where you have an excellent chance of finding gold. Taking the right-hand track brings you to the Hard Hill workings after passing through more good areas.
Back on Westgate Road drive a short way up the hill and take the first road on your right. This track leads into the public land area next to Hard Hill. There are many diggings here in the main gully to keep you busy and you can also camp here. Hard Hill itself is on private land and you must ask permission to enter. Do not sneak over the back fence! Map co-ordinates are 37. 12. 43. S. 142. 52. 09. E.
HARD HILL
Hard Hill was a particularly rich hill with nearly every face producing gold. The biggest nugget I know of from around this hill was a 10-ouncer from low down the eastern slope just above the road.
If you’re lucky enough to get permission to detect you will see some marvellous examples of Chinese diggings. These are perfectly round shafts that still look as if they were dug only a few years ago. There are also some nice examples of how the old- timers tunnelled in under the conglomerate capping near the fence on the southern side of the hill. Under no circumstances try entering these drives and shafts.
As you leave Westgate Road and negotiate the track into Crown Land, you will notice the track splits to the right as well as continuing straight ahead. If you go straight ahead over the gully you will see another track cutting off to your right below a fence line.
The entire slope below this fence is well worth detecting until you come to a small surface patch, and then the fence-line where the track ends. A patch of nuggets amounting to about 14oz was once found just below the beginning of this fence-line. Map co-ordinates 37. 11. 36. S. 142. 51. 52. E.
Ararat’s main goldfields have produced a great deal of gold to detector operators and will continue to do so for many years. Using maps of the area around Ararat makes it easy to find all the spots mentioned here but the areas suggested are merely starting points to enable you to find more of the many good prospecting areas around Ararat.
I suggest maps: Vicmap 1:250,000 Topographical Stawell South. This map covers Ararat’s McDonald Park north to Great Western and west to Moyston but not far enough north west to cover Londonderry. For coverage of Londonderry (Jallukar) you will need Vicmap 1:250,000 Topo map Bellellen.
Using Google Earth in conjunction with the above maps will further enhance your ability to find gold around Ararat. A good camping spot is Greenhill Lake a few kilometres out of town on the Ballarat Road. A small fee is payable but it is worth it to have running water and flushing toilets.