These lodes run north through Ballarat to Creswick and south to Mount Mercer, about 30 miles. Only about five miles have been worked.

These lodes were cut in the early alluvial mines in the 1860's, but only scratched where they outcropped into the wash dirt. They never had time to explore them fully. It was 'get the wash dirt out before we are washed out'. They reported cutting quartz formations carrying gold.

The Prince of Wales was the only alluvial show to have a good go at the quartz. It was not until the 1880's that the quartz mines blossomed, being the result of the Band and Albion Company cutting the rich Consols Lode, named in the 1860's "The Township Reef".

The lode systems under Sebastopol have laminated stone on their footwalls and cloud like stone on the hanging wall side of each make of stone. The sedimentary rocks are known as "lower Silurian". The word Silurian comes from the name of a rock in Wales, settled way back in times past by a tribe of people called Silures.

On the Consols Lode can be found the shafts of the Star of the East No. 1; South Star; Picton; Morgans; Gay-Star; Gays Band; Owens Freehold; Sebastopol Star and the Long Tunnel at Magpie Gully which was the most southerly shaft on the line, owned by George Lansell of Bendigo fame, but at 700 feet too shallow as the lode was pitching well underfoot. George Lansell was seen many times on his way to this mine, coming from the Ballarat Railway Station by horse drawn cab. On the , return journey he always walked the six miles to Ballarat to Catch the early morning train back home.

On the Guiding Star Lode was the Guiding Star, an early alluvial shaft on the Green Hill Lead. They took rich stone, 1600 ozs from 600 tons off the cap of the lode sticking up in the alluvial workings. The shafts on the line going south were the Star of the East No. 2; Central Plateau; Sebastopol Plateau; South Plateau; The Prince of Wales and Bonshaw. All the northern and central mines put their drives out west to cut the Albion or Bonshaw lode.

The Star of the East No. 1 started sinking in 1880 under manager Captain Hicks. They worked for two years driving and sinking, just making a go of it. Things were at a low ebb. Then, in 1882, they applied for a Government grant and received £400 to keep going.

On May 14, 1884, the mine closed down owing to the non-payment of calls.12,O00 new shares were struck at £1 a share, so they started bailing water again. In August 1886, they cut the Guiding Star Lode 1,800 feet west at the 660 feet level. The first crushing went just over an ounce to the ton.

In 1888, the Consols Lode was cut, working on "good shoots of gold" (this expression always referred to stone carrying good gold over a certain length of a lode as a shoot). From then, they never looked back.

The sill of the shaft was 1,380 feet above sea level - all levels at Sebastopol being taken at high-water mark at Hobsons Bay The strata sunk through ten feet of surface soil, 31 feet of basalt, nine feet of clay and only 50 feet to bedrock, thus missing the huge depth of basaltic rock the other mines had to contend with. Their No. 2 shaft was almost in a direct line - 1,650 feet west on the Guiding Star Line. Sinking began in September 1886. The sill of the shaft was 1,388 feet above sea level, sinking through 75 feet of first basaltic rock, 95 feet of second, 48 feet of third rock, and 51 feet of drift sand.

The Guiding Star Lode was cut with good shoots of gold being met on different levels. The lode was 70feet wide it being more like a bulge which occured frequently on this lode. The centres of a bulge were usually very rich, besides the foot wall gold. To open the stone more quickly, the old abandoned Guiding Star alluvial shaft was deepened to meet the drives coming north from the No. 2. They had quite a job finding this old shaft for in only a few years it had fallen in without trace. Yet the mullock heap was still there as a guide.

The quartz from the shaft was carried in side tipping trucks by a tramway, collecting trucks from No.2 shaft en route to No 1 half-a-mile away to the largest battery in the district. A staff of 40 men looked after 80 stamp heads under the one roof and 20 in another. There were six Cornish flue boilers supplying steam to the batteries. The winding engine had a twenty four inch double cylinder. They were able to crush great quantities of low grade stone at a profit. Many of the crushings however were far from low grade. A crushing of 2,966 tons from the 660 feet fever on the Guiding Star Lode yielded 4,672 ozs.

At No. 2 shaft, the volume of water from the alluvial was kept in check by a 70 horse-power Cornish beam engine, mounted in a three storey brick building about 40 feet tall, working at 50 lbs pressure from a Cornish boiler - the majority of boilers on these quartz mines were Cornish flue or Lancashire double flue with a sprinkling of galloway tube.

Water pumped from the 2,000 feet level came out of the shaft in a pretty hot state and was channeled into the Guiding Star dam where you could always find a number of boys enjoying the warm waters.

The water load in motion at each stroke would be near forty tons, plus the weight of the moving shaft rods bolted together by massive iron plates. The total weight is hard to calculate, however this would put a terrific strain on the beam or bob in the top floor of the pumping house. The saving grace would be that it was off set with a couple of balance bobs in chambers blasted out of the rock in the shaft.

Heat increased in the mine one degree fahr. to every 50 feet starting at 50 degrees.

No. 3 shaft, west on the Albion Lode became a holding shaft after being swamped out. To secure the ground from being jumped by other companies a notice was posted at the mouth of the shaft "reason heavy flow of water". An exemption from working was then obtained.

The No. 4 shaft was a real fluke. The ground on the flat near No.1 shaft had been let to a party to sink on the shallow alluvial and by chance struck the cap of a reef carrying good gold. Needless to say, the company claimed the reef, a spur, running up through the country from the Consols Lode. These spurs ran from the hanging wall and footwall of a lode to hundreds of feet in length. Most of them were rich in gold, especially when they joined to a lode.

No.1 and No.2 shafts closed down in 1910 es the water in the old abandoned alluvial mines over head was increasing in pressure, the former to a depth of 2,280 feet and No.2 at 2,260 feet.

This company was the pride of the quartz mines on Sebastopol. They crushed from 1886 to 1910, 508,539 tons of quartz for a yield of 256,758 ozs seventeen pennyweights of gold, worth £1,509,131 at £4 an ounce was re-covered.

Dividends paid totalled £284,400 - a good retu rn for an outlay of £21,000.

It cost the company £30,000 in royalties to owners of houses on land held by miners rights within the boundaries of their lease. The son of Captain Hicks, Thomas, was secretary of the mine for 23 years. Other managers were Robert Stephenson, Zill Dawe and Thomas Proctor.

An engine driver George Wilson had a record of 21 years service. In full production, the mine employed 400 men.

The South Star Company started to sink on September 29, 1886, to seek out the Consols and Guiding Star Lodes. At 238 feet they broke into the old St George Company alluvial workings well up on the high reef. This mine had been water logged for many years.

The water quickly rose 50 feet up the shaft. Every effort was made to lower the water without success, so a new shaft got under way in 1887.

In 1902, after the mines in the north and their own had drained the high reef, they had another go at bailing the first shaft and had the water under control when a burst of water from the deep alluvial swamped them again. Despite all the pumping, the water level could not be lowered one inch. The water pumped out was estimated to cover an area one square mile, 12 feet deep.

If the early alluvial managers had not been so cagey with their underground plans, this would not have happened.

John James of the famous Great Redan Extended was a manager, and the shaft quickly went down from level to level to a depth of 3,170 feet, or about 1,700 feet below sea level. The first level opened out at 720 feet, to keep 320 feet below the alluvial, which was a safe margin to work.

From the 2,000 to 3,000 feet levels, the miners suffered from the excessive heat as the cross cuts pushed out east and west, working on the three lodes. When the miners connected one level with another, from the lower level, the opening was called a 'rise' and when from the top to the lower, it was called a 'wince'.

180 men worked under ground in three shifts. Some of the stopes on the Guiding Star Lode were 30 feet wide.

The first stone was carted by drays to the Star of the East Battery, before they put in a battery of 60 heads of stampers.

The sand ran a quarter of a mile to the west bank of the Yarrowee River and treated by cyanide for the fine gold. At the least 100,000 tons of sand was discharged into the river.

The South Star Company had to give way to the rising waters, and ceased operations in 1908 after crushing 133,000 tons of quartz for approximately 65,000 ozs of gold worth ~68,950. The huge dump of mullock is now a part of the bank at the White Swan Reservoir. All that remains of the mine are the office buildings and part of the battery foundations Some of the managers were John James, David Hughes, George Fitches and William Emery. The house built by the company for its first Manager is still with us.

The Central Plateau company started sinking in 1887 on the Guiding Star Lode.

They sank through 216 feet of bluestone to a depth of 1,087 feet. All quartz was crushed at The Star of the East till the year 1901 when they put in a 20 head iron frame battery after cutting a good shoot of gold.

One crushing gave a return of 4,009 ozs from 4,391 tons.

Two men working in a rise cut a spur formation showing gold. They covered it up, hoping to work it later on tribute, but revealed it to the company during a lean period which helped to pay wages for some time.

A drain on the company was the paying of royalties to land owners within their lease. This money should have been used exploring underground.

Today surface damage per acre is the rule. In 1908, when the South Star ceased pumping, they had to call it a day due to the rising waters, although the lode lived below 2,000 feet. In September of the same year, they sank a No.2 shaft, roughly a mile west on the Albion Lode, the sill of the shaft being 1,385 feet above sea level. They built a solid bluestone foundation for a 20 head iron frame battery.

The shaft was only 900 feet deep when the mine closed down in 1918 after crushing 87,000 tons from the two shafts, for a yield of 34,789 ozs.

Some of the managers were M Rickard, H Bridson, N Williams, W Emery.

With the closing of this mine, the golden era lasting 63 years had ended. To many it was a time of thankfulness, that the cares, the worries and the broken health associated with the mining in those days had ceased.

The Sebastopol Plateau Company No.1 was established a good mile south of the Central. Their first shaft was swamped in the f i rst rock in 1886. The sill Of the second shaft was 1,335 feet above sea level, bedroc k being found at 92 feet. The best gold this company won was at the 288 feet level u nder the old Phoenix Alluvial M ine. This was a small spur from 18,000 tons. They were rewarded by 12,000 ozs. It was chased up till they broke into the old alluvial workings.

At this time, a 30 head battery was in operation. The mine worked to a depth of 1,100 feet.

The Albion Lode was 1,320 feet west of the shaft. It was not reckoned a good show, being abandoned in 1915 for a return of approximately £48,000.

Some of the managers were R Jeffrey, M Hopkins, R Dalzell-and J Carey.

This ground would be a good locality for any future mining to sink a safe main shaft, around 5,000 feet to have a go at the Albion and Consols Lodes.

The South Plateau Company was a ¼ mile further south.

A ten head battery did most of its work, crushing wash dirt from the old Lord Raglan Lead with poor results. The South Star Company took over and called it the South Star Extended No. 2 and used it to sell shares.

The Prince of Wales and Bonshaw Company was the last on the Guiding Star Lode situated 200 yards north of the Portland Bay Road and 200 yards west of the Sebastopol, Buninyong, Road.

They erected a pumping and winding plant to operate to a depth of 3,000 feet. At a time when shares could be taken at; sixpence, a body of stone was cut 20 feet from wall to wall, carrying a good shoot of gold. Crushing proved it a rich reef. -. Shares quickly bounded away to pounds in value.

A forty head battery was quickly erected. Good shoots of gold were crushed on and off for a number of years. At one stage, they had a rise up under the old Prince of Wales alluvial workings, which were water-logged. This shoot was too good to let go, but they soon passed the safety margin, and the rush of water from the alluvial drove them out.

The mine ceased working in 1904, winning gold to>.4'' approximately £60,000 under the management of Andrew: Jenkin.

All the quartz mines expended much time and money searching for lodes, only to be suddenly cut off by breaks. These were small and large cross-courses or faults.

The Prince of Wales company drove 1,050 feet on a body of stone without a break in it, which was unique.

One night at the Plateau No. 1, a man on the brace wanted a' piece of quartz showing gold. The miners were to mark Oneida corner of a truck holding his specimen with an "X".

He had a busy night, as every truck arriving on the brace had an "X" on it.

In the same mine, a party of ladies were shown the underground workings. One lady became very alarmed when confronted by a door with a danger sign on it. Amid much giggling, she was informed it was the toilet.

In July 1858 The Danish Company on the White Horse Range worked on a quartz lode. Their first method of extracting gold was by way of calcining (burn to powder). The quartz was put on a bed of firewood logs two deep with side walls. In the centre crossed logs were built up forming a chimney ten or . more feet. On the bed and around the chimney the quartz was piled cone shaped to the chimney top. Fire was then dropped down the chimney, the walls slowly igniting during the process of combustion and reducing to powder. This was then treated in a machine on the White Flat, Ballarat for the extraction of gold.

A nerve racking experience probably confronted by most miners in the early quartz mines was that of having to climb up the ladders from a thousand feet or more straight up after a tiring shift below. Nothing was between them and the water far below in the well.

The climb was often due to an engine failure of a jammed cage in the shaft where a stick of timber had come away. In some districts they referred to this trial as walking up a shaft. It was tough going on the not so young miners, but they had a reserve stamina and the nerve to make a trip up.

After some years a safety measure was adopted. The ladders went down the walls of the shaft on an incline to a solid staging, where one walked around to the back of the leaning ladder lifting up a trap door shaped like a toilet seat and cover then on to the next section of ladder-way.

I have often been asked the following questions:
1) Why was the alluvial gold under the Sebastopol plateau, and where did it come from?
2) Why are the terms "Leads", and "Gullies", and "Runs" used?
3) Why does the plateau end so abruptly at the Yarrowee Creek?

I offer the following as my contribution to this debate.

When gold was first discovered in 1851, the area worked was on the eastern range of Ballarat, which was to be known as the White Horse Ranges.

During the formation of the earth's crust all this area was bedrock or sandstone without any topsoil whatsoever. This bedrock was interspersed with hundreds of quartz reefs. It would also appear the bedrock was much softer than it is today.

Over a period of millions of year through the action of torrential rain and wind, the bedrock was worn down, loosening the gold from the reefs and washing the residue down the slopes through canyons and gorges which had been cut into the bedrock. All these canyons and gorges, generally went in a westerly direction, each and every one gradually joining together, to form one canyon which turned and went south. It was later traced and mined as far south east as Bannockburn.

This canyon later became known as the famous Golden Point Lead or Gutter.

A good illustration of this scene is the Grand Canyon of Colorado USA. A million or so years ago the area of Ballarat West, Sebastopol and beyond would have looked exactly the same only on a miniature scale.

Leads and Gutters were names given to the canyons. When these were first discovered on the top of the White Horse Range, they were only a few feet deep. As they led the early miners along their course so they became Leads.

As the Leads became deeper they were referred to as: Gutters.

Runs were so named as a result of a run of gold being discovered in a shallow lead, and then following it along its entire length.

It has always been the theory from geologists and early mining experts, that the Plateau was very much higher than it is. today, but when the great volcanic action and lava flow took place, the lava ran up against this range. After many thousands of years this range has been worn away and remains as it is today.

In my opinion this is not so, because of the following reasons.

Firstly, the leads, as they went under the plateau, were already at a great depth. I quote the Frenchman's Lead as an example. Where this lead crossed the Yarrowee Creek it was at a depth of 130 feet which means it was there before the great lava flows.

Secondly, if this range had been worn and washed away then all the gold would have been along the course of the Yarrowee Creek, making it the richest gold producing creek in the world. This was not the case.

Thirdly, why did the lava flow end so abruptly? If a modern cement carrying truck were to empty its contents on a slightly sloping surface the cement would run a certain distance and stop, leaving a high wall of cement at its extremities. The flow of lava would do exactly the same, while each succeeding flow would stop at the same place.