White Horse Gully Obtained Its Name From A White Horse Whose Hoofs, Whilst The Animal In A Rage Was Plunging Here And There, Flung Up The Surface Ground And Disclosed The Treasures Beneath.

In this gully was found the famous "John Bull Nugget," lately exhibited in London.

The party to whom it belonged consisted of three poor sailors; the one who actually discovered it had only been a fortnight at the diggings. The nugget weighed forty-five pounds, and was only a few inches beneath the surface. It was sold for 5,000 pounds; a good morning's work that!

Let us take a stroll round Forest Creek - what a novel scene! - thousands of human beings engaged in digging, wheeling, carrying, and washing, intermingled with no little grumbling, scolding and swearing. We approach first the old Post-office Square; next our eye glances down Adelaide Gully, and over the Montgomery and White Hills, all pretty well dug up; now we pass the Private Escort Station, and Little Bendigo. At the junction of Forest, Barker, and Campbell Creeks we find the Commissioners' quarters - this is nearly five miles from our starting point. We must now return to Adelaide Gully, and keep alongside Adelaide Creek, till we come to a high range of rocks, which we cross, and then find ourselves near the head-waters of Fryer's Creek. Following that stream towards the Loddon, we pass the interesting neighbourhood of Golden Gully, Moonlight Flat, Windlass and Red Hill; this latter which covers about two acres of ground is so called from the colour of the soil, it was the first found, and is still considered as the richest auriferous spot near Mount Alexander. In the wet season, it was reckoned that on Moonlight Flat one man was daily buried alive from the earth falling into his hole.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 59 of 201
Words from 15723 to 16026 of 53870