Friday, February 24, 2012

GUDGENBY VALLEY LOOKOUT

I hadn't been out to Shanahan's Mountain since the middle of last year and I'm amazed at the undergrowth both saplings and grasses. Shanahan's has a walking trail that offers another great view at the mountain's summit. The walking trail carpark is located on Boboyan Rd. There is also a very modern viewing platform with an outstanding view just before the walking trail looking out over the Gudgenby Valley.

My purpose today was actually to set a trail camera to photograph the Shanahan's Mountain wildlife over the next few weeks but I stopped in to take a little video of the lookout and admire the view. I have also heard that YouTube is purging inactive accounts and I haven't posted a video in a while...


The photographs will be 16 mp resolution and the camera takes IR pictures and video at night. I'm hoping to eventually post some wildlife pictures from the area.

I wouldn't recommend the dirt section of Boboyan road for a standard car in its current condition.Some sections look long overdue a grader.

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

THE BRINDABELLA GOLD FIELDS

If anyone is looking for a place to do a little gold prospecting might I suggest the mighty Goodradigbee in the Brindabella Valley. I'll put a Google map at the end of these articles for anyone wondering where that is. A bit of a trawl through trove brought up a series of references to the wealth of the Brindabella gold fields...

Cautious I would describe the first report in 1864...

Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser - Thursday 13 October 1864


National Library of Australia

Followed by an update a few days later...

Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser - Thursday 20 October 1864


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12 years later the mood dipped a bit...

Queanbeyan Age - Wednesday 10 May 1876


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However 6 years later the area is officially declared a gold field...

Queanbeyan Age (NSW : 1867 - 1904), Tuesday 3 October 1882


National Library of Australia (full description)

An article from the Age entitled Mr. Garvan's visit to Queanbeyan, Mac's Reef and Brindabella. I've cut the Brindabella reference out but the entire article is a good read. Of particular interest is the emergence of a Mr. William Reid in 1888...

Queanbeyan Age - Thursday 29 March 1888



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15 years later and 12 years court proceedings later...

Queanbeyan Age - Saturday 21 March 1903


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Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer - Tuesday 16 August 1921


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Ten years later some casual prospecting produces an ounce out of the river...

The Mercury - Wednesday 8 April 1931


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At least the Canberra Times reported it properly...

The Canberra Times - Wednesday 8 April 1931


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And if you can't poke around the Goodradigbee there's always Paddy's Creek. 83 years after the first article...

The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1954), Thursday 18 September 1947




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Probably only advisable in an AWD or 4WD vehicle the Brindabella Valley and Goodradigbee River are accessible by Brindabella Road via Piccadilly Circus. (winding, steep, narrow, not often graded, dirt roads). The views are impressive...

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History lost through lack of funding

  The following ABC article laments the possible loss of many historical audio visual records that are waiting for digitising into modern fo...

  • THE BRINDABELLA GOLD FIELDS
    If anyone is looking for a place to do a little gold prospecting might I suggest the mighty Goodradigbee in the Brindabella Valley. I'll...
  • Common Brushtail Possum Skull
    Found by my son whilst hiking in the Brindabellas was this small skull. What I thought was interesting was the remaining canine evident. At...
  • HILL STATION HOMESTEAD
    Located in the Canberra industrial suburb of Hume is Hill Station Homestead. The main homestead building of Hill station dates back to cir...
  • CANBERRA'S CAVES
    A little known fact is that Canberra is built on the top of numerous limestone caves... In 1821 Charles Throsby (1777 - 1828) (bio here ) ...
  • The Aboriginal Killing of a 'hairy man' at the Yass and Murrumbidgee Rivers
    The depicted image is of a 1790 woodcut from Sydney Cove. There are a lot of reports with Australian Gorillas, yahoos, hairy men and ...
  • History lost through lack of funding
      The following ABC article laments the possible loss of many historical audio visual records that are waiting for digitising into modern fo...
  • MOUNT TENNENT SCAR
    I stopped today to take a few pictures of the 'scar' on Mount Tennent ( Or Mount Tennant if your thinking about the bushranger ) I ...