These days there is open cut mining as well. Shows just how far the old miners had to dig down before reaching the opal layer where the precious opal may or may not be found.
We passed through Bakers Swamp without noticing anything. Then reached our last dot on the map for this trip - Larras Lee and saw this. The roadside monument says: In Memory of WILLIAM LEE (1794 - 1870) of "Larras Lake" a pioneer of the sheep and cattle industry and first member for Roxburgh under responsible government (1856 - 1859). This stone was erected by his descendants. --- 1938 --- This is a repost from a few days ago. Thinking I would use this for this week’s Taphophile Tragics post I dug a little further into William Lee’s story, it’s a very colonial Australian one. William was born of convict parents, living his childhood years around the Sydney region. In his early 20s he was issued with some government cattle, recommended as a suitable settler and granted 134 acres at Kelso near Bathurst. He was one of the first in the area and did well. A few years later he was granted a ram and an inc...
I am assuming this is done with a mechanical digger of some sort. There does not seem to be any requirement that they restore the land after exhausting their dig ...
ReplyDeleteYes definitely done with mechanical diggers - by the big guys rather than the little time miners And I believe there is a requirement to restore the land after open cut mining.
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