Kingsborough Battery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kingsborough Battery |
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Kingsborough Battery, 2009
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| Location | Off the former East Street (now Kingsborough-Thornborough Road), Kingsborough, Thornborough, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | c. 1896 - 1990s |
| Official name: Kingsborough Battery | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600682 |
| Significant period | 1870s-1990s (fabric) 1896-c. 1908 (historical) |
| Significant components | chimney/chimney stack, tank - storage, battery shed, machinery/plant/equipment - mining/mineral processing, battery/crusher/stamper/jaw breaker |
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The Kingsborough Battery is a special old mining building in Queensland, Australia. It's located near the towns of Kingsborough and Thornborough. This site is important because it shows us how gold was processed a long time ago.
The battery was first built around 1896. Later, in the 1990s, it was put back together using parts from other old machines. Today, it's listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it's a protected historical site.
Contents
The Hodgkinson Goldfield
The Kingsborough Battery is found in an area once known as the Hodgkinson goldfield. This goldfield was officially opened on June 15, 1876. Gold was first found here by James Venture Mulligan earlier that year.
Unlike some other goldfields, the Hodgkinson area didn't have much easy-to-find gold in rivers or streams (called alluvial gold). Instead, most of the gold was hidden in rocks, which miners called "reefs." This meant miners needed special machines to crush the hard rock and get the gold out.
The main mining towns in this area were Kingsborough, Thornborough, and Northcote. Even though people hoped for a lot of gold, the Hodgkinson goldfield didn't produce as much as expected. By 1909, it was joined with the bigger Chillagoe Gold and Mineral field.
Early Days of the Goldfield
When the government first arrived in the Hodgkinson area in April 1876, over 2,000 miners were already there. Many of them had come from another goldfield, the Palmer. However, they were disappointed by the lack of easy gold in the Hodgkinson. Many soon left.
Despite the early struggles, the Hodgkinson became known for its reef gold. Over 100,000 ounces of gold were produced from gravel and reefs by 1877. More crushing machines were brought in from other goldfields. These machines were set up in places like Kingsborough and Thornborough.
Within a year of gold being discovered, eight crushing machines were working in the Hodgkinson. Towns quickly grew up near the main gold reefs. Kingsborough and Thornborough became the biggest settlements.
Life in Kingsborough
By mid-1877, Kingsborough (then called Kingston) had a population of 1,100 people. It was a busy town with many shops, butchers, and pubs. There was even a lemonade factory, a chemist, and a baker. The town also had its own gold-crushing machine called the Vulcan battery.
A small dam was built across Caledonia Creek to make sure there was enough water for the steam-powered crushing machines. However, by 1886, the population of Kingsborough had dropped to just 50 people. The Vulcan battery was moved to another location in 1895.
The Reconstruction Battery
In 1896, new gold discoveries near Kingsborough brought fresh excitement. This led to a new crushing machine being built, known as the Reconstruction battery. It was also called the Rowan battery, after the family who put it together. A special plant was also built to use cyanide, a chemical process to get more gold from the crushed rock.
The Reconstruction battery had actually been used before, under the name "Good Hope battery," and was moved from another area. A major mine called the General Grant Mine was a big focus for this renewed interest in the Hodgkinson.
In August 1901, the Reconstruction battery had to stop working for four months. This was because of a drought, which meant there wasn't enough water. Also, an old boiler had a leak and needed to be replaced. This caused mines like the General Grant to temporarily lay off workers.
By 1904, many people in the Hodgkinson area started working in the wolfram industry. Wolfram is another valuable mineral. Gold mining in the Hodgkinson area slowly faded away. It's thought that the Reconstruction battery stopped working around 1908.
Photos from 1979 show that the Reconstruction battery had completely fallen apart, with only the brick chimney still standing. Any useful metal, like corrugated iron, was moved to Thornborough in the late 1970s. The site was left empty by 1980.
Rebuilding the Battery
In the early 1990s, the current caretaker of the site decided to rebuild the battery. It had been damaged by vandals and was in pieces. The rebuilding involved a lot of work. An earth ramp was built, and pieces of the 5-head stamper battery were welded back together. A jaw crusher was brought in from another town, and the old steam boiler was put back up. A new shed made of corrugated iron was built over the battery.
Even though it was rebuilt, the battery wasn't actually used for crushing minerals. Today, the caretaker uses the site to store machinery and spare parts.
What the Kingsborough Battery Looks Like
The Kingsborough Battery is located about 30 kilometers north of Dimbulah. You can get there by going through Thornborough. The old town of Kingsborough is now mostly abandoned, except for one person who lives near the battery. The battery itself is in the garden of a fenced area, close to their house, right by Caledonia Creek.
The site has several parts:
- A 5-head stamp battery: This is the main machine for crushing rock. It has five heavy metal "stamps" that pound the ore. It's marked "Langland's Foundry Co. Ltd Melbourne 1882."
- A boiler and engine: These machines would have created steam to power the stamper. The boiler is marked "Gold Medal Paris 1876."
- A jaw crusher: This machine crushes larger rocks into smaller pieces before they go into the stamper.
- A double brick chimney: This tall chimney would have been part of the steam engine's system.
- Corrugated iron tanks: These tanks would have stored water.
- An earth ramp: This ramp leads up to the stamper, likely for loading ore.
- A corrugated iron shed: This shed, made from salvaged materials, covers some of the machinery. The floor inside is concrete.
The timber part of the hopper (where ore would be fed into the crusher) has completely fallen apart. You can also see signs of termites inside the shed.
The area around the battery is dry and covered in tough, woody plants (sclerophyll forest). There are also some gardens near the nearby house.
Why Kingsborough Battery is Important
The Kingsborough Battery is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it meets certain important rules.
It shows how Queensland's history unfolded. This place is important because it helps us understand the story of mining in north Queensland. It shows how gold mining grew and then declined. It also shows how old equipment was reused for new mining projects in remote areas.
It shows what a gold processing site looks like. The Kingsborough Battery has the main features you would expect to see at a place where gold ore was processed. These include the 5-head stamper battery, the corrugated iron shed, and the nearby double brick chimney.
