Venus State Battery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Venus State Battery |
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Venus State Battery, 2011
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| Location | MacDonald Street, Millchester, Charters Towers, Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1872 |
| Official name: Venus State Battery, Venus Gold Battery, Venus Mill | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600413 |
| Significant period | 1972-1950s (fabric) 1872-1919, 1919-1975 (historical) |
| Significant components | shed - machinery, battery/crusher/stamper/jaw breaker, forge/blacksmithy, battery shed, chimney/chimney stack, residential accommodation - housing, tailings dump, machinery/plant/equipment - mining/mineral processing, office/s, weir, flue, toilet block/earth closet/water closet, weighbridge/weigh station, workshop, cyanide plant/cyanide vat |
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The Venus State Battery is a very old gold processing plant. It is located on MacDonald Street in Millchester, near Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia. It was built way back in 1872. People also know it as Venus Gold Battery or Venus Mill. This important historical site is protected on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Contents
Discovering the Venus State Battery
The Venus State Battery is a special place. It shows us how gold was processed a long time ago. It is one of the oldest gold processing plants still standing in Queensland. The battery helped miners get gold from rocks. It is a great example of how mining technology changed over time.
A Look Back in Time
The Venus Battery started working in July 1872. It was one of the first gold processing plants in the Charters Towers gold field. Mr. Edmund Harris Thornburgh Plant and Mr. G. Jackson were its first owners. Bricks for the building were even made right there on the site!
When it first opened, the battery had five "stamps." These stamps were like giant hammers that crushed rocks. Soon, more stamps were added. By September 1873, it had 20 stamps! This made it much faster at crushing gold ore.
By 1897, the battery was a big operation. It had 20 stamps and other machines to help find the gold. It was one of 17 such plants in the Charters Towers area. The word "mill" was often used to describe these crushing plants.
Even after the main gold mines closed around 1917, the Venus Battery kept going. It helped smaller miners process their gold. In 1919, the Queensland Government bought the battery. This helped make sure small miners could still use it. Ore even came from far away places like Chillagoe!
The battery changed quite a bit over the years. Around 1907, the number of stamps grew from 20 to 35. The building was made bigger to fit all the new machines. By 1919, it was set up so that different parts could work on their own.
In 1935, only some parts of the battery were still working. There was even talk about moving the whole plant. But it stayed right where it was. A big flood in 1941 caused some damage. Then, during World War II, crushing stopped for a while.
In 1946, electricity was added to the battery. This made it more modern. In the 1950s, the cyanide plant was made bigger. This plant helped get even more gold from the crushed rock. New stamps were even ordered in 1958.
By 1971, the battery was not used much. The Mines Department wanted to save this historic site. In 1975, the National Trust of Queensland took over. They helped protect the Venus State Battery for future generations.
What You Can See There
The Venus State Battery has many old buildings. They are made of timber frames and corrugated iron. Inside, you can see the machines that crushed and processed gold.
The main battery shed holds many things:
- Four ore bins where rocks were stored.
- A rockbreaker that started the crushing process.
- Four stamp batteries, each with five stamps. These are the giant hammers!
- Machines like wilfley tables and berdan pans. They helped separate the gold.
- There's also a forge, a workshop, and an office inside.
You can also see a big brick chimney. The boiler that used to power the machines was removed in 1946. Now, electricity powers the site.
North of the main shed are the cyanide plant sheds. These buildings have:
- Seven agitator vats and other tanks. These were used in the cyanide process to get more gold.
- A gold room where the final gold was collected.
Around the site, you will find:
- Three groups of concrete and brick tanks for waste materials.
- An assay office where gold purity was tested.
- An old toilet and a weighbridge. A weighbridge is used to weigh trucks.
- An old Cornish boiler turned upside down as a water tank.
- A concrete weir on Gladstone Creek. This helped control water for the battery.
- An old house nearby that was part of the battery site.
Some of the old machines still there include:
- A Forward Down grinding pan.
- Several five-head battery frames and mortar boxes. Some were made by Walkers Limited.
- Six Berdan pans.
- Seven cyanide vats.
- A rock breaker.
- Three Wilfley tables.
- The weighbridge.
- The Cornish boiler (now a water tank).
Why the Venus State Battery is Important
The Venus State Battery is a very important historical site in Queensland. It helps us understand how gold mining developed. It is the oldest working battery in Queensland, built in 1872. Even though some parts have been rebuilt, it still shows us how things were done.
This site is special because it's the only complete battery and cyanide plant in the Charters Towers Mining District. Having the battery, cyanide plant, assay office, weighbridge, weir, and cottage all together makes it unique. It also has rare brick chimneys and many stamps. Its machines and layout are still mostly intact. This is rare for mining sites in Australia.
The battery also shows how the government helped small miners. It was owned by the State from the 1920s. This helped many people keep mining. The site also looks beautiful next to Gladstone Creek. It is valued by the local community and the National Trust.
