Temoras Gold Rush Days
Last modified: July 4, 2007 - 2:07 PM
Although already supporting a flourishing pastoral community by the 1860's, the township of Temora was not "established" until the gold rush of 1879, a decade after gold was first discovered. In the 1880's at the peak of the rush, Temora had a population of 20.000. In 1881 the highest yield from the Temora field was attained; an Impressive 35,228oz.
In more recent times, gold mining occurred at the Paragon Gold Mine at Gidginbung, 12 km north of the town, from 1986 to 1996. At the time is was the largest open cut gold mine in operation in NSW. Although there is little evidence of the old mines, the Mother Shipton mine, located off Moroney's Lane, is a site well worth visiting. Gold mining took place at Reefton, Springdale, Combaning and Sebastapol as well as at Gidginbung and Temora. In the early 1880's Temora was the scene of a massive gold rush with some 20,000 miners and hopefuls descending on the field. Numerous large gold nuggets were unearthed over a period of several years and there were some who did very well. Others were less fortunate and had great difficulty in surviving. The Mother Shipton Nugget
The most spectacular find was the Mother Shipton Nugget won from the Mother Shipton Mine which is still one of the historic reminders of Temora's golden era. The nugget, which broke into three parts, as it was dug out, weighed in at 308.35 ounces. In 1882 the nugget was valued at 4,300 pounds ($8300). There is a replica of the nugget at the Temora Rural Museum. The smallest piece of the nugget was presented to Queen Victoria and the largest section was displayed in the window of the Orient Steamship Co. in London. While there the premises were broken into and the nugget was stolen and never recovered.
Contact details
Temora Shire Council
02 6980 1100 (ph)
02 6980 1138 (fax)
temshire@temora.nsw.gov.au
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