Has anyone been prospecting at Nundel NSW

We are at the Tamworth music festival great place & plenty to see we were wondering if any one has had any luck prospecting at Nundel we are on our way back to WA again until the end of the year North of Coolgardie Lloyd & Chris

Howdy
I havent been detecting at Nundle yet, but I will tho .... my view is anywhere that any alluvial gold is, is worth a try, nothing to lose and whole lot to gain ... might be the way to go ey

maybe we all should start thinking outside the square

Was at Nundle before xmas. Lots of big brown snakes and tall grass made for not worth it for me. Others may be keener. Also only a few set aside areas where prospectors welcome. Not to sure about hanging rock though. Nice spot at chaffey dam for camping.

I had a go there not long ago as well and didn't have any luck. I was told that around around the Hanging Rock area was the best spot to try with a detector. I only had a go for a couple of days and moved on because the rain at that time was really interfering with the detecting. I am planning on giving it another good go. If anyone has any tips for that area they would be appreciated.

Nuggets

Gold Fossickers panning at Nundle...



I thought I'd leave it to someone else to contribute but I see there's not too many replies.

Yes, there's gold to be found at Nundle although the subject is a polarized one for the locals. The locals seem to discourage the use of any motorized sluices... I spoke to them about this and they claim it's a council decision although council says they only adhere to state fossicking legislation (which allows for powered sluices). So when you get down to it, they're really trying to make the little town as quiet and peaceful as they can. Now the town of Nundle has a population of approximately 270. It has given up some nice multi-ounce nuggets over the years but is known by those who frequent the area to be lucrative for sluice users. Nundle is part of The Fossicker's Way and is situated close to Tamworth, the home of Australian Country Music. The Nundle cemetery was first surveyed in 1869 and there is now recognition for the many Chinese who died at Nundle during the Gold Rush of the 1800s, many of whom lie buried in unmarked graves. Their names are recorded on a brass plaque at the town Court House. Visitors can find a collection of precious Gems and Minerals housed in the Nundle Visitor Information Center located in the grounds the Nundle Fossickers Tourist Park. Visitors can view, handle and purchase mineral and fossil specimens from Riverglen Cottages. The heritage around Nundle extends beyond just fossicking as the village itself has a number of historic characteristics. The Nundle Woollen Mill provides visitors with the opportunity to see how wool is spun into yarn with the use of working machinery that dates back to the early 1900’s.. Mount Misery Mine Cafe will supply you with gold pans and other accessories for fossicking.

The largest piece of gold found there in recent years was found on the road at Hanging Rock by a boy and weighed several ounces. HOWEVER, this nugget had fallen from a truck carrying soil from a small quarry right near the town. The locals identified it by the fact that the soil did not resemble that from the Hanging Rock area. Due to a LARGE amount of illegal hunting that has taken place in the area as well as over a hundred years of lawful hunting, there's a lot of bullets in the area there, including (and especially) in the Nundle State Forest which is located towards the North-East of the town. If you can get past the ammo lying about, there's a LOT of interesting minerals that are of interest to collectors in the region. Some serious lapidary club members tend to descend on the area during dryer spells. In the wet weather, the area off-road is prone to bogging vehicles so a 4x4 is necessary in some of the remote areas.


Nundle Minerals as collected by a day tripper. There are much more interesting ones that these to be found there.

The town has a river running pretty much North to South and at the North of the river is a patch of crown land that attracts a LOT of attention because it is from this direction that a lot of gold washes down stream. But this crown land is now land-locked in private property. And the owner of this property (we'll call him Nundle Guy) hates prospectors and has been waging an ongoing war against prospectors visiting the town for quite a while now - along with his two sons. He himself was not a local but married the property owner long ago and she has since passed away.


The only problem with Nundle... Nundle Guy:
I was told that back some years ago, there was a flood that took place there and water swept downstream into the Caravan Park located there (Nundle is on a flood plain) and swept some people away. The guy living up at the Bowling Alley awoke to certain local club members tearing up his yard grass looking for gold. And yes, there was gold there... wheat grain sized pieces that were clumped at the base of the grass after the flood washed it there.... and the people collecting it found about six ounces apiece in a few hours if reports are to be believed (and I've spoken to one of those involved). They also allegedly cut some of his fencing wire to better access the area. With the tragedy in town, the property owner was incensed that these city-folk has decided to rip up his yard and let out his animals in the process. This is said to have been the cause for his bad behavior and ill-will towards prospectors ever since. But the lengths he has gone to to threaten, intimidate, harass and blockade prospectors to this day is beyond overkill. Meanwhile, he had called police on those who have wandered upstream on the traveling stock routes and felled logs over the public-access roads leading towards his property. Two people I know personally have been confronted by him and threatened with a firearm at one time or another. Others have been driven off whilst simply panning in an area the local town maps indicated were designated fossicking areas. Why is he still there? Rumors abound but several such rumors suggest that he has political clout in the region and that council and possibly even the police are under his direct influence and that he has clearly spent a lot of his idle time researching his rights as a land holder... solely for the purpose of battling the prospectors that visit the region.

In recent days, one chap was determined to stir the man up and has taken the time to set fire to the logs that Nundle Guy had presumably dropped over the road (he told Nundle Guy that he was simply "clearing an obstruction on a public access road") whilst using the warmth to cook his breakfast one morning. Nundle Guy left him alone after two confrontations as he had brought maps with him and took great glee in pointing out his rights to the local douche. He stuck it out for a few months and won some of the gold shown in the picture below (plus more). Nundle Guy is located at Bowling Alley Point (where there was a bowling alley back in the late 1800s, to early 1900s would you believe) and whilst his property encompasses one part of the crown land there, the only way in is via the river/creek. Unfortunately he has a habit of reminding interlopers that he owns the land on the bottom of the river as well and then turns them away when they try to make it upstream to access the crown land.


Nundle Gold from a sluice


Some interesting little nuggets from Nundle


Some chunkier little nuggets dug from the traveling stock routes at Nundle.


Some areas closer to the caravan park offer excellent gold opportunities for the sluicer and a layer just a couple of feet down from the surface has often produced large, inch-long slender pieces as well as a bounty of smaller gravelly specimens plus plenty of coarser fines.
The town lives off the tourism (and has thus far been unable to deal with the grumpy guy from the bowling alley) and reasonable accommodation can be obtained there with modern amenities. The town store sells pans and there are numerous capers regularly based near the caravan park. Several mines in the area produced quite a bit of gold over the years, though some of the richest (and unmarked) are located around Bowling Alley Point.

* Update: Nundle Guy: Recently, it was brought to my attention that an infamous Bowling Alley Point resident has been accused of blocking access to the region to allow for his friend to dredge the area on an annual basis and then split the proceeds. The subject is now a matter of a formal investigation by council. Go figure.

If I'm dwelling on the jerk at the Bowling Alley, it's because he usually comes up in conversation with everyone who has visited the area in the last 10 years or so. But the town of Nundle is a historic one with rich opportunities for photography and is ideal for hiking and mineral collecting. Fossickers will be well catered to in town and gold fossickers are welcome at all times. The temperature can drop below zero in winter time so wear appropriate apparel depending on the month you visit.

* Update: Nundle Guy: A certain person from Nundle has recently placed signs along the river bank warning of an endangered frog species and not to interfere with the creeks in any way. A check with council resulted in a response that this should not interfere with fossickers looking for gold & gemstones and that moved stones should be returned to their original positions so as to protect the habitat of the frog in question. Rumor suggests that Nundle Guy MAY have employed his sons to erect these signs.



Don't forget the great Nundle Dog Race that takes place every year.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/02/1083436475198.html

"There were Great Danes and chihuahuas, family pets and strays, the house-bound and the hunters, the pedigreed and the mongrel: altogether more than 200 dogs of all shapes, sizes and temperaments, gathered with their owners in the tiny NSW town of Nundle for a day's racing.

The canine equivalent of the Stawell Gift.

"It's chaos out there," admitted the race co-ordinator, Joy Warden, surveying the oval.

"The dogs run, they jump, they fight, they go missing - one just started a race and was last seen heading off in the direction of Wallabadah. It's all part of the fun."

The Great Nundle Dog Race began 25 years ago after an argument between two blokes in a pub over whose blue heeler was the faster.

They decided to settle the matter with a race from the town bridge to the Peel Inn. About 100 meters or so.
"

And yes, in summer time, there are plenty of snakes there. I believe someone here has pointed out in another thread that the Aboriginal name for Nundle is simply "Many Snakes".

Certainly worth the visit. Sluicers note that the best layers of gold are a couple of feet from the surface.

Look here for a map of the Nundle goldfield http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/109495/nundle-gold.pdf

I believe someone here has pointed out in another thread that the Aboriginal name for Nundle is simply "Many Snakes".Thats Ophir .

Nundle is said to derive its name from an Aboriginal word meaning 'mouth.

Narrawa wrote:I believe someone here has pointed out in another thread that the Aboriginal name for Nundle is simply "Many Snakes".Thats Ophir .

Nundle is said to derive its name from an Aboriginal word meaning 'mouth.

Yes, Ophir as well. The Aboriginals deemed both places to be snake haunts. As for translations, there's now a debate over Parramatta not being so much about "Place where eels come to rest" any more. No doubt the Parramatta Eels won't be changing their mascot logos any time soon. If you look at most Aboriginal names for places, there's often two given. I can't tell if this is due to different tribes from the area that couldn't speak one-another's language or some other misunderstanding by the white Europeans. The SHM newspaper translation of Nundle used one of the two translations "Mouth" (of serpents/river) instead of "Many" (snakes) because they were worried it would affect tourism. Makes sense to me now.

nero_design
Thankyou for an informative session on Nundle, most enlightning

thank you Nero for that very informative post -- it only goes to show that the minority,who do the wrong thing, in prospecting terms have repercussions for the rest of us !!!

Good post Nero, met Nundle guy about 6 years ago while having dinner at the local club wth the locals on an election day,seen him around town a few times and new him as a local farmer, but all was revealled one arvo when too hot to detect so we went down to the river on the TSR at plum tree and walked up the river a bit wth the pans to scrape out the roots of some old dead casurina trees and this old troopy ute came roaring down the track, out jumps nundle guy and tells us that the recently graded track unfenced,is now the boundary of his property and we were trespassing.we did the right thing ,moved back down the river, theres plenty of nice spots along there,,The next day we drove past they were putting up a fence there. Having met the guy I was surprised at his atitude, His farm hand at the time, a friendly fellow named mark is a keen detectorist as well. There was going to be some investigation where he put that fence it was believed to be way beyond his boundary, dont know the result but its still there.
As for snakes theres some beautiful blacks along the river especially down towards bowling ally point, where theres plenty of black basalt along the river that keeps them active into the cooler months. theres a well known big brown that comes off the river bank into the caravan park at night, hes that used to people, one night he crawled under a ladies chair,I think hes probably lucky to be alive, the ladies probably very lucky too.Ive covered a lot of ground up in the pine forest, never seen a snake in there, probably because its always so cool in there, great spot to detecct when the heats on ,but if theres a good blow on its a good plce to stay out of , some pretty big branches come down.The slopes around Hanging rock although difficult to swing because of the severity of slope probably hold the best gold left for detecting, but if you venture further down into possum gully dont go into the compact grass and scrub unless youve got leg protection, the area is well known for agressive tigers.
Dont forget the cutlets at the pub, top feed, nice friendly spot for a beer, phill

Hi Folks,
I met Nundle Guy last winter while washing some dirt in the river near Bowllingally Point on a TSR that was situated on the opposite bank to his property.
He was rather agro in terms of any polite request that I made to do a little prospecting on his side of the river and for the most part anywhere else in the area for that matter.
As it turned out the signs nero_design mentioned in his post were being erected that very day by a couple of fellows from council or other official department, I did not take that much notice of the logo on the truck door.
NG has certainly discouraged a lot of prospectors from visiting that part of the district which certainly will impact on the areas appeal to both those who have encountered him and anyone they may speak to with plans to visit the area.
Nundle is a great spot and the camping ground is first-rate with very friendly staff, spotlessly clean and an extremely well appointed camp kitchen and eating area, the fishing is also well worth a try if your that way inclined.
In terms of gold potential we have had some success (small amounts of fine stuff) with the pan along the river flats, however once you move into the hilly country and associated gullies the going can be VERY testing if your not reasonably fit and sure footed.

Really good caravan park now at Nundle & cheap if staying for a week or more.
Also new information centre at the entrance to park, with an excellent mineral display.
The pine forest on the left of the road going up to Hanging Rock seems to be the go for detecting.
Not had any luck there myself but i do know of nuggets being found there.
The Peel Inn pub have great meals as Detecta2 mentioned about the cutlets.
Was there last Nov. - we had the seafood basket & it was brilliant. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back right now.
Also there is a sapphire area & quartz crystals can be found. We found the info. centre people very helpful.
cheers, Osama.

Hi Osama,
You are spot-on with your comments about the food at the pub and the folk at the information centre.
The people that run the centre are all local volunteers who give up their time to spread the word about what the area has to offer we visitors.
It may come as a surprise to those who have been following this topic that non-other than Nundle man also does a shift at the information centre, can you imagin the response you might receive if you rocked up for some information on prospecting down Bolling Ally Point way, you would probably burn rubber all the way out of town.
It should make for interesting reading if this topic is kept up-to-date on what transpires when the local council looks into his antics as reported in an earlier post.
Stay tuned, Cheers AUoptimist

Sounds like we should organise a meet there one weekend just to piss him off.

LOL naughty me!

Hi Chopppa,
I like your idea of a meeting at Nundle it's a great location with good potential and if it got up NM's nose that could be an added incentive.
It would be a great venue to meet up with some of the folk on this forum who live within a reasonable distance of the area.
Any takers. Cheers AUoptimist.

Chris & I will be out side the Nundle pub at 12 o'clock on Saturday the 5/02/2011 in our Iveco truck have a meal & go for a swing we are at Lake Keepit untill next Monday at least PH 0427644969

I've heard of Nundle Bloke too, never run into him but he does seem to have a bit of a rep.
Also saw the protected species signs and wondered what it was on about. The Sandstone Bend TSR reserve seemed to be closed too.
We used to go up Swamp Creek from the junction with the river, but I see the gate is locked now and there are private property signs evrywhere, we were always under the impression that this was a reserve or crown land of some sort.
I did some mining with a mate along the western bank near the junction and found a fair amount of fine gold, and have seen better won by others.

Hi there,
New to this forum but came across this post via a google search.
Grew up in Quirindi, about 45mins west of nundle. have also spent a great deal of my childhood around nundle fishing at chaffy and sheeba dams. I always wanted to prospect for gold around nundle however was never allowed:(.
Im currently living in Sydney and about to start studing Geology.
I would be super keen on getting together during Uni holidays for some full on prospecting.
I was wondering if anyone was aware of the zircon and sapphires to be found in the state forest above nundle?

Yesterday we went to Nundle and went Gem hunting for something to do with the kids for fathers day,we had been told about a spot in the forest that you could find Zircon and Sapphires, our biggest find in 3 hrs is the Zircon about the size of a 5c.My kids had a ball and as you can see wanted to bring home every little tiny gem they found. We have done some gold panning finding a fair few little specs and never come across Nundle Guy yet!!

We found a lot of little black/grey stones that are shinny and idea what they may be???

Wow i am glad i landed on this thread. I was going up last week but now all is flooded and my car broke and after a change of plans and a trip to surfers....
I am hoping to go up in a month or so with my son for three days or so when the car can be fixed propper and am in the process of buying a sluice.. http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17_214&products_id=2943
If someone has something much the same size give me a yell as i dont have millions (thats why i'm here lol ).
I gained some great info on here from a great member with all the info.. Thanx AUoptomist.
Just have to wit for the rains to subside and after the flooding i might have to dig up NG's yard bahahahahahaa.
I was thinking of writing to the council up that way and informing them of this post if that would be alright? Maybe he can be disuaded from being such a nusence to their tourism....

Just thought i would bump this up as i now have the sluice and the 4x4 and a detector in july. Maybe we all get together for some fun when it warms up.

Just read the forum from all on N,Guy, and him cutting access off to the crown land, could you land a chopper in the crown land spot? That my p#%{ him off a bit, My aunt has a property on the top of hanging rock, but haven't been up there for years, well since I was a small lad.