Detector holes left open

Was lucky enough to do some night detecting at ophir last night (in between shifts) where there was large amount of workings some leed and old river alluvial workings which had no sign of detector workings last time I was there. Well the entire area had been worked over with holes left open 2ft wideX 1ft and some up to 1.5 ft deep and left completely open, Bout 2am found an area 2X5 meters scraped back to bare earth and left. I was very disapointed as this makes us look bad. I could have spent my 6 hrs walking around just filling in holes.
Just thought I would put this out there
Cheers Tim

Mate it makes me sick seeing and hearing about this sort of thing, but unfortunately it's now widespread and you can't wait around to catch them in the act, so most of the time now I just fill in the holes for them. A while ago I was exploring some state forest noth of gin gin, which is under lease to a cattle farmer and railway sleeper cutter and in this area there is mines and diggings all over the place dating back to the turn of the century 1900. It is a fair drive in there good 45 minutes from the gate and when you get out of the car there is no one about for miles, but as you walk around hole after hole left open all over the place, so it doesn't matter where you go in Oz anymore, somebody has already beaten you to it.

I started filling the holes in as I found them but I ended up spending more time filling holes in then waving the detector. When I originally found the spot there was no holes to be seen and I don't care that somebody has found gold but it just p----s me off that they don't fill in the holes. They where just before the previous rain, only had a shower over the hole
Tim

I remember turning up at XXXXXX XXXX (NSW gold town) a few years back and finding some deep detector holes (unfilled) within 10 feet of one another. There were perhaps seven or more. Three were very deep and it was clear a large coil was used due to the width and depth. The ground was quite flat there and it made the holes all the more obvious. It really ticked me off that someone had the audacity to plunder the gold and yet leave their holes behind. I filled them in and because this was in the middle of a heatwave at the time, I was barely able to break up the hardened dirt to get it back into the holes. Using a large pick on hardened clay whilst under 42 degrees or more is going to sap most of your energy. I finished and realized the effort had drained me of most of my will as well. It took me nearly an hour because of the harness of the clay.

When I finished filling in the last of the holes, I followed the flat area around a bend in the terrain and found (to my anger) dozens and dozens of more holes just 30 feet away. It looked like the surface of the moon. There was no way I was going to fill those in. I didn't have the time nor the strength to do this.

Whether the message is passed on from the Instruction manual or from a sticker on the detector coil, the message is still always the same: Fill in any holes you dig. I dug a handful of holes whilst detecting this afternoon and filled in each and every one of them. Nobody could see I was there, even my wife was out of sight for a good part of the day. I have a bad shoulder at the moment and it was painful to swing the pick ~ but I managed to scrape in the dirt and pat it down again. People who INTENTIONALLY refuse to back-fill their holes (don't ever tell me they don't know any better when they can master their SD/GP/GPX and dig a two foot deep hole) are a blight on this industry and it makes them everyone's enemy.

I remember turning up at XXXXXX XXXX (NSW gold town) .

The first Xs...could that be Stuart... and the next set of Xs, be Town.??

As I've always said "it take less time to fill in your hole, than it takes to dig it" so I can not under stand why others just leave there holes wide open for all to see. Open holes tells me 2 things, 1st there are target here that may have been gold and there could be more. 2nd. it is saying I'm an inconsiderate bugger who do'snt give a stuff about other prospector that are trying to do the right thing by filling in their holes and keeping the goldfields open for us all to enjoy. I've got a fellow prospector who sometimes comes out with me who also leaves holes wide open ( and yes I have had a go at him many a time), but I also get a chance sometimes to hit private property, but guess what he is never invited because of his attitude towards filling in holes.

Wombat

..it takes the same moron mentality that leaves a hole open as the hole that has been filled and gives clear signal because the moron has thrown the rubbish back into the hole...no doubt the same low life's that leave toilets in a disgusting state after they use them....I really feel sorry for them because its their little cry for help and they are invariably friendless...can you imagine being with this type of moron and you see him leave his hole open?....never happens because they are usually 1. friendless or 2. they really know better so dont do it when they can be seen.....same ones no doubt throw their drink cans in otherwise pristine forrests....or dump the contents of their sewerage canisters from their RV's in public parking areas.....<another increasing environmental problem>...go figure the extent of their tiny pathetic minds....Hoo Roo

Don't you hate it when someone does this to an area you visit often?
I found a raked area recently with unfilled holes everywhere and a few holes that had been filled in with leaves on top. The moron may as well have put a big sign up saying FIND GOLD HERE!
I filled in about half of the holes then cleaned out their patch with a small and big coil to make sure their wouldn't have anything left to dig.

Cheers Lazy Tom

Hi all,
This topic comes up often as we see this type of behavior on a daily basis.
Also all sort of Rubbish in the bush which probably comes from same people.

I am newbie and was not told to fill up holes i dig but did not have to be told about it-its a common sense.Its definitely our moral and ethical obligation too towards hobby we like.
I love nature and try to keep it in a same state for many generation to enjoy after me.

Now i would like to ask you guys who have been detecting many many years and with such experience in detecting:
what we can do about this problem which is getting bigger and bigger every day?And i mean is there some practical solution and realistic one.
Its not that easy to catch someone in the bush and if you do what you can do? Can you report it and to who? What chance you have to prove it?
From the law aspect is it leaving dug hole illegal?

Can we have as a forum some guidelines about detecting like we have as a rules when joining forum.Maybe on the first page for all new members to accept prior joining.
May we do some kind of forum plan how to tackle it?
Maybe suggestions what and how to try to solve it?

I know we have lot of international members? Do you have a same problems and what do you do? How do you approach it?

Cheers

All I can say is CARMA, If you wankers want to find gold start filling in your holes. You have been warned. Steve.

I usually just kick some dirt it other people's holes(?) as I go. It is a half hearted effort at best but at least it is something. I figure every bit helps.
Sparrowfart.

Hello Golden

Yes, in the western US we have our share of prospectors who leave un-filled holes
and feel the same way about it; that it demeans us all and is potentially dangerous.
Above all it shows a mine-set that is blatantly selfish in it's disregard for the hobby.

I guess it's like so many other situations in life, you have to basically learn to police yourself,
always a challenge - especially when no one is looking.

Golden it basically human nature you get people who care and people that don't give a stuff. Speeding in cars is against the law, but you will get speeding drives, drink driving is against the law but you get drunk drivers, talking on mobile phones while driving is against the law, but how many do you see doing it still? These type's of people don't care about you or I, and this is the same as the people that leave open holes they to don't give a stuff either.
Wombat

golden wrote:
Now i would like to ask you guys who have been detecting many many years and with such experience in detecting:
what we can do about this problem which is getting bigger and bigger every day?And i mean is there some practical solution and realistic one.
Its not that easy to catch someone in the bush and if you do what you can do? Can you report it and to who? What chance you have to prove it?
From the law aspect is it leaving dug hole illegal?

Well this is what I 've noticed, sometimes it's the ones that have been detecting for MANY MANY years from just about day dot when detectors were just coming out in the late 70' & 80's that don't fill in there detector holes now and its because they got into the habit way back then. So when I inquired off them as to why they do this there was a varity of answers, one was (and I kid you not) a tree seed may fall into the hole and over time get some accumulated other material which will become humus germinate and grow a new tree.........hmmm, more like lazy is what I thought, and I fill in some of his holes later.

Another answer from someone else was, look around what the old timers did, they left em open and now there historic.......hmmm, once again I procede to fill em in.

I think another "reason" if you can call it that is, "look at what big holes I can dig" everyone must think I got some big gold outa that.

Newbys may be responsible for some as well but certainly not all, and to me it was a bit of a shock to think it is really a few that I have seen, and you would think they wolld know better.

Also to there credit their are some that I know both newbys and old hands that leave it so as you can hardly tell that it been touched, I think this is the better method. If you want to remember where your've been then use a GPS and mark your spot on a map.

cheers dave

Heard a story from around the Clunes area, cattle breeder was letting people detect on his property… Not any more!! Apparently his prize breeding bull stumbled into an unfilled hole and did damage to his leg… In the end it had to be put down! Resulting in one very angry farmer looking for some reparation from the individuals responsible for the holes, there was very strong talk of litigation, whether it came to fruition or not I don’t know?

Food for thought there when on private property or anywhere for that matter!!

Cheese. HH

Narrawa wrote:

I remember turning up at XXXXXX XXXX (NSW gold town) .

The first Xs...could that be Stuart... and the next set of Xs, be Town.??

XXXXXX as in Wattle ...and XXXX as in Flat.

The rubbish thing annoyed me on the trip. I mean ***** how hard is it to put your **** in a bag and take it with you. That's what we did. I pretty much always filled my holes in. There was the odd time where I was so exited about finding something i forgot to do it and came back to it later lol !

cheers,

themrburns

Gday

As long as I can remember there have been issues with unfilled detector holes and also rubbish being left in the bush, but clearly it has become more common in later years, I believe that this is a flow on effect of the way our society has changed, there is less and less respect for others nowadays and we see that everyday with youngsters bashing old people in their homes, the rise in assaults and thefts, and now murders are common place.

Dont sit there and blame the young for this as I have seen many older people that grew up in a different era's behaving the same way, they should know better, lying, cheating, stealing, and also leaving open detector holes and rubbish laying about the bush, many people these days simply wont take responsibility for their actions and think that why should they bother as some other mug will come along and do it for them.

I dont doubt that some of the readers of this will be guilty of the same thing, some people dont mind doing the wrong thing by others but will "squeal the longest and the loudest" when an injustice is perpertrated against them, ok so my message to them is simple, if you continue to do this sort of thing to the bush it wont be long before WE ARE NOT ABLE to go anywhere detecting, because once again a few will have wrecked something for the many.

If you can dig a hole, you can fill it back in, man/woman up people and start having some consideration for those around you ok, if you see others doing it let them know you are not happy about it, and maybe they will change there ways if they think someone is watching them.

cheers

stayyerAU

Unfilled detector holes.......
Nearly broke my ankle in one when I got excited about just digging up a nugget, stepped backwards and went arse over Tit
Found a big Sqarker in a half dug hole just a few weeks back. The grass had re-grown in the hole,but im buggered why they left it as it sounded sweet and loud but smooth.
Turned out to be a George 111 1799 Halfpenny at about 40 inches

Gus wrote:Unfilled detector holes.......
Nearly broke my ankle in one when I got excited about just digging up a nugget, stepped backwards and went arse over Tit
Found a big Sqarker in a half dug hole just a few weeks back. The grass had re-grown in the hole,but im buggered why they left it as it sounded sweet and loud but smooth.
Turned out to be a George 111 1799 Halfpenny at about 40 inches

Gday

Forty inches?

stayyerAU

Opps my Bad.....
I meant 24 inches

Rubbish is a another huge problem, i have dug up all sorts of stuff that could have just been put in a bin! next time im out bush and see someone throw a ringpull on the group im going to throw a rock at them haha

Well back out to ophir today to fill in between nights and started to cart my gear up from a creek to my ute and here's 2 guys setting off with detectors to find gold, so i seen the chance to have a chat while they where detecting. Bang onto a signal " sounds like a nice size nugget" they say. they dug and dug only to find a piece of iron and with a flick of a wrist it was in the scrub. I SEEN RED I layed the law down that anything they found they took with them as they where from sydney, first time to the bush detecting. then they proceeded to leave the hole open. Second law must fill in holes. I asked how long they had been in orange for to see if they where responsable for the other holes and they had only arrived today. Told them how frowned upon it is to leave rubbish behind and leave holes open. I at least hope they took my advice
Cheers Tim

Good on ya Tim.

Yes good on you Tim for pointing out to them what is expected, I certainly hope the listened to you. Has the xtera found you a nugget yet. Have you tried it around any of the parks at Orange or Dubbo, there must be a few coins left.

cheers dave