QLD FOSSICKERS LICENSE

Anyone in Qld ever wonder why they bother paying for a fossickers license in this state?
They give us prospecting areas the size of postage stamps ........ have a look at the area generously provided for us near Warwick. Its a couple of football fields!!!
Bloody hell

Hi Artrix, I am a Qld resident now, left Vic back in 1979. My permanent residence is in Brisbane, however I own an investment property-48 acres west of Gin Gin , just under an hour west of Bundaberg. I am supposedly closer to Qld goldfields ie Clermont, Forsayth, & other northern fields. About one & half years ago my fossicking license expired. As I travel through Gympie I thought I'd do the right thing & renew. I new there was an army disposal, come detector shop so I parked in town. After walking at least 30 minutes I finally found the place. I was so peed off when the chap said he didn't sell them. He said quote" why are you worrying about a license for, no body bothers these days" I coudn't believe his attitude so if he gets into trouble after me mentioning this then bad luck as he sounded irresposible for a shop owner! Guess who hasn't got a license now. I mean I've hardly been anywhere detecting as there is no where within Cooee of Brisbane or GinGin for that matter. I'll probably open up a hornets nests with my comments.Qld would have to be the least attractive place to detect, with all the friggin restrictions :- National Parks & Forestrys & private propertys & & & & & & There I got it off my chest finally. so ARTRIX I wouldn't lose any sleep over a fossicking license especially with the treatment we get from the powers to be in this State. PS I also noticed in another part of this forum, some one mentioned how the Government of Victoria is thinking of making their golfields "Heritage Listed". Please give us a BREAK !!!

Gday fellas,
Yes its a shame here in QLD has got lame areas to fossick/prospect considering that people like us , 100yrs ago, got this State out of the duldrums.
Heck, all over Oz the gold made its mark.Bendigo wouldnt be Bendigo as Gympie wouldnt be Gympie.
Today I watched on Youtube about the NZ prospectors coming back in numbers and working with enviromentalists.
Yes, Australia was built on the fields and it buggers me why pen pushers have nothing else better to do than lock it all up.
YibiDavid, Just a little question, Have you considered heading out past Warwick. Glendon park has little Nuggs on it.
Gin Gin, good Barra fishing up on Monduran.
I suppose ya just gotta get on the good side of some property owners that has gold on it and do the right thing.
Anyway, Cheers fellas
Brad..

Hi All, Queensland dose not have much to offer at all now.. We used to go there each year and it got that way , with all the DONT singns .. Just give it all away and go west now each winter..BLISS..sorry queenslanders but its true.. The gold over in the west is something to see. .plus the fishing is better as well . . Its just a little bit of a drive.. but you save that on the free camping in no time.....the do gooders have done it... going to tassie this summer .. plenty of free camping there .. smart lot..camp near town spend money...!!!!! Leanora WA is a good place ,camp at the specking patch 6-8 ks out of town ..No one will tell you to go and stay in the van park if you want to swing the coil here.. same at Laverton WA.. Queensland is missing the point...and the dollors..Queensland is ok if you want to pay$100++ a week to hear some body snore all night..Give me the open air any time...I dont real hate Queensland its what the dogooders have done to it....Please...Bob

To Aushunter & Goldhog Thanks guys for your comments, similar feelings about Qld. I appreciate your suggestions. Brad I thought Glendon being so close to civilisation wasn't even worth trying, but then I'll take your word for it , gotta be positive I s'pose. Yes I caught a 6.5kg barra off the bank of Mondura Dam 2 years back- thats the main reason I bought the property near Gingin & it only took me 10 mins. Bob I realize WA is probably the last frontier ( if we can call it that ) left in this big country of ours. I definately will be going west as soon as I'm financially set up. Thank you also for your suggested places , cheers

G'day people,
Glendon park is mainly a 4WD park but they also promote prospecting. For $18 a night, I dont you can go wrong there.
Can be a bit dusty during the dry times, but its fun none the less.
I have scored a bit of gold out in the gullies, but need to upgrade to a decent detector to get the bigger bits.
I have seen some nice little nuggets come outa there, but I will have to wait a little while as I just bought a new pump for my high banker.
It's a wake up call for QLD prospectors to call in a Eureaka stockade and approach the government about this rediculous problem.
In NSW you can prospect/fossick in state forests with the right permit, Why not in QLD?
I could rant on about this for ages,Yes, I am quiet sure all QLD Fossicker's are certainly getting the short straw for sure.
In 2 weeks Im heading over to Port Hedland, WA for 2 weeks, Man I love that part of the country.
I have only a small BH machine that I do the beaches with, but it does the job. Also doing a bit of fishing & crabbing.
It would be good if I could hitch up with someone over there and be the digging bit*h for a day or so.
Also heading down to Marble Bar for a bit of a run.

Anyway Fella's
HH and Cheers
Brad...

Hi Brad , I'm going to send you a private message. We seem to have a few things in common & I worked in Port Hedland back in the 80's & detected at Nullagine with the early model minelab Goldseeker 10000!, Dave

Hi All
Yeah QLD is stuffed you would be better off going to WA, no GOLD up here, so if you all wouldn't mind sending me the GPS co-ords of where you have found gold I wont have to waste my time searching thos spots as I know the gold is gone, I wont have to deal with the local's who are trying to earn a living, who arn't as freindly as people tell you anyway, fishing is no good & there's nothing to see up here, Believe what you will, those of us living in paradise know better.
Granted better rules & reg's would be great but we deal with what we have.
cheers
Lee

Hello rc62burke, Hi there mate. Why don't we take this topic further. This forum is not about fishing or other hobbies. I.ve already mentioned how I caught a barra in less than 10 minutes ( off the bank) mind you. We longer need to go to Kakadu or similar spots to catch this great fish. Anyhow you tell me where in Qld I can find crown land similar to WA or lesser extent Vic. Don't you dare mention Clermont- sorry to say it's just one money- tourist trap. You can only flog a dead horse for so long! J.T may have more positive views on this area, however not too many of us would have access to mates propertys having gold like he does! I have a GP3500 collecting dust in the cupboard, maybe I should sell it off before it becomes completely worthless?? especially the direction the "detecting Hobby" in this state is heading !!

To Lee, Those initials JT were s'pose to be J.P I must of been thinking of Johnathan Thurston seeing he plays for Cowboys being in Townsville like yourself. I'm sure you know who I'm referring to, cheers David

gotta agree with lee no gold up here , no fish , and the crabbing is crap, .but i love it that way,qld born and qld breed what a way to go .
and as far as JP or JT goes, winners are grinners .

Hi David
I do not want to get into a slanging match with anyone as no good can come of that, although I will voice my opinion, you need to re read my post as I did not infere that there was crown land available in QLD, infact this is one of the reg's that could/ should be changed for the better, I have not been at this game very long but still I have access to large tracts of land over a large area & a number of properties, These property owners control the access to their holdings & are normally very freindly people, I for one respect anyone trying to make a living from the land & respect the decision they make about access.
Access to properties is just another part of the research that go's into this game. The more people that put QLD into the to hard basket just means that there will be more left for us QUEENSLANDERS.
cheers all
Lee

I see this topic has been quiet for a while, however I would like to say that there are numerable (many many) spots in the South East corner that all produce bits of gold if you take it low and slow. It is just not as easy as WA or Vic. (or NZ for that matter)
Do you need a fossickers licence to look for old coins in the goldfields? A fossickers licence would be needed if you found a spot and intended to lodge a claim.

Panther

all a fossickers licence "legally" allows you to do in qld is remove dirt from the ground. thats it.

i've done the hard yards of approaching local property owners who have given permission for me to access their land for prospecting purposes. they told me that they have never heard of dept. of mines approaching anyone in regards to their permits. and when i told this guy i needed his sig. on the bottom of the fossickers licence he was shocked. the few people who access his land and i was the first he knew about signing a bit of paper.

seams like another g'ment money grab to me.. but ya gotta do whats right i spose.

I was somewhat perplexed when i applied for my QLD Fossickers License as sometimes the terminology separates the difference between fossicking and metal detecting? What i mean is in general terms i always thought of fossicking as just that, pertaining more so toward gems and opal fields etc...

So when my license arrived i got this HUGE booklet that so far talks about fossicking/opal fields but no gold prospecting or metal detecting as such.

I started to wonder if i applied for the wrong license?

I do have relatives that live out Inglewood on large cattle properties, but not sure if any gold is in that area.

russ

you got the right package, assuming i got the same one u did.

unfortunately qld being run by Anna Lie. i mean Bligh. has only 1 or 2 designated fossicking areas. 1 being at Gympie and the other at Clermont.

the one i got was a booklet called "The Queensland Fossicking Guide" and probably has maybe 20-30 locations listed. but mostly opal and garnet etc...

your getting nothing for your money, waste of time buying one.
its just another cash grab by a breedy government....and I usually vote labor!

Read the regs its a great way of teaching new guys to fossick.. Heres one i picked up...

Department of Environment

On leaving a site, fossickers must:

refill all excavations (except within designated fossicking lands and fossicking areas)


Thats awsome news , and you guys all fill in your holes!!!!
Just dont walk around in the dark or ride a horse..
The regs look like a waste of time, and a money grab although there are some good environmental points to read, especially when you watch the sluices on youtube in the USA.The EPA would crack down on that in a flash here..
Ok for arguments sake i got my fossickers license, and ventured onto state forest. No removing fauna or flora!!!... Can i remove or fossick for shells, buckles, bayonets or old machinery, ordanance etc from the old USA army training days around Brisbane?
I am not taking dirt, or plants in the process, but i would still have to dig.
I did notice you can fossick on road verges( the area between the road and the private property) providing you dont dig.So how do you get the coins relics etc out if you cant dig them?

And yes i do break weeds especially lantana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana
While i fossick Now i know i shouldnt do it..

Generally fossickers must not:

destroy or injure any trees
clear any vegetation except above an actual excavation

They should be paying me for weed control in national parks state forests, I hate the stuff and kill as much as i can..
I know these are nitty gritty issues but i am trying to find out if i can collect war memorabilia, and if i find a picker i will just stick it in my sock...

GDAY GUYS AND GALS
queensland beutiful one day perfect the next or maybe not??????

good scratchin
cheers the speciman

I've got a current (Qld) fossicker's licence..
Can I legally detect for gold on a private property (with the owner's permission) that has a current minerals exploration lease over it ???
Any ideas ??

Hi Chookfoot
Yes you can prospect over an area that has an exploration permit over it you must stay 50m from any drill rig etc, property owner/ holder is the only permission needed, active mine lease - stay out !!!
cheers
Lee

Thanks Lee, that's a relief !
I was a bit concerned, I found out there has recently been an exploration lease taken out over a big area that covers 2 of the only 3 places I know of and have permission to detect in Qld .
It's so hard to find ground and get access in Qld, it would be a heartbreaker to loose those two.
Remind me again why we get fossickers licenses ????

Sorry to crash the party but I feel I must take seven minutes of my time to compose myself after almost having a hernia and ridicule this bloke called Yibidavid.

Instead of whining about Queensland and it's red tape, why don't you sell your 48 acres and bugger off back down south? Some bloke with more sense than you will buy an ATV (or at the very worst, a horse), study the lay of the land, plan some small infrastructure and maybe buy a little 950 or WA420 or something, extract what gold there is on your property and laugh at you, as I have, for being so stupid.

Buy a bushbasher, a cheap camera, do some driving, take some photos, learn a bit about geology and stop complaining. There's gold on that property of yours, possibly right under your nose, possibly a few million dollars worth. And who ever heard of having to obtain a fossicker's licence to have a bit of a dig on your own property? All that country out there is full of gold, so instead of wasting your time up at Monduran, engage the brain before the fingers, pick up a shovel and do it tough. You'll be a millionaire in a year or so, if you have the guts .

Alternatively, I'll give you $750 per lease and I'll mine your paddock for you and turn myself into a millionaire.

I am currently renting a property.
If I get permission to prospect at home do I need a license to sell my findings?

cheers,
Fellow Qld prosprector.

Have a read here FlipperTheGreat - https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/fossicking/rules/designated-areas

"Provided you have a fossicking licence and the written permission of the landowner, you may fossick on most land throughout the state.  etc "