Gold & Ghosts Books

Hi guys, excuse my ignorance on this matter but I do not understand all this interest in books such as Gold & Ghosts, I was able to read them at the State Library in Melbourne and I found them very boring, first of all they apply only to Western Australia and Queensland, ( I only detect in Victoria ), second you will soon realize that unless you walk on top of a nugget you will not find any gold, no book can help you in this, especially books written 30 years ago.
My advice save your money.
Cheers
Goldquest

Hi Goldquest
These books became the bible for detecting especially in WA.Until Doug Stone's book came out there was very little to guide you.If you ever go there the one thing that gets you is how vast it is.With Gold and Ghosts you can start off at Wilsons ,the specking patch or hawksnest for example and get an understanding of the types of dirt gold is found in.Victorian ground is easier to read than in the West and here the gold is more localised.
Dehaviland has done a great job in providing such great information and history.If they ever had a Detecting Hall of Fame he'd be in it.
Cheers Dig

A Detecting hall of fame, now that's an idea! There would need to provision for our past detectorists?
Back to Goldquest's statement on the value for money of Gold & Ghost volumes, What did they cost when first published? Sure wouldn't be the $1500 ish there selling for now.

Cheers~Chris.

GDAY SOMEDAY
they were 50$ and worth every cent of it DDH travelled all over wa and then wrote it down in a book so you victorians could come over here and find our gold only joking the gold belongs to all of us that ventor out in this beutiful country of ours.
about being able to read the country easier for gold in vic i dont know about that i had a sh#t of a time in castlemaine (chewton)
good scratchin
cheers the speciman

G'day Speciman.

I can understand where your coming from.The reason we,as Victorians,cant read the gold bearing ground conditions is because the gold bearing ground conditions here in Victoria have been surfaced that many times that there's nothing left to read anymore.What were once small narrow trickling gutters of water are now ravines. "Just kidding Dig"

Cheers kon61.

From what ive read 3000 dollars will get a full set from the author himself but im not sure if that was correct as another guy was threating to distribute them on a dvd that was on another forum. i however have tried to get a copy of at least volume 3 because the man done the prospecting community a great justice with research ect ect and they are a prized possesion.
Id swap my 1710 Canstein Bible for the set of them so thats how much i want them lol.

GDAY ALL

i bought my volume#1 back in 1993 and the information that i got from david and his travels in the sandgroper country has enabled me to fill the whole front cover with nuggets my copy has dog ears bigger than a great dane!!!!!!! so i say cheers to DDH and boo to roundup

good scratchin

cheers the speciman

hi
i bought volume 2 when they first came out for $36.00 and about 18 months ago i bought a good copy of volume 1 on ebay for $400.00 and if i ever get back over to WA i will be taking them with me
cheers dave

probably a bit late posting this but, the book is probably the best there is at pointing you into areas or "lost areas". I've had the book since 1994 but everytime I go to an area you can bet those b**tard big companies have dug a bloody big hole there.

Cheers to all the Diggers

Interesting bit of trivia. I've had Vol 1 since 1994. the price tag is still on it for $50.

Couple of weeks ago, the same book, Vol 1 sold on ebay for $711.00

believe it or not.

phoenix wrote:hi
i bought volume 2 when they first came out for $36.00 and about 18 months ago i bought a good copy of volume 1 on ebay for $400.00 and if i ever get back over to WA i will be taking them with me
cheers dave

Yes Phoenix, and you can be assured that where ever DDH has given a spot or location in the books, the mining companies has sunk a massive pit on that point. The books are a good read yes, but very outdated and so rediculously overpriced that it is not funny anymore. WA is basically blanket-leased, and active mining leases are especially situated around DDH's areas.
Best of luck though if you do make it over this way.

G'day xenon,

you are correct, the book is dated but it is still interesting. it is the greed of the BIG COMPANIES and our absolutely bast**d WA state government that is totally stuffing the little man.

bullet

CMON GUYS

just go moonlighting

whooo gives a rats ass

ddh wrote some good stuff

and does anybody else want too add too his little colletion of spots no i didnt think so

cheers david

good scratchin

cheers the spec iman

Big country and you can hide well. I'll say no more.

Goodnight

check out trove , in the warwick district from G&G i found some similar extracts from the newspapers on Trove website actually theres a lot more info on the net currently than books can ever hope to accomplish.
I tried to get a copy because I also got caught in "the Hype" but right here guys on our forums is the "now"gold and ghost and grey nomads .

Gold is formed only when prospecters dream.

Google earth
Trove
Our forums

G&G is well written and well researched but pricey and outdated, thirst for what we find tommorrow is overtaken by what they found yesterday and yesterday is gone.

Cheers
Jason

Has it been turned into an E-book yet?

slugsbrother wrote:Has it been turned into an E-book yet?

It sure will be!!! Just after David finds Lasseter's Reef

Robert

Gold and ghost books------ I'm happy if nobody else wants to read them. Boring -- yep they are.
We payed $500 each for vol 1 and 2 and they payed for themselves in couple days.
Like other comments, we should keep them a secret, just like our special spots, - Nobody says where they are finding the good gear cause nobody really wants to share there spots.
There is a lot of books that will lead you to 'areas' where you may get lucky, --- no book will put you on the X spot where you can say 'Yes there is gold right there, 5 gram and over there 2oz'
Get my drift?
travelergold

travelergold wrote:Gold and ghost books------ I'm happy if nobody else wants to read them. Boring -- yep they are.
We payed $500 each for vol 1 and 2 and they payed for themselves in couple days.
Like other comments, we should keep them a secret, just like our special spots, - Nobody says where they are finding the good gear cause nobody really wants to share there spots.
There is a lot of books that will lead you to 'areas' where you may get lucky, --- no book will put you on the X spot where you can say 'Yes there is gold right there, 5 gram and over there 2oz'
Get my drift?
travelergold

I reckon you hit the nail on the head there travelergold. There are indeed many books and many websites that will offer up POSSIBLE AREAS where you may find gold, but whether you are lucky enough in finding something in these areas is another thing.
But, in my honest opinion, these G&G books are extremely outdated for the price they are fetching. I have v1 and v2 but I sure as hell didnt pay $500 each for them.
At best, they will give you an approx area where gold has been found in the past, information that we are all keen to find out as gold is not found everywhere, and I do take my hat off to this bloke for compiling all this information and putting it into a book for all to read. But again, all these areas are now on mining leases and have an enormous pit in that area (or very close by where the reef was situated).
Have heard these books called "the holy grail of prospecting". I dont think so.... 25 years ago, when they were first published, yes maybe, but not anymore. Countless thousands of people (both professional and amateurs) who has gone over these spots and taken their pickings may very well dispute my remarks but these areas have been picked over and over. I would of loved to of been out there in thise early years with a good detector.
Do your research people and look for possible areas of your own and you can save yourselves a lot of money.

I could say I have Vols 1 & 2 on CD which open in PDF but I won't say that coz it's against copyright laws. Isn't that right guys. Can't say where I got them. I didn't think much of Vol 2.

I'll deny all knowledge of saying this and this message will self destruct in 5 seconds.

cheers
bullet

That mission's in possible?

How ya goin someday,

Mission impossible ? I'm to old to believe that now.

bullet

I have been to literally dozens of places, down tracks and on old patches mentioned in Gold and Ghosts, and found gold in almost every place.
Even for an experienced prospector there is plenty to learn, mate Boring isn't the Book, Boring is the ***** that expect to find a masterpiece in a well researched PROSPECTING GUIDE?! What a dum arse.

I paid $50 each for vol.1 &2 a lot of years ago and when I went to the west they were all I needed. When the book read turn left and there would be a fence or a grave
there would be a a fence or a grave. Boring I think not, some very good reading , still finding gold in the same places( the ones that havent had a great hole dug there.
The value a 1930 penny is worth a bit more than a penny goldquest.

These books contain a lot of good information, even though a lot of this info is out of date, if you apply a little common sense and respect the rights of others you can avoid treading on other peoples toes.

Too many people with detectors are prospecting on land without the leaseholders consent, and as I've read here are 'hiding' on land they know they are not supposed to be prospecting on. If you remove Gold from another man's lease without his knowledge YOU are STEALING.

 

Leaseholder wrote:These books contain a lot of good information, even though a lot of this info is out of date, if you apply a little common sense and respect the rights of others you can avoid treading on other peoples toes.
Too many people with detectors are prospecting on land without the leaseholders consent, and as I've read here are 'hiding' on land they know they are not supposed to be prospecting on. If you remove Gold from another man's lease without his knowledge YOU are STEALING. 

Hello Leaseholder,

Welcome to the forum.. Be assured that the discussion of proper procedures of detecting on a lease has been brought up many times.. Most if not all the good members here are aware of the proper Protocol and use a common sense and legal approach to Detecting on WA leases

Thanks for your forthright posting...

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