Mount Browne (Tibooburra) Closed to Prospectors - "No Exceptions"

The fax I received last week ...

Alright, who did what at Mount Browne this time?

Seriously... these guys only get cranky when people do something pretty bad on their property.
I'd understand if the price of gold was spiraling upwards but it's not... it's headed down. So that's not the reason.

Bugger and bugger

Maybe worried about fires, they have had a fair bit of rain up there this year and there should be an abundance of fuel on the ground. Mallee00 and the mutt

G'day Nero,
If you got the fax from the farmers then why don't you ask them first, maybe they can tell you.
Regards,
Uncle Bob.

- Mustering ? -

And we don't know whats going to happen now "Blackie" has sold his lease at Tibooburra Maybe prospecting might be out altogether up Tibooburra way

this is truely a sad situation...... i only detected there once but loved it... the second time on the way to birdsvile, me and the wife camped near the creek beds .... and she fell in love with the place..... about six weeks ago there was two elderly couples at talbot, who said they were closing it down because...... some gold tour operator wasnt paying the fees. plus the damage to a dam wall that had been dug into, really ticked off the owners...... whether or not this has happened again???.....just hope it re-opens again.... cheers

They had previously closed the property to prospectors about a year (or a year and a half) ago after someone left thousands of unfilled holes about the property whilst simultaneously refusing the pay the routine daily property access fee. I was told that after a hell of a lot of kowtowing & begging by other prospectors, that they relented and opened the area of Mount Browne up again. Someone here said he was buzzing around the property in an ultra-light last year to see who was on the lease so he could compare it with the money paid (which is done on the honor system in town). Something has obviously pushed them too far and they've cut off all access. It's not the only place to detect there at Tibooburra but it's a large, open property that has always given up plenty of small gold and is popular with both the nomads and the newcomers. If this is permanent, there will be some very unhappy campers out there. Mount Browne was almost a pilgrimage for many - including a few members of this forum.

The prospectors friend comes to mind.

Narrawa wrote:The prospectors friend comes to mind.

One man couldn't be the cause unless he was doing tours there. He wasn't, was he? Word had it he was running out of places for his tour members to find gold. Too many unhappy grumblers complaining about not getting anything on paid trips or having to share a detector between people.

Last time we were at Tibooburra we found 1000's of fresh open holes all through the granites. It was so bad it was depressing. I cannot for the life of me understand these fools who don't refill their holes. We always stress to anyone we talk to, including all you good folk on this forum that you must refill your holes. I'm always reading here, and everywhere else, where others are also stressing that refilling your holes is mandatory - so why do those fools leave their holes open?

I have argued with others who reckon the open holes gather wind blown seeds and and water promoting growth. But what good are their arguments, even if they may be correct if it clashes with the opinion of those who have it in their power to close down entire goldfields.

All I can say is fill your damned holes or suffer the consequences along with the rest of us.

Jim

granite2 wrote:Last time we were at Tibooburra we found 1000's of fresh open holes all through the granites. It was so bad it was depressing. I cannot for the life of me understand these fools who don't refill their holes. We always stress to anyone we talk to, including all you good folk on this forum that you must refill your holes. I'm always reading here, and everywhere else, where others are also stressing that refilling your holes is mandatory - so why do those fools leave their holes open?

I have argued with others who reckon the open holes gather wind blown seeds and and water promoting growth. But what good are their arguments, even if they may be correct if it clashes with the opinion of those who have it in their power to close down entire goldfields.

All I can say is fill your damned holes or suffer the consequences along with the rest of us.

Jim

This open hole problem has been flogged to death on the forums, it is now a wide spread problem and there is no absolutely no turning back now. I have personally seen widespread areas here in Queensland in state forest as well as the GPA's in Clermont with open holes, not little patches but large areas. There is only a small minority of prospectors who are involved with online forums, and all of us understand what is expected of us out in the bush. So who is causing all this damage with rubbish being thrown and unfilled wholes, I will leave this up to you to make up your own mind. As I have found out in the past with threats and abuse from online users from previous comments I have made on this subject, be very carefull who you point the finger at, but I will tell you now this is the beginning off the end for all of us if something isn't done to stop it. Governments, councils, greenies are doing there very best to lock Aussie up and some of us prospectors are giving them all the ammunition they need to make this happen.


Cheers Brian.

Hullo...I just joined this forum after seeing the comments about prospecting at Mt Browne. I manage the VIC at Milparinka where the fees are collected. After speaking with one of the owners I can confirm that prospecting is now out of bounds. Sadly, there has been a significant amount of theft of station and other property of recent, including the solar panels from the Milparinka water supply dam. It is just too difficult to monitor the situation and so the decision has been made to not allow access for prospecting. Holes have been a problem in the past but are not a factor in this decision being made. Obviously the low acts of a very small group are responsible.

Sight seeing of the significant heritage sites is still permitted. Probably best to let the VIC know when travelling out there, all the same.

14g Nugget from Mount Browne, Tibooburra.

Well there we have it. Lowlifes were stealing equipment... and in one of the most remote places on Earth where its installation is important and either difficult or expensive. What kind of moron would steal solar panels from a water supply? I can only imagine what other items were stolen. Just terrible!

This is what comes from bad behavior. No more detecting at the famous Mount Browne property.

/Thanks for coming forward to let us know Milparinka VIC. At least there can be no more speculation on the matter.

Unless there is proof that prospectors are responsible for these thefts then it is not fair to point the finger at them. Two years ago there was a similar problem south of Leonora whene a submersible pump was stolen from a property. The patoral leasholder went absolutely apeshiit and banned prospectors forever. A few months later it was found his neighbour had stolen the pump.

Visiting prospectors were also blamed for the theft of a caravan near Leonora but it was later found that a local had stolen it.

In Tibooburra the Common was closed to camping because of the rubbish supposedly left behind by prospectors but visiting prospectors do not dump old beds, fridges, car parts, electric stoves and other household junk. Just another case of picking the easy target.

I would urge the owners of Mount Brown to reconsider their closing of the goldfield as it is unlikely prospectors are responsible. And even if they were we don't close a pub because some drinker stole some stock.

All the best for a great new year to everyone in the Corner Country. Jim

I know...its a real shame as the combination of prospecting and enjoying the amazing landscapes and heritage of the area brought so many people to the district. I hope that people will still want to visit.

Just in terms of the theft of the solar panels, the complications were far reaching. The township was left without a viable means of water supply to buildings, garden areas and the public toilets. The logisitics of sourcing new panels, finding the money to pay for them ( yes, out of our own pockets) was onerous, as were the hot trips to Milparinka ( round trip over 200 km from home) to install. There is no proof that a prospector stole the panels, of course, but coupled with the history of other items going missing from Mt Browne, its a distinct possibility with very unfortunate ramifications and people have every right to be disappointed.

The issue with the hotel of course, is a quite separate matter and irrelevant to the information I sought to bring to the forum about Mt Browne. Likewise any issue with the Tibooburra Common. The Tibooburra Common Trust would be the best group to contact about that matter.

Cheers,

Here is a suggestion

Members on this forum should get together and donate the money needed to obtain the equiptment and costs involved in replacing the solar panels.

This of course would be done on the arrangement that those persons who donated their time/money would have privledged access to the area.

On a member base as large as this forum, i am sure we have the skilled persons who could donate their time to restoring things to the way they were.

Thank you for your response..it is a wonderfully generous offer of help to a community that has obvioulsy brought a lot of pleasure to so many people. I will leave the debate from here on to allow you all to decide what you would like to do. In the event that an offer of help is made I will be happy to take it to the Mt Browne owners for their consideration.

Cheers,

Hi Guys,

Perhaps a few remote cameras around the place would be of benefit too to help prevent this type of thing happening there again. I would have loved to go there to do some prospecting, lets hope that in the future this can still happen...

Cheers Mick

I for one would be happy to donate to a fund to help pay for the stolen equipment. If the Milperinka Hotel would agree to manage such a fund I think you would get quite a few people dipping into their pocket to help out. It is worth a try.

From long experience detecting on many private properties I can say most prospectors are only too happy to help keep an eye on things where they detect. If, for instance a prospector paying to enter Mt Brown, Mt Pool etc to prospect was asked to keep an eye out for any suspicious characters or bad behaviour I'm sure they would be happy to.

With modern cameras being so small and easily carried most prospectors will have one with them. Even phone cameras will take a great photo and if a photo of someone doing the wrong thing was sent to the property owner or police it would allow swift action to be taken and the culprit speedily caught. In this way then the many would not have to pay for the sins of the few.

The prospecting community is made up of mostly honest well meaning folk who will do everything they can to help. Like all communities there will be a few, and I stress the word few, ferals who will always looking for something to steal. I know a few like that myself and I wouldn't trust them as far as I could pee into a force ten gale. But as I said they are in the tiniest minority. If the owners of Mt Brown would like to ask that Prospectors help out in this way I'm sure they will by unindated with offers. My wife and I have been planning a trip to Tibooburra and Mt Brown this year and we are always keeping our eyes open for anyone doing the wrong thing, stock in trouble, fences down windmills not working or anything out of the ordinary and will always continue to do so.

Cheers, Jim

Thanks Jim..just a couple of observations. The first thing of course is that, if people are agreeable to pay some sort of restoration fee ( for want of a better word) in return for the lifting of the ban, that has to be agreed to by the owners of Mt Browne. As I said I am prepared to take that proposition to them once it is finalised on the understanding that it is their private decision to make and what ever the outcome, it has to be respected.

Should the effort be successful, might I suggest that the fund not be established with the hotel ( which is closed) as managers, but the Milparinka Heritage and Tourism Association, which is responsible for the restoration and management of the remaining buildings in Milparinka and operates the Visitor Centre.

I also think that the prospector watch concept is great. We are vigilant ourselves, but this is big country with few people and activities are hard to police.

We can only do what we can.

Milparinka Vic, thank you for your input. I wasn't aware the hotel was closed. I'm sure everyone on this forum will want to be kept up to date on any developments and decisions made by the good folk at Mt Brown.

Mt Brown and the Corner Country is one of our favourite places on the planet. We love visiting there and love getting the little bit of gold we do. The country is so different and unique to any we have seen in Australia and overseas and we should all do what we can to ensure it remains open to all who respect the country and the people residing there.

Cheers, Jim

I detected there last year for a few days, Dues paid at Visitor Info Centre, I even found a little gold (8 little pieces) & thoroughly enjoyed the experience & wonderful countryside. Yes i know i can find a lot more gold as we do in W.A. but there is something special about up there. Had on the agenda for 2012 a repeat visit to Mt Browne & Tibboburra just cause it was one of those magical spots so yes if something is put together i would be in. Makes sense the Milparinka Heritage & Tourism Centre could co-ordinate & liase.
Cheers
Ashley

The funny thing about when it comes to stealing property is that yes it might be a prospector that stole from the land owners there but then again it might even be a local from the area stealing these things to have this area banned for us for whatever reason. Most prospectors that travel to go detecting in these areas do not want to risk this sort of behavior. Just my thoughts.

Hope these theives get caught, local or otherwise !

PS Not filling your holes and having an excuse like seeds gathering in your holes is just A BIG FAT EXCUSE FOR THE LAZY !!!

Hope one day people will learn when it's all too late for the rest of us and there will be no places to detect !

Uncle Bob

UNCLE BOB wrote:

PS Not filling your holes and having an excuse like seeds gathering in your holes is just A BIG FAT EXCUSE FOR THE LAZY !!!

Uncle Bob

Uncle Bob, as I've always said :- " It is quicker to fill in your hole than it is to dig it"

Wombat

I'm absolutely gutted. For months now I've been planning a trip to Tibooburra in April this year. Mt. Browne featured prominently in those plans. I'm starting to ask myself if it's worth doing the trip now. I would be happy to make a donation to a "restoration" fund if that's the way things went. I would also be happy to drive to Tibooburra to witness the public execution of the lowlifes, when they are caught.
panhead

I had one trip to the area a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. It a shame to see this part of the country become inaccessible to prospectors and I am sure the local pub and community will be missing out on income from us.
I would also support some kind of donation or other method to re-open the area even if I don't get there for some time yet.
Cheers Bill

We have read all the posts relating to this post,we have been to mt browne 3 times in the last 6 years,i find it very upsetting that some lowlife would do anything to upset ray and debbie,i believe that charlie would be their son,whom they spoke about during our last visit,we have had many an enjoyable evening with ray and debbie,and for them to go as far as banning all from the property someone ,or a couple of so called people must have wronged big time.as far as the wrong done,it has been said "ONE DAY THEY WILL WRONG THEIR WORST NIGHTMARE"if this post can or does get back to ray,we have read this happening with a heavy heart.john and val.

The "Ball is Rolling" Thanks to Kim from Nuggets Down Under. Please help out with what you can. See if we can right a wrong !
Cheers
Ash

before we all start to panic... why dont some one ring the people who owne this land first... we are not a lunch mob////// i dont know where mt browne is any way///... but if some one gives me the ph number.
i will ring these people.. it is bad news , we dont want this sort of thing//// hope it is some thing simple///// ok boys good luck all nuggertman