Ebagoola Township and Battery

The township of Ebagoola was situated on the Hamilton Goldfield on the western fall of the McIllwraith Range, on Cape York Peninsula. The goldfield, named after the Member of Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cook, gold miner/investor John Hamilton, was proclaimed on 13 July 1900 following prospector John Dickie's report of gold in the area in January 1900.[1]

Alluvial gold had been discovered on the Cape York Peninsula as early as 1876, on the Coen River, after the Palmer River goldfield drew attention to the region. A small rush ensued in 1878. Although this soon dissipated, by the late 1880s a small township had been formed at Coen. In 1892 the Coen Goldfield was proclaimed officially and reefing work commenced. Although production totals paled in comparison with fields such as the Palmer, within the next few years the erection of batteries and a cyanide works at Coen gave the northern Peninsula a permanent base for prospecting expeditions. Gold was found on the Starcke River in 1890, at Batavia (Wenlock) in 1892, Ebagoola in 1899 and Potallah in 1902.[1]

The township of Ebagoola was surveyed in September 1900 to service the newly proclaimed Hamilton Goldfield. The first Ebagoola camp was near the site of Dickie's discovery, but the surveyed town was located a mile to the north at the northern end of the field.[1]

The majority of surveyed allotments were quickly purchased and a number of small businesses were established. Characteristic of new mining towns, these included a butchery (the first business established on the field), a general store and a hotel. These buildings were rudimentary, slab-walled structures with roofs clad with bark sheets held down by saplings, canvas over a ridge pole, and iron sheeting.[1]

By November 1900 the population of the field was estimated at 330, of whom 130 were alluvial miners, 100 quartz miners, 50 businessmen and non-miners, and 50 women and children. Fever, dysentery and eye trouble were prevalent in the last part of the year, due to the lack of clean well water. By the end of 1900, as a measure of confidence in the place, three large hotels and several substantial stores had been built, and dwellings were being erected as fast as building material could be obtained. Reserves had been laid out for Government buildings and the hospital on a mound at the northern end of town. The town was serviced by a post office from 1900 to 1917 and a school operated from 1905 to 1914.[1]

As mining and ore treatment intensified on the field, Ebagoola township developed rapidly in the early 1900s. New businesses included two cordial manufacturers, a chemist, baker, two barbers, two blacksmiths, a confectioner, tobacconist, dressmaker, two auctioneers, commission agent and an accountant. There was also a tent hospital run by the chemist's wife, and a coach service from Ebagoola to Port Stewart, the closest port, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) east and about 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of Cooktown. The first gold-bearing ore from the Hamilton field had to be sent to Coen, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north, for crushing. By November 1900 there was only one 5-head stamper battery on the Hamilton field, and that was poorly equipped. It serviced the output of fifty mines and floods had caused its closure for 12 weeks at the beginning of 1901. However, the official return of gold for 1900 was 806 ounces (22,800 g) of reef gold and 12,000 ounces (340,000 g) of alluvial, valued at £35,258.[1]

At the end of 1900 the 10-head Ada Stewart battery at Coen was relocated to Ebagoola, in time to crush ore during the wet season. A third battery was established on the field soon after.[1]

Intensive mining activity in the Ebagoola district proved to be of short duration. Within a decade, the mines were closing. In 1907 the Pioneer battery was moved to the nearby Lukin field and in the same year the Ada Stewart battery changed ownership, and again in 1910. From 1909 to 1913 Berryman and Pool cyanided the Ada Stewart battery sands.[1]

By 1910 the population of the field was recorded as 101, less than a third of the estimated population of late 1900. All the mines at Ebagoola had closed by 1913 and the town was practically deserted by the start of World War I (August 1914), with only one hotel, the Hamilton, still operating. By 1924 there were only a few fossickers getting very little gold. Tom Miller, the last resident of Ebagoola, died in 1958 and his corrugated iron hut remains, as do early tree plantings and street alignments.[1]

The Ebagoola Township Site and Ada Stewart Battery is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Coen and about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of the Peninsula Developmental Road. The homestead of Yarraden pastoral station is located nearby.[1]

The place occupies a mostly flat area of land and is bounded on its southern side by a disused airstrip. A small hill (known as 'Hospital Hill') is located at the northeast corner of the site, about 400 metres (1,300 ft) northeast of the battery. To the east and west of the site boundary, are two intermittent creeks. The vegetation cover is predominantly grassland and open Eucalyptus spp regrowth, except for the main township area. Open melaleuca forest is evident along the entire western boundary following the course of a dry creek bed. Cattle graze the place, particularly the site of the main Ebagoola township, which remains cleared.[1]

Ada Stewart Battery

Stamper battery

Cornish boiler

The battery is located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) north of Ebagoola township and within Lot 8 on E5146. The components of the battery comprise an almost intact three standard steel stamper frame with ten head of stamps in two mortar boxes. The battery is set in compacted clay foundations and as a result of vibration the frame contains a number of major cracks, which have been subjected to makeshift repairs. The body of a single-cylinder flat-bed steam engine is located alongside. The engine has been broken into two sections and the large flywheel has been placed against the stamper frame. Remains of a brick mounting for a Cornish boiler are adjacent to the engine. The boiler, which now lies several metres away, is of an early type.[1]

The battery outflow and mill area below the boxes comprises a shallow excavated bench with collapsed belt wheels and a removed camshaft. The only surviving item of secondary processing plant is a grinding pan, which is not in situ. Other items of plant lying around the site include another belt shaft and wheels, a duplex pump, and the body of a smaller grinding pan. An extensive area of tailings extends west from the battery to the creek.[1]

The surviving plant consists of:[1]

• Ten head stamp battery with two 5 stamp mortar boxes – Lallal Iron Coy. Foundry Ballarat (on one mortar box)
• Cornish boiler – no brand (firedoors removed)
• Grinding pan (not in situ) – Langlands Foundry Limited Melbourne
• One-cylinder rocking shaft reversing steam engine – no brand
• Duplex steam pump (not in situ) – no brand
• Grinding pan (not in situ) – no brand.

Ebagoola Township and Battery was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 15 May 2006 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

Ebagoola Township Site, established in 1900, is significant in demonstrating the evolution of mining settlements on the remote Cape York Peninsula. After a decade of activity the population dwindled and dwellings were removed, leaving the street alignments and allotments identified by plantings of mangoes and date palms, which are significant in marking the township site today. The combination of the Ada Stewart Battery, remnant workings (both reef and alluvial) and nearby Ebagoola Township Site is important in demonstrating the development of the Hamilton Goldfield, and of small scale but intensive gold mining activity in far north Queensland, in the early 1900s. The Ada Stewart Battery at Ebagoola is significant because it demonstrates the need for reliable crushing batteries on remote goldfields to enable mining to proceed. Its presence on the Hamilton field also demonstrates a typical pattern of moving plant from field to field in response to new economic opportunities, in this case from Coen to Ebagoola.[1]

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.

Major items of plant are significant. The flat-bed engine is rare though now broken. The 10 head battery is one of only two intact 10 head stamp batteries recorded in Cook Shire, and the only Lallal Iron Foundry product recorded in North Queensland. The form of the only remaining building in the Ebagoola township site, Miller's hut, in such intact condition, is now rare for abandoned mining towns. The surviving combination of reef and alluvial workings, battery and township within such a concise area is quite unusual in Queensland.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

The spatial layout and remnant fabric and earthworks at the Ebagoola township and Ada Stewart Battery are important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of an early, intensively worked goldfield in far north Queensland. The battery includes a 10-head stamper, Cornish boiler, grinding pans, duplex steam pump, reversing steam engine, associated brick and clay machinery mounts, and tailing sands. The nearby township site consists of dwelling sites and associated materials; stands of date palms and mango trees, the remains of cattle yards, while extensive areas of shallow workings and alluvial workings are found throughout the whole site. Miller's hut in the Ebagoola township site is typical of dwellings in early North Queensland mining camps, although possibly it is of later origin.[1]

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