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There is plenty of old gold mining history at Spring Gully.
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With the weather cooling down a bit I decided to head back up to the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park and go for a bit of a stroll. I’ve written up a few walks around this area before but this morning I decided to do a walk called Spring Gully & Break Neck Hill, a walk that I’ve never done before. The area is traversed by the long distance Goldfields Track and most longish walks around here incorporate a section of the track into them, and this walk is no different in that regard. After my Sat Nav once again took me for a extended tour of the back blocks of Castlemaine I eventually arrived at the starting spot at the Spring Gully Carpark, pulling on my boots and setting off by around 9am.
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The Spring Gully Carpark was deserted this morning.
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Apart from the old mining history this walk features a lot of dry open forest.
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Initially this morning I headed south along the Goldfields Track and almost immediately I was passing by the old gold mining relics that this area is famous for. The first old mining area that I passed through was the site of the old Spring Gully Mines which dates back to the 1850’s. This area was an incredibly rich source of gold back in the day and there is a lot of clues to the history of the place scattered through the scrub, both on the west side of Spring Gully and then also when I crossed over to the eastern side. If anyone decides to follow in my foot steps then the fairly well preserved big gold battery that operated on the site to 1898 is well worth checking out.
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After crossing over Spring Gully the Goldfields Track heads through an era of old mullock heaps.
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The old gold battery is well worth checking out.
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The old gold battery at Spring Gully.
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Spring Gully
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After spending a little time kicking around the extensive Spring Gully Diggings it was time to get walking again. The walking track now meandered it’s way a bit further south, crossing a couple of gullies before climbing a bit and meeting a private road that dropped me down into Fryerstown (I could of prefaced Fryerstown with old or historic but that’s going to get tired pretty quickly I’m thinking). Once on the private road I was suddenly walking through open farmland now, the more open spaces giving me my first good look at the looming dark clouds, for a country that seems to be perennially in drought I seem to cop a lot of rain on my walks. Passing through Fryerstown I checked out a few of the old buildings, although with most of these old buildings being privately owned it pays to be fairly respectful I think.
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Leaving the Spring Gully area the Goldfields Track makes for nice walking.
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I climbed a little...
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...before dropping down this private road into Fryerstown.
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Fryerstown
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Fryerstown, most of these old buildings are privately owned so it would pay to be respectful.
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Fryerstown. I'm thinking Autumn is the time to visit here.
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After a quick look at the Burke And Wills Mechanics Institute I headed out of town along a convoluted section of the track, the good news was that I was still following the Goldfields Track so it was fairly well signposted and track marked. After a short stretch beside Vaughan-Chewton Road I dropped down a grassy lane, walked past an old cottage, through Murderers Flat and across Nuggety Creek, yes the highlights were coming thick and fast now. To be honest though, this section and the next section along Coles Road actually made for pretty good walking, the open rural land along with the old mining history made for an enjoyable stroll.
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Fryerstown
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Leaving Fryerstown the Goldfields Track crossed this heavily scared area.
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Goldfields Track is a community based track so it hasn't got the funding of some of our more popular tracks. The volunteers that look after this track network do a great job though and for the most part the track is clear and well marked.
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Dropping down to Murderers Flat I passed this old cottage.
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Murderers Flat
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After climbing Campbells Creek - Fryerstown Road I took a short detour along Coles Road.
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After re-joining Campbells Creek-Fryerstown Road after my Coles Road detour I headed back up into the bush. After a decent climb I arrived at the top of a hill where I had to pick up Break Neck Hill Track. Unfortunately Break Neck Hill Road isn’t signposted here, the road heading bush at 180˚ from my track was signposted as Kemps Bridge Road though, so you could use that as a reference….or you could just follow your map. The walk along Break Neck Hill Track to Break Neck Hill actually required a bit more navigation than I’d expected too. There are quite a few tracks heading off into the scrub along here but I generally just had to stay on more major track….except for once. Just before I started to climb in earnest towards Break Neck Hill the main track heads off to the east (un-mapped and un-signposted) but I headed straight along a lesser track crossing a shallow gully before climbing up to Break Neck Hill.
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Kemps Bridge Road is signposted heading south off Campbells Creek - Fryerstown Road....
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....but my on going route along Break Neck Hill Track wasn't signposted.
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Once following Break Neck Hill Track the going was reasonably straight forward - except for this un mapped (well un mapped on my maps anyway) intersection. I left the main track here and headed along the lesser track on the left.
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Climbing Break Neck Hill I crossed over this old water race.
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At 405 metres Break Neck Hill allowed me a few views of the surrounding rolling hills and the looming black clouds. So with the clouds once again looking a bit threatening I didn’t linger too long up here this morning, grabbing my pack I made the nice descent north until I emerged onto Spring Gully Road. With my ute’s Sat Nav having already given a good look at Spring Gully Road on the way in this morning I didn’t have much to surprise me as I dropped steeply back down to Old Coach Road and the Spring Gully Carpark. Dropping down here I once again emerged into more rural farmland, the open paddocks again allowed for some longer range views. Fifteen minutes after first meeting Spring Gully Road I was pulling my boots off again, settling into the ute and heading for home.
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| Dropping down Spring Gully Road - my mornings walk was almost over. |
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| Spring Gully Road probably allows for the best view of the walk in hindsight. |
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| Time to head home. |
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