jrbeatty

Me too Steve. As a lover of Romano British history I've spent some time there over the years - not detecting, but I once worked briefly restoring a section of Hadrian's Wall. In an earlier life I was a stonemason. Rocks on the brain, I suppose! I have a nice collection of Roman coins, but my dream find would be a gold Solidus. :)

I'm just bumping this final vid to the new page Yeah Reg. I'm not ashamed to admit I teared up a few times while transcribing this tape. I owe a lot to Jim. Naturally I've edited out an awful lot of repetitive, boring footage. For instance, en route to WA we travelled in convoy and chatted away on CB radio. There were some delightful accidentally recorded dialogues between us (because I had set down the camera whilst still running) but visually, a half hour close up of seat upholstery :)

Last one. Thanks for watching: A short shot of Jim and the "Bismarck" to end the series. Jim died of cancer after a long debilitating struggle but his legacy lives on in many ways. Apart from his two adult children, there's now the Jim Stewart Memorial Trophy awarded annually (at the "Laanecoorie bash" in Victoria's Golden Triangle) to the peer nominated prospector who most lives up to his ideals of generosity, helpfulness, honesty and humour. Of course he also lives on in the memory of those who knew him personally. Hopefully, this video series has not only introduced him to those who never met him, but has reawakened fond memories for those who did. With Ken Leach and Johnny Morley. Mid 90's Fortunate Gully Rheola.

Good question Jin. Using the "Bismarck" Jimmy and I found about 50 odd ozs, but Jim and Johnny Morley worked together for a far longer period and would have scored far more than that. Sadly, I believe Johnny had a stroke some time back and is now invalided. Jimmy also worked alone with good results, but I'd have to ask Robyn (Jim's widow) in order to get more specific figures.

The "Bismarck" was a real drawcard whenever it appeared in public. This scene was fairly typical. However, here it struggled to handle salty ground. With Jim Stewart near Goongarrie, WA mid 90's. Copied from HI8

Here's that hardy young character again. Brilliant detector operator but junk this time. He was shyly courting the "Chicken burger lady" who ran a takeaway stall at Laverton, WA, hence the banter. I wonder whether the relationship flourished into permanence :) Featuring Jim Stewart and prospector Ian McMaster's better half, who's name now escapes me. Shot at Hawks Nest north, Laverton, WA mid 90's You certainly meet some characters outback ?

I've never been back, but judging by other areas done with proto's and big loops, only deep small gold would remain.

Thanks Northeast. That run was all in new ground, as was the nearby 6 ozer, also the 70 oz nugget found nearby in the fifties. This undisturbed ground consists of short runs (or "Necks" as Jimmy and I called them) draining into Yorath gully. The main gullies in that paddock (Fortunate and Sheepwash) were extensively worked during the Gold Rush years with nuggets up to 200oz found. As shown in the other vids, we only found junk in them. Working separately at around the same time with JHS, Reg found a good patch elsewhere on Kens property. Ken Leach was a cantankerous old bugger who hated prospectors and this was the reason he finally did a deal with us, since his property was constantly "moonlighted" As you probably know, Rheola was historically fabulously rich in very big gold. Ken died of skin cancer not long after this was filmed. His son John took over, and at the time I sent copies of this footage to him. He described his father to me as having become "gold obsessed" in his later years, to the detriment of the property.

While Jim Stewart, Johnny Morley and property owner Ken Leach were chasing large deep pieces with the "Bismarck" I got to work with an SD2100 with the green 18" "dustbin" lid and recovered a few smaller bits. This 6 grammer was one of a small run of tiddlers heading towards deeper ground. Shot at Sheepwash Gully, Rheola, mid 90's PS: Note to self: Vids embed better with Chrome than IE :)

Featuring the same rough, tough but excellent young prospector from the "Cap Rock" series but seen here crushing quartz specimens (some of which came from that hole) This bloke works right through the heat of a WA summer and made a more than adequate living from detecting. We enjoyed his company immensely - "water worn lovelies" indeed! With Jim Stewart and prospector Ian McMaster (sieve) Shot at the Laverton, WA caravan park mid 90's Edit: Thanks Steve. I'll remember that (maybe)

I can only echo what others have said above - an inspirational well written story set amongst stunning vistas. Latter day prospecting at the highest level in every sense of the term - thanks for sharing your gold journey Steve.

Here's a more laid back one featuring some campfire chatter. I never did find out what the "red dress" was all about, thankfully - - Also, attempting to calibrate the tow coil with a buried 2 oz piece I'd recently found - - - Usual cast of characters: John, Reg and Jimmy. Lifted from old HI8, mid 90's WA.

Breathtakingly spectacular country of origin Jim, Love to see it one day. Would be best prospected by younger legs than mine though Steve - - waiting impatiently - -

Here's one timed for this weekends annual "Laanecoorie bash" in the Golden Triangle. Reg reports it's another huge success WA mid 90's Hawks Nest near Laverton I'm using Powergel to loosen a multi target in caprock detected at depth with an SD2200 and 18" DD coil. Ran out of film but they were specimens. The trouble with using explosives for this work is not destroying the target (that's a matter of charge placement and quantity) but the damn detonator fragments! Better to use Pauls jackhammer. Featuring Jim Stewart using early model Coiltek pinpointer and hammer drill. I can't recall the name of the young prospector, but he was damn good!

Dontcha hate it when well thought out theory fails to produce? - - happens a lot in this game. For me, part of the fun of it.

Here's a "portable" two person version in the Dunolly Museum, Victoria AUS: The valve electronics and batteries are in the wheelbarrow arrangement. Used on the Rheola goldfields post WW2 with "limited' success

While rattling through a cupboard I located a film canister I'd "hidden" once containing these finds from years ago using an SD2200 and 18" DD Coiltek coil. The 6.8 gram specimen was found about 50 meters from the monument where that rather large specimen was found by John Deason and Richard Oates. I'm sure they'd have lost sleep worrying about not finding it: I think the brass object (about 30mm in length with lead backing) is part of a knife handle and was even closer to the monument, buried deep in the brick red clay of the huge surfaced area surrounding it. I've no idea of the nationality but the combination of stars and what looks like a bird of prey had me thinking it could be of American origin- - - ? Update: it's a silver handle piece from a civil war era "Liberty and Union" gentlemans folding knife. Thanks again to "Professor Google"

Darn right there GS - - - that and a good positive attitude is the key to detecting

Thanks for that Rob, Wonder if he remembers me after all these years - - -

Lunk: On fire mate! WTG

That's right Reg. For whatever reason, WA copped a bit of re-entering junk, including Skylab, large parts of which also survived.

Digging up an old topic here: As explained earlier, This was filmed at Gwalia, WA goldfields, where he and partner Debbie lived for some time in the 90's. The object shown is part of a large Soviet spacecraft which re-entered over the WA desert. Copied from HI8 videotape, mid 1990's

Jim Stewart at Red Streak, Dunolly, testing a 36" double "D" The theory behind it was for better penetration in "hot" ground. This coil was custom built for us by John Gladdis and John Kah at Coiltek HQ, Adelaide SA. It was originally of solid construction but weighed far too much to carry, even with the "Bismarck" carrier. We tried using it as a tow coil behind Reg Wilsons quad in WA, but its slow response time made it unsuitable for the role. Upon returning home to Vic, Jim and I converted it to skeletal form and this stripped most of the weight, rendering it easy to carry. HOWEVER, we discovered that (unlike monoloops) DD's seem to lose efficiency at this size, at least when coupled to SD's.

Introducing Reg Wilson - You know who the rest are - -

Always time for some fun in the bush - Reg Wilson, John Hider Smith (quad) Jim Stewart (coil sled) WA mid 90's I've figured the embedding trick - maybe!