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This YouTube shows the work done, the effort put in by the gold diggers and the change to the environment that occurred during the 1850 - 1890 ......LINK.... for video below.

I am interested in the history of White's Electronics. So, just for fun I have decided to start researching their history. This is just a personal interest project for me. I have found just a few newspaper articles, some patent numbers and have or have reference to a few of their brochure packets. I am interested in all of their history, from the inception, through the geiger counter phase, why they started making metal detectors, when various models were introduced, etc. to the end of the business. Does any one know of any written history on the company or does anyone have any references or links to references that they are willing to share? PM's are welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.

Some Interesting Finds From Last Fall And The Long Wet Winter. Pictured Above And Below Is A Very Delicate And Translucent Obsidian Curved Knife Blade. Below Is Another Blade Much More Stout And Serrated Notice How Some Of The Artifacts Take On An Almost Chameleon Effect. Below After A Wash. Next A Very Large Blade. Below Are Bird Point (So Called) And A Very Small Micro Blade (Scalpel) The Next One Is One Of My Favorite Forms.I've Found A Handful Through The Years. The Final Piece Is A Real Crier A Damaged Bird Adornment Or Charm Carved From Slate. Thanks For Looking.

Bonanzas gold finds in Victoria from the 1850s. The following is from ProspectingAustraliaForum ...........Link........

I learned something from this story. I never imagined. How one woman helped start the California gold rush (fox40.com)

Just Read on another forum that Monte Berry passed away so thought I would share very knowledgeable and respected metal detectorist

Gold was discovered before January 24, 1848 in California but it was James Marshall who started the Gold Rush! The Discovery of Gold in California

Passing of a giant, one of the best the industry ever saw…. “With pride and gratitude we announce that, after 57 years, Western & Eastern Treasures magazine ceased publication with the December, 2022 issue. Over the last few years, I have happily observed the detecting industry begin to reach a much larger audience. This is primarily due to the popularity of online short and long form videos. Their creators can share finds and experiences almost instantaneously. As encouraging as that is, it was time to come to terms with the fact that the medium in which we delivered our content (magazines both print and digital) belongs to a shrinking market. It has been an honor to assume the role of Managing Editor of Western & Eastern Treasures. My grandfather, Houston (Dick) Burdette, was the original publisher. My mother Rosemary Anderson and father, Steve Anderson, deserve more praise than I can articulate here. Without both, Western & Eastern Treasures would not have become the respected and popular publication we all know today. To our dozens of advertisers, hundreds of contributors and, most of all, our thousands upon thousands of readers I say - Thank You.” Sincerely, Logan Anderson Managing Editor Western & Eastern Treasures

I was just informed that "Western & Eastern Treasures" magazine has ceased operations, primarily due to competition from YouTube channels. My last article therein was my Field Test of the White's Goldmaster 24K, which appeared in the October 2018 issue. Bummer.

Will it happen again with the worlds fait currency in trouble U.S. gold standard timeline 1879: The gold standard is adopted by the U.S. 1879 to 1914: The so-called classical gold standard era. One ounce of gold represents $21. 1933: The U.S. bans gold ownership. Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the authority granted to the president by the Trading with the Enemy Act to require all U.S. citizens to sell their gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve in exchange for $20.67 per ounce. This is knows as Roosevelt's Executive Order 6102. Jewelry and rare coins are excluded. The process of seizing all the gold allows the governments to print more dollars and stimulate the economy. 1934: The value of the dollar in gold is changed from $20.67 to $35 per ounce. 1950s: Black market for gold is on the rise. 1971: The price of gold is no longer fixed to the U.S. dollar. Richard Nixon puts a halt on the U.S. dollar’s convertibility into gold. This means that other countries can no longer redeem dollars for gold. 1973: Nixon scraps the gold standard. 1974: Roosevelt’s Executive Order to nationalize all privately-owned gold is repealed and Congress restores the U.S. citizens’ right to own gold. 1977: Trading With The Enemy Act is amended, removing the U.S. president’s authority to control gold transactions during a period of national emergency, aside from during a time of war. At the same time, International Emergency Economic Powers Act is introduced, which gives powers to the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency. 2020: Trading With The Enemy Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act are both still in force. "United States Gold Confiscation—1933 Labeled Executive Order 6102, President Franklin Roosevelt signed on a law on April 5, 1933 “forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States.” It basically meant that private owners were required to take their coins, bars or gold certificates to a bank, and exchange them for US dollars at the prevailing rate of $20.67 per ounce...... “Under the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917, as later amended by the Emergency Banking Act of March 9, 1933, violation of the order was punishable by fine up to $10,000, up to ten years in prison, or both. Numerous individuals and companies were prosecuted.” $10,000 was a fortune in 1933!...Worse, the ban on private ownership of gold in America—the home of the free—lasted over four decades. Not until January 1, 1975 could US citizens own more than $100 in gold again". " Australia Gold Confiscation—1959 The Australian government similarly nationalized gold. The law, part of the Banking Act in 1959, allowed gold seizures of private citizens if the Governor determined it was “expedient so to do, for the protection of the currency or of the public credit of the Commonwealth.” In other words, they made it legal to seize gold from private citizens and exchange it for paper currency. The country’s Treasurer stated in a press release that followed, “All gold (other than wrought gold and coins to a limited extent) had to be delivered to the Reserve Bank of Australia within one month of its coming into a person's possession.” The law also said you weren’t allowed to sell gold, except to the Reserve Bank of Australia (their central bank). Nor could you export any gold (send it outside the country) without the bank’s permission. .....the law....destroyed the local private gold market overnight. Like the US ban, this rule wasn’t short lived either. Reports indicate it stayed on the books until 1976, a full 17 years, before being “suspended.”

Has any one detected one of these. A Ballarat Miner's Safety hook. Miners soon discovered that… A Ballarat Miner's Safety hook. Miners soon discovered that even with a windlass and rope, pulling up a bucket of 'Wash Dirt' could be dangerous, especially to people down below, if the lip of the bucket caught and the contents dumped back down. to remedy this, they fashioned a Safety hook, which saved many headaches whilst also easy for disengaging the bucket at the surface, 33 cm long

Photo 1: Eric in fine form with an early Aquasport PI detector ( early 1980’s I’m guessing) Photo 2: Eric in his mad scientist laboratory making something awesome Photo 3: Eric in Australia testing something (about 10 years ago) Photo 4: Eric down at West Bay beach in Dorset UK. I think he was using his modified Vallon VMH3CS Feel free to add more photos if you have them. I have one more to find in my archives which is Eric enjoying a pint of beer at an English pub. Tony

A 19 minute UTube.

It is with great sadness that I announce my good friend died Friday of an aggressive brain tumor. Eric was not only a genius, but he was a kind hearted soul. He will always be known for his many inventions in his life. God rest your soul Eric.

N° 2 and N° 4 Grandkids wanted to do a bushwalk with me so I took them to the start of the Australian Alps Walking Track as we only had my vehicle it had to be a there and back exercise from Walhalla to the Thomson River and back. The Australian Alps Walking Track is a long distance walking trail through the alpine areas of Victoria, New South Wales and ACT. It is 655 km long, starting at Walhalla (a historical gold field), Victoria and running through to Canberra. The track goes mainly though Australian national parks It ascends many peaks including Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Bogong, and Bimberi Peak. To walk the whole trail can take between 5 to 8 weeks. Now the boys insist on doing the next section to the STEEL BRIDGE as soon as time permits. The history of the track.

A proposed mine at Hecla, Wy (near Cheyenne), is currently in the permitting process, and independent economic studies estimate over 2000 jobs will be opened by it. The company is CK mining, and are proposing a site of about 900-acres to be quarried there. The company’s website has some interesting historical information and a geological report about the area: https://www.ckgoldmine.com/site-history https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_d9c22c808a6c7fec48fed1b6f801c02c/usgoldcorp/db/332/1560/pdf/Copper+King+Report.pdf[1].pdf

This place reminds me of a small-scale Ballarat. Do we have any Canadians on the forums? B.C. history brought to life in Gold Rush town of Barkerville - Victoria Times Colonist

The Yarra river flows through the heart of Melbourne an interesting Video of gold history area. ....Utube Link....

Today was Nugget Finder cleaning and rod installation day (yes I have a different day for Coiltek coils) 😉 (I picked up some of @Doc’s awesome new lower rods) and while pulling them all out, stumbled across a magazine cover that caught my eye…. Look at those baby faces and check out that GPZ 2500 he’s using 😉 @Jonathan Porter if you don’t have a copy of this edition, private message me your mailing address and I’ll drop this copy into the post for you. Jen

Had a business trip to a cyber security conference in Las Vegas and wove in a side trip to my Spanish outpost site. It's been hammered pretty hard for the past ten years or so, but I still managed to make some finds. It was hot as he!! and the ground was parched bone dry. In my experience at this particular site, the Equinox tends to do better when the ground's damp versus bone dry, so I have hope that there could still be some future finds to be made during the winter or spring time, but it's definitely time to find a new site 🤠 Does anyone have any idea what the button is I found at 1:05? It's a two piece, probably Civil War era more or less, and looks to represent some European Monarchy given the crown. I ruled out Spain and Mexico already, but couldn't find something similar.

Just found this browsing for mining history, it’s about the history of gold mining in Montana: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2021-07/THE ROAD TO GARNET'S GOLD (002).pdf

LIFE ON THE DIGGINGS. ROBBERS' EXCHANGE OF GUNS By C. R. C. PEARCE. The great army of diggers at Bendigo did an immense amount of work in an incredibly short space of time. Vast areas of ground were turned over to the bedrock and rifled of their treasures. Forests of great ironbark trees, with their dense underwood, quickly disappeared. So thick and dark were these forests that people had often lost their way in the daylight. After the winter of 1852 almost all the natural beauty of Bendigo had disappeared. Earth and clay reduced to a powder, lay on the roads ankle deep, and the slightest puff of wind raised it in blinding clouds. Mr. George Mackay, in his "Annals of Bendigo," relates that Mr. Joseph Crook, who afterwards lived in South Yarra, camped with three mates at the bottom of Long and Ironbark gullies in April, 1852. They lost a horse, and in searching for it in a dense ironbark forest they discovered a very rich gully, in which they picked up 9oz. of gold from the surface in two hours. In order to find their way back to this spot they cut marks in the trees when passing on their way to American Flat through California Gully. A rush to California Gully occurred on the following day (Sunday), and on Monday so much timber had been destroyed that Mr. Crook and his mates were unable to find the track. At a new rush diggers were shovelings up the gold between one an- other's legs, but Mr. Crook's party could not get within a mile and a half of the scene, as all the ground had been taken up. At Pegleg they got gold at 2ft. 6in., but not in large quantities. Thinking that they knew all about their claim they moved on. They were chagrined later to see men whom they regarded as new chums shovel up gold almost in bucketful's. Eluding Black Douglas Black Douglas and his gang were the terror of diggers when they were taking their gold from Bendigo to Melbourne in 1852. Mr. Crook, it is recorded in the "Annals of Bendigo," related how he chiselled four chambers 8in. by 3in. by 4in. in the bed of a dray, and after placing four chamois leather bags in the chambers covered them up with wooden lids and filled the crevices with clay. Mr. Crook and his party were not "stuck up" by Black Douglas, but a neighbouring camp of diggers was robbed at Carlsruhe on the night they were there. A successful digger, who had fortunately sent his gold to Melbourne by escort, was robbed on his way to Melbourne. The robbers took all his money with the exception of a few shillings. They also took his double-barrelled gun and gave him an old single-barrelled gun in exchange. The digger took this gun to England as a memento, and some time afterwards a young friend tried to draw the charge. The first thing he pulled out was portion of a 5 note. A blacksmith unscrewed the breech and took out notes amounting to 150. A man at the third White Hill valued his horse at 150, and he used to sleep with the bridle rein round his wrist. One morning he found that the rein had been cut and that the horse had been stolen. About three months afterwards he found the horse outside his tent with a new saddle on its back and 20lb. of gold in the saddle bag. The owner of the gold never appeared. Diggers when they entered a store to make purchases emptied the contents of their matchboxes, filled with gold dust, on to white paper on the counter. The store keeper blew the dust and put the rest in a fine sieve, afterwards paying for it. Mr. H. Brown, in "Victoria as I found It," says that he saw innumerable grains of gold in the dust on a counter and directed the attention of a storekeeper to the loss of gold. Laughing, the storekeeper brushed the gold off the counter with his sleeve, and said that the dust was worthless. It was only when alluvial gold became scarcer that this fine dust was saved. "The police have commenced their search for the licenses of gold diggers" wrote the Bendigo correspondent of "The Argus" on October 17, 1853. "They have dropped the musket and bayonet, and have taken to the baton." The principal objection of the diggers to the gold license was the method of collection. In the "Annals of Bendigo," it is recorded that some diggers were chained to logs for hours in the blazing sun. It is to the credit of the diggers that the first balls which they attended were held in aid of the foundation of hospitals. At the first diggers' ball in Bendigo, the "ladies numbered 60 or about one in ten to the gentlemen, and they did credit to the classes on the diggings. Despite the assurance of the committee that full dress would not be exacted a great number of the men were attired in garments that exhibited a gentlemanly taste. The scarcity of women dancers is reflected in the reports of other balls which followed at Forest Creek and Ballarat. At the Forest Creek ball 600 people were present, but there were only 100 women among the dancers. At a Christmas ball held in Bendigo in 1853 some of the dresses cost 10. The program ranged from the opening quadrille to Sir Roger de Coverley. New rushes were frequent in 1853 and 1854, but an exciting rush which occurred at Bendigo was not for gold, but for cabbages. An enterprising man brought from Brighton to Bendigo late in 1853 the first cartload of cabbages seen on that field. The cabbages were quickly sold at 3/6 each. Commenting on this "rush," the correspondent says "The promise of the surveyor-general to give every digger a cabbage-garden near the mines is hailed with gladness." How well the miners of Bendigo and Ballarat and other districts took advantage of the opportunity to grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers was shown in later years by the beautiful cottage gar- dens which adorned the mining towns. Though the price of flour was decreasing the bakers were charging 3/6 for the 4lb. loaf on the White Hills in 1853. Cats were in great demand on the Bendigo field. Good mouse cats brought from 2 to 3 each. Cricket at Back Creek The first cricket match in Bendigo took place on January 2, 1854, between the married and single members of the Bendigo Cricket Club. The bachelors were "shame- fully defeated," and the correspondent re- corded: "The wicket was pitched on a tolerably level piece of ground at Back Creek. In a spacious tent an excellent dinner was provided for the members of the club. The wines were excellent, and were pretty fully discussed, so that towards the close of day the meeting of cricketers wore anything but a dull aspect. Several gentlemen from the Camp, commissioners, and others visited the tent during the afternoon, and the best possible feeling was displayed toward them." On the Back Creek cricket-ground in later years Mr. George Mackay and Mr. Angus Mackay, sons of the recorder of this first match, gave an impetus to cricket on the Back Creek ground which resulted in the production of many fine players in Bendigo. Mr. R. Brough Smyth, in the "Goldfields and Mineral Districts of Victoria," re- corded that in 1858 147,358 adult miners, including 23,673 Chinese, were employed on the goldfields. In 1856 2,985,9910z. gold, valued at 4 an ounce (11,943,964), were exported. From the discovery of gold in 1851 to 1868 the amount of gold exported from Victoria was 147,342,767, and Mr. Brough Smith calculated the average for each man at 1,699/8/3, or 98/10/4 a year. "But these figures are not a true test of the success of individuals," he added. "The measure of success of the gold-mining industry must not be summed up by the exports. Immense sums were expended in the construction of roads, rail- ways, and other public works. Large towns, with fine buildings, good streets and parks, supplied with water from reservoirs of large extent, arose, so that no small share of the wealth the mines have yielded has been profitably used in turning a wilderness into a habitable abode." The Argus 1930 http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4232417?searchTerm="Eluding Black Douglas"

The way it was, a lot of photos. The quality and speed can be selected at setting icon. I turned the volume off when I watched it. At the 20 minute mark in the second video, it goes religious

This is a list of Greater than 10 Tonne Gold found and recorded (a lot of early finds were not recorded) in Victoria Australia.

The 'Berlin Rush' beginnings, August 1868 when Alexander Clelland sank a shallow shaft outside John Catto's Paddock and found a 60 oz nugget at the bottom. The Government rewarded him 100 pounds for the discovery of what he called "Bervie" Gold field. This name was spelled incorrectly and became Berlin in the official register. The Rheola area became famous for its beds of large nuggets scattered through the gullies. Some of the gold nuggets found during the 19th century include: The Needful found in 1869, Rum Ton found in 1870, Viscount Canterbury found in 1871, Precious found in 1871, Viscountess Canterbury and the Crescent found in 1872. John Catto's Paddock was the location of both the Precious and the Viscount Canterbury. The Precious was Victoria’ fourth largest nugget, weighted at 1,717 ounces. Well that's the way the cookie crumbles 😢