Two open mine shafts discovered a few hundred metres from a Bendigo primary school recently have now been capped.
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Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning environmental planning officer Damian Sharrock said officers discovered the first mine shaft when they noticed four star pickets wrapped with warning tape around a 30 centimetre by 20 centimetre opening while inspecting Crown land on Taylor Street, Long Gully.
“We soon realised it was an uncapped mine shaft that had opened up but hadn’t been reported to DELWP,” he said.
“With California Gully Primary School only about 450 metres away and children walking through the area on their way to school, we knew we had to cap it immediately for the public’s safety.
“We excavated around the hole then capped it with a purpose-built galvanised metal cap.”
Mr Sharrock said it was while department staff were in the process of capping the first shaft that they noticed the second mine only metres away from the first.
“While the work was taking place we noticed a depression in the ground approximately 10 metres away and discovered another subsiding mine shaft,” he said.
“We excavated the shaft to determine the extent of the collapse. The shaft had been back-filled with mullock (rock, dirt and other debris from a mine) at some point in the past. The mullock was quite unstable in the shaft so it was decided to cap this shaft as well.
“We capped that mine shaft with concrete and mesh and added a pipe to allow airflow and relieve pressure on the cap if the mullock in the shaft continues to move in the future. We then smoothed and reseeded the entire area over the two shafts.”
Mr Sharrock said it was possible the two shafts were not related to the same mine and may even be from different mining eras.
In Bendigo, more than 5000 registered gold mines were dug within an area approximately 16 kilometres by 4 kilometres, starting in 1851.
Mine shafts ranged in depths, on average, between 300 and 600 metres. However, some were more than 1000 metres deep.
Mr Sharrock said the Bendigo goldfields represented the largest concentration of deep shafts anywhere in the world.
“DELWP caps disused mineshafts on public land in high use areas for public safety,” he said.
“In instances where we are unable to safely cap a shaft, a security-style fence is installed to prevent public access.”
