Conference Paper

Author

Gistitan, C.; Boyle, R. F.

Title

The Golden Mount - Central Queensland's First Triumph

In

Fifth National Conference on Engineering Heritage 1990: Interpreting Engineering Heritage; Preprints of Papers

Imprint

Institution of Engineers, Australia, Western Australian Division, Perth, Western Australia, 1990, pp. 99-103

ISBN/ISSN

0909421234

Url

https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.624613869730546

Abstract

Discovered in 1882 after being rejected by miners as a worthless hill of ironstone, the Mount Morgan Gold Mine generated enormous dividends for its original shareholders; it funded the exploration for oil in the Persian Gulf which gave the British navy a strategic advantage in World War One and resulted in the founding of British Petroleum. It led the world in gold treatment technology at the end of the 19th century and the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust was founded on a legacy from one of the original investors. After operating almost continuously for 108 years, Mount Morgan Mine will leave few substantial structures behind in the town to show it ever existed. Fortunately, over most of its 108 years, there was a continuing commitment of a few staff to the preservation of archival material. This commitment has ensured that the Mine has left behind a wealth of material which continues to provide research resources for those tracing the mine's technical and social contribution to Central Queensland and to Australia. In 1986, as a result of the efforts of one of these staff and the generosity of the then Chief Executive of Peko-Wallsend, the Company donated all its archival material to the Central Queensland Collection of the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education (now the University College of Central Queensland) Rockhampton, for preservation in the College Library. The paper will briefly outline the history of the Mine, and its links with the technological, educational and industrial developments in Central Queensland and the effect of the mine on the economy of Australia. It will detail the written and pictorial records now retained at the University College and the background of some of the people who prepared the material and who assisted in its preservation. It will record the present preservation, display and use of the Collection and its significance in the research areas.

Related Published resources

isPartOf

• Fifth National Conference on Engineering Heritage 1990: Interpreting Engineering Heritage; Preprints of Papers (Perth, Western Australia: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1990), 139 pp. https://search.informit.org/doi/book/10.3316/informit.0909421234. Details