A second attempt at finding evidence of historic gold prospecting in the Northern Forest
I decided to return to the Northern Forest to explore another section of the hillside behind Lees Grove for evidence of historic gold prospecting. During Bush Bash 83, I searched the western section of the hillside; today, I turned my attention to the next section to the east.
Once again, I started at Lees Grove, but this time I headed straight up the hillside beside the creek that initially runs along the track. I then entered a scenic fern forest that covered the hillside, but noticed a spur to the east and decided to investigate it and get my bearings. The spur was covered in pine forest, with several eucalypt trees, and sits behind properties on Lees Grove. I came across an old logging track through here and followed it for a while before eventually turning west again and heading back into the native bush from where I came.
Continuing uphill, I kept an eye out for a cave or tunnel that may have been dug during early gold prospecting, particularly one with signs of spoil or tailings nearby. However, there was no obvious sign of anything fitting that description.
As I climbed higher, I left the fern forest behind and entered an open beech forest containing some impressively large trees. With more light reaching the forest floor, travel became easier with more visibility and I zigzagged across two or three gullies before eventually reaching a track that, in my mind, had to be the Rātā Ridge Track.
It was. After walking along it for perhaps 15 minutes, I came across the entrance to the Lees Grove Track. This gave me a useful reference point and told me where to begin my descent. The last time I had been here, I explored the hillside to the left of the track when heading down, so this time I headed down the hillside to the right.
I descended in a zigzag fashion but, interestingly, didn’t appear to cover much of the same ground I had crossed on the way up. Where I had zigged on the climb, I seemed to zag on the way down.
At one point, I came across the beginning of a small creek. The hillside above appeared dry, yet water was seeping from the ground. I took a closer look, wondering whether it might be emerging from a buried tunnel or cave, but at least from what I could see on the surface, there was nothing to suggest that was the case.
I continued downhill, moving between beech and broadleaf forest and dense areas of ferns depending on whether I was following a spur, crossing the hillside or dropping down a gully. Eventually, I entered an expanse of fern forest with the same pine forest next to it, which I had explored earlier. I continued primarily through the fern forest before finally finding the bottom of the Lees Grove Track. From there, it was only a short walk out of the reserve.
While I didn’t find what I was looking for, the trip was still useful. I was able to eliminate another sizeable section of the hillside from my search, leaving a progressively smaller area to investigate over the coming months. Next time, I may follow the Fern Gully Track and explore the area to its west until I reach the section I have now covered.
