Report By: Jane Munro
Photos: Annette Bruce
I don’t know what I was thinking when I suggested camping at Hill End the night before this walk! Having just arrived back from a Queensland holiday, the weather forecast with subzero temperatures predicted scared me off, and we drove out to Glendora camp ground on the Sunday morning. After a quick reconnaissance (for Michael to refresh his 20+ year old memories of the route!) we met up with the 7 other club members for morning tea. After coming to terms with the trauma of not having Joby there to organise the paperwork, set out through the bush towards Bald Hill lookout, in cloudy and cool conditions.
Walking through the forest we were on the lookout for abandoned mine shafts. There were many remnant holes and ditches clearly dug many years in the past, by gold fossickers. Approaching the crest of a ridge, a large pile of rocks in amongst the trees marked the location of a shaft. Stones thrown into the opening of the shaft took seconds to reach the bottom, indicating its considerable depth. Walkers in this area need to be very vigilant here as the shafts are unmarked.
All enjoyed lovely views of Hill End from the lookout. We then walked down slope to meet up with the northern section of the Bald Hill Walking Track, which we followed back to the village. We passed the old dam site and the location of the old stamper battery. Information boards provided by National Parks gave us an appreciation of how different this place was during the 1870’s gold rush.
We walked through the village, checking out various historic buildings, ruins and vacant lots, before returning to the camp ground via Warrys Road where we ate our lunch. After that it was coffee at the village café, before returning home.
