Eric Stevenson pushes for fossicking land to be opened in Mount Morgan

Asking a fossicker where they found their gold is a bit like asking a fisherman where they caught that big barra – they will never tell you. However, there is some good news for gold hunters.

Asking a fossicker where they found their gold is a bit like asking a fisherman where they caught that big barra – they will never tell you.

However, there is some good news for those gold hunters with an application for some land to open at Mount Morgan to search for gold soon.

The request by Rockhampton Regional Council has been sent to the state government for three General Permission Areas (GPA) in the districts.

A GPA is a designated area of land fossickers are able to search for minerals including gold and fossickers need to have a fossickers license.

Only hand tools may be used, no machinery, no damage to trees and all rubbish must be removed.

Licenses allow users to search for and collect fossicking materials for recreational, tourist and education purposes only and cost from $8.80 for one month or $56.25 for a year for an individual.

Mount Morgan has an rich and iconic history as one of the world’s most lucrative gold mines to date.

Since the 1880s, about 225 tonnes of gold were extracted from the district, along with 50 tonnes of silver and 360,000 tonnes of copper.

Locations of the sites for the GPAs at Mount Morgan.

The lots council proposed to the Department of Resources include 31ha at Leydens Hill, 47ha at Horse Creek and 5,100ha at Gelobera State Forest.

“Fossicking will be a great tourism product for the Rockhampton region, families can enjoy treasure-hunting trips in Mount Morgan,” Mayor Tony Williams said.

Advance Rockhampton Executive Manager Greg Bowden said the establishment of GPA’s in Mount Morgan will bring economic benefit to the district and the Rockhampton region.

“Opening GPA’s will attract visitors, creating a new tourism product for the Rockhampton region and bring additional economic impact to Mount Morgan,” Mr Bowden said.

“If a declaration of GPA’s is made, my team here at Advance Rockhampton will work closely with the Department of Resources, MMPAD and Mount Morgan tourism and accommodation providers to actively promote and market this as the new golden tourism destination.”

The Department of Resources advised they have been working with RRC for several months on the potential for fossicking areas on state land around Mount Morgan.

Some locals are also in the process of opening some private land for public fossicking use, with a license, which would be separate to the GPAs.

Dave Brant moved to Mount Morgan three years ago from the Sunshine Coast to take over the Silver Wattle Caravan Park.

Guests regularly ask him where they can go fossicking and he gives them a few rough area but says there is nowhere suitable for serious detectors.

“They want a big area of virgin land, the freedom to search,” he said.

Mr Brant has plans to manage 10,000 acres of open land a stones throw away from town.

“We know there is gold here,” he said.

“We are just putting these properties in place so people have a large private area so people can have more success.

“It’s a big industry and we are just trying to manage it as best as we can.”

Eric Stevenson from Mount Morgan Outdoors has 100ha of land with old gold workings on it, located 10 minutes from the CBD.

Eric Stevenson at Mount Morgan Outdoors

He makes no promises there will be an abundance of gold and says there could be more alluvial gold than nuggets – but at the same time, the diggers in the heyday of the town didn’t dig for nothing.

“You only have to look at the history at what has come out of here … It wasn’t a big mining area for no reason, there is gold here,” he said.

“It’s an old historical gold town, it’s common sense there is still gold here … that’s why they are looking at reopening the mine … it’s logical from a tourism point of view to promote the town for fossicking.

“There are people are out there right now finding gold by panning and metal detectors.”

Gold nuggets customers showed to Eric at Mount Morgan Outdoors.

Most of the fossickers come through Mount Morgan on their way to Clermont, where there is 11 GPAs in the area.

The only fossicking that can be done in Mount Morgan at the moment is on the river (which in the Mount is the Dee River) with a valid fossickers license.

“Clermont gets booked out and there are constantly people asking when it is going to open here,” Mr Stevenson said.

“It will be massive tourism thing for Mount Morgan and the area.”

Chatting to the fossickers at his shop, Mr Stevenson said it is mix of locals and tourists.

“It’s increasing but until we get fossicking areas open it will just constantly trickle on,” he said.

“There is a lot of people travelling, some people stuck here with border closures.

“A lot of people move here to retire and it’s a hobby … Some of them don’t even care if they don’t find anything, as long as they are out there doing something.”

Originally published as Eric Stevenson pushes for fossicking land to be opened in Mount Morgan