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Archiver > AUS-VIC-GOLDFIELDS > 2005-03 > 1111749376


From: "Mike Kirby @e-Management" <>
Subject: RE: Discovery of the Ovens Goldfield
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 22:16:16 +1100
In-Reply-To: <BAY1-F273029D2ED6DD592FC4D6AAB410@phx.gbl>


Gee I love your contributions Tom.

Reasoned, informative, positive and with suggestions as to where and what
the alternative searches / lines of enquiry might be.

Thankyou,

Mike Kirby

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Listerman [mailto:]
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 5:56 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Discovery of the Ovens Goldfield

Hi Folks,

Peter in Melbourne wrote: Can SKS please point me to documents/history or
whatever regarding the discovery of the Ovens Goldfield? An 1895 obituary in

a New Zealand West Coast newspaper states that my GG grandfather, William
Roxburgh GLOVER was one of the discoverers of this field.

Dave in Ballarat replied: I have a booklet put out by the Department of
Mines in 1907 about the "Discovery of the Ovens Goldfields in 1852" and it
gives a description of the discovery by 2 men who said they worked with Mr.
Smyth, surveying the mountains (Omeo country) and had since left him and
were looking for gold. It then names Howell (who narrated the story) and
they told him they had been to the California diggings. Amongst the first
arrivals after the discovery were John Fisher, William Wise, Alexander
Meldrum & Alexander Tone. No mention of Glover, but we don't know the names
of the discovers either.

I'm replying: James Flett in his 'The History of Gold Discovery in
Victoria', 1970, later 1979, The Poppet Head Press, Melbourne, 494 pages
ISBN 09597 173 2 3, 32 illustrations, 13 maps (some editions with
comprehensive maps as end papers). Biographical index and separate General
Index, has the same information that Dave has given, but if you can access
the book, along with some detailed maps of the area, reading it will give
you more of an idea of the commencement of gold discoveries in the area. I
suggest that you get a detailed map or maps, because Flett often writes from

the premise that you will know the area. He does include one map of the
Beechworth (Ovens) Goldfield in 1852.

Three other points:
1. It might be an idea to post to the North East Victorian List, at
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/AUS/AUS-VIC-NE.html because this List
(Goldfields) is really only for the Central Goldfields, and not every one
who is interested in, and has information on the Ovens area will be on this
list.

2. The whole issue of "discoverers" and "first this and that" is fraught,
because, just as gold works its way through the contents of a wash dish to
the bottom when the contents are swirled around in the dish, so our
ancestors seem to move their way through the contents of family history to
the bottom year when their history is swirled around in the minds of their
descendants. By the time a person's obituary was being compiled, their
history could have become pretty distorted, - although there's usually a
kernel of fact in each point.

3.If your Glover ancestor came from south-east Dumfrieshire, we may share
some DNA. My ancestor, another William Glover (1825-1880) of Bung Bong, via
Avoca, Victoria, (not to be confused with the William Glover of
Amphitheatre, via Avoca, or the William Glover of Moonambel via Avoca) came
from Brouhouses (Browhouses). His father was John Glover and his mother Jane

Rae.

Best wishes,

Tom



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