Mining and Geology

[A History of the Aclare Mine – South Australia] – Silver and a Trace of Gold – J.K. Chilman

A very good copy of Special Publication No 1 celebrating 100 year of the Department of Mines and Energy, South Australia.

Soft silvered cover, 212 pages with numerous illustrations … from photographs, sketches, maps, mine plans etc.

From discovery in the 1840 to the end of that century … and the continuing heritage interest an extremely thorough work.

R.K Johns in his preface … “Silver and a Trace of Gold” establishes the mood of these times and painstakingly and sympathetically traces the events connected with speculation and mining investment, the opening and closure of mining operations, and the developments in metallurgical practice and smelting of mixed metallic ores. It not only traces the history of the Aclare mine, and the Kanmantoo- Callington mining field, but has relevance to the whole mining history in the State” … a bit dry but does capture the breadth and depth of this study.

A Mining History well presented and more … processes etc

$40.00

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Dalmorton Quartz Mining Co [NewSouth Wales] – Original Manuscript Record of Formation and Original Share Issue – 21st October 1872

Gold bearing Quartz had been found by loggers in Northern New South Wales on the rugged road in the mountainous regions between Glenn Innes and Grafton.

Directors John Edge Manning, Thomas Miller, John Henry Seamer (Alderman and Timber Merchant), Charles Dawn and George Harley put forward a Prospectus for the Dalmorton Quartz Mining Co to exploit the resource. This manuscript … broadsheet folded and written over effective 3 then sides records the structure of the issue in terms of capital and proposed calls on initially partly paid shares and bears the no of shares allocated and signature and address of the original subscribers who total 70 in number.

From nothing Dalmorton rapidly became a thriving centre with up to a thousand miners and a town of 13 pubs, a school, 2 butchers, 4 stores, police station, stables, jail, post office etc. Ten years later discovery of gold at Mount Morgan and at Kalgoorlie drew miners away and the area went into decline. The town of Dalmorton was fully abandoned by the 1970’s.

Current day unlisted public company Revolution Metals Limited has reopened a number of prospects in the area and appear to be doing rather well.

Original Australian Gold Mining Company Historical Document – 1872

$140.00

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A Complete Treatise of Mines Etc – Henry Manningham – First Edition 1756

An extremely rare work from a period when mining expertise was as much a military endeavour as for the extraction of resources.

Lengthy title continues … extracted from the Memoires d’Artilliere. To which is prefixed, by way of Introduction, Professor Belidor’s Dissertation on the Force and Physical Effects of Gunpowder. Illustrated by a Variety of Copper Plates.

A first English language edition of this work translated and compiled by mining engineer Henry Manningham. The original French by P Surirey de Saint Remy (1660-1716). Benard Forest de Belidor (1698-1761) was a hydraulics and ballistics expert. Born into a military family he later became Professor of Artillery at Aisne. He became an early expert on the calculus and its use in solving technical problems.

Published by Millar, the Strand, London 1756. Octavo, xxix,168 pages with 21 folding copper engraved plates, elaborate engraved vignette on Dedication. Ex John Crerar Library with the odd stamp, later half leather binding somewhat worn, top edge gilt. Toned and pages a bit brittle still a useful copy of an extremely scarce item.

Early Mining and the Use of Gunpowder Carefully Explained.

$390.00

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The Iceland Journals of Henry Holland 1810 – Edited Andrew Wawn

The British had visited Iceland for many years, but little was written about it before this expedition.

Led by Sir George Mackenzie accompanied by a party of young Edinburgh scientists. Among them was Henry Hall, who later became a physician to Queen Victoria in London. Hall was 22 at the time of the expedition.

The object of the exercise was to explore and investigate several volcanic regions to contribute to the important and controversial mineralogical debate that was then taking place in Europe. There are three fundamental journeys … to Gullbringusfsala; the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Rangarvallasyla.

On return Mackenzie published the first good account on Iceland for over forty years … “Travels in the Island of Iceland etc”. Henry Hall had kept a detailed diary which, never published was retained in family hands until gifted by them to a Reykjavik institution.

The author of this work, Andrew Wawn, carried out the sort of research expected of a Hakluyt contributor concluded that Mackenzie’s published work relied heavily on Hall’s manuscript without acknowledgement. Furthermore, Hall’s more detailed and in the moment account contained much missed by his illustrious leader … so here we have it.

Published by Hakluyt in 1987. Octavo, 342 pages after preliminaries. The extent of Wawn’s work in bringing this account to life is clear from the 70-page introduction. Then we have 200 pages of the text of the journals illustrated by numerous sketches made by Hall. Followed by several useful appendices. A very good copy.

Hall’s missing journals on Iceland 1810.

$50.00

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The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

A self-published pamphlet by Georgina King of work previously published in the “Sunday Times”. Printed by William Brooks, Sydney and issued in 1924.

Octavo, 23 pages, soft wrappers as issued, three illustrations in the text regarding aboriginals. Some age from use still a very good copy.

The articles are as per the title … The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – Two Stone Ages in Australia; The Discovery of Gold and How it was Found in Payable Quantities; Magnetism – terrestrial and Universal; Diamond and Their Origin.

A most usual body of work. Georgina King (1845-1932) was an amateur geologist and anthropologist. As a woman she was excluded from the “professional” category e.g. she was not allowed to read her own paper at the Royal society of NSW. Her ideas were rather whacky though and make for interesting reading … they did not stop her becoming a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society. The daughter of Rev George King she was advised by him and naturalist Bennett not to marry if she wanted to get on in her chosen filed. She corresponded with Robert Logan Jack regarding geology and Huxley on natural sciences. In her eccentricity she blamed other for stealing her ideas, including Edgeworth David on her radical concepts of the earth’s formation and Einstein on the theory of relativity. She believed diamonds were fossilised marine organisms … quoting from the paper contained here …

“Diamonds existed as marine organisms. They are composed of pure carbon, containing only a little hydrogen, and the most minute particles are often found in what were small cavities, perhaps their breathing apparatus; some were like feathers. The cleavages of the diamond were the gills of those marine organisms …”

Her article of the aborigines is a lot more grounded. She was a friend of Daisy bates and provided financial support to Bates for her work among aboriginal people.

Georgina King isolated Australian Scientist with some wild ideas and some interesting ones.

$50.00

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Glimpses of the Australian Colonies and New Zealand – Captain Barry – First edition 1903

Subtitled … “A Thrilling Narrative of the Early Days: Embodying the Life-History of Captain William Jackson Barry Who Arrived in New South Wales in 1829” … and it is really quite “Thrilling”

Published by Brett, Auckland in 1903. Small quarto, 211 pages, decorated end papers, illustrated with photographic portraits. Original cloth covered binding with gilt embossed design and title to front and spine … gilt a little faded … otherwise a very good solid unmarked copy.

William Barry was born in 1819. His father was a vet. At a dinner party Sir John Alcock took a liking to him and asked his father to let William enter his service. With this achieved, Alcock set off for Australia with young William on the “Red Rover” in the year 1828. Typhus broke out onboard and many died. On arrival at Sydney the ship was quarantined for six weeks … it was dreadful… and life ashore not much better. Alcock hated it and organised swift passage to Buenos Ayres. On the way to the dock Barry decided he liked Sydney so much he ran away and hid in a tank until the ship had gone. And so Barry’s life in the Antipodes started then … at the age of ten!

His life was certainly different … at various times he sailed … carrying Timor Ponies to Sydney … shipwrecked nearly starved and rescued. Other times he was in the gold fields in Victoria (Eureka), New Zealand and California. Was variously a butcher (his early trade), farmer, auctioneer and horse dealer (bushrangers robbed him) … married more than once into money.

Near the back of the book is a potted history of Australia and a selection of biographies of notable gents … the most common feature being and incredible collection of beards

Captain Barry the sort of life films should be made about

$60.00

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[A History of the Aclare Mine – South Australia] – Silver and a Trace of Gold – J.K. Chilman

Dalmorton Quartz Mining Co [NewSouth Wales] – Original Manuscript Record of Formation and Original Share Issue – 21st October 1872

A Complete Treatise of Mines Etc – Henry Manningham – First Edition 1756

The Iceland Journals of Henry Holland 1810 – Edited Andrew Wawn

The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

Glimpses of the Australian Colonies and New Zealand – Captain Barry – First edition 1903

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