What is History - Really?

This place and what it suggests, is history even as each word hits the screen.

Suggesting, as some have, that history is an accurate, objective recording of events in the distant or very recent past is credible only, when there is an event which has a time and date recorded against it. Or heaven forbid, when someone erects a statue.

In reality compiling such a record impossible of course and in most cases it's not even attempted, and neither is it attempted here. Who would put themselves through the mill of gathering information and trying to get it right from every eye that saw it, ear that heard it, whispers that inferred it and every point of view built from what could only possibly be a personal interpretation?

Voltaire was right in this attributed to him: “Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.” ....Voltaire

There are many concepts of history, and each who have information declare and argue they are correct. Much like religion, there is only one religion and yet there are many who propose theirs is the one, even though different from the others. History is tales of the past of even recorded events that are interpreted and told differently by each individual. We are fortunate to be so blessed.

Various versions of events even from their own lives from observers with photographs, means that there is nothing that can be cast in iron and set in stone. Different angles and interpretation of major events and general occurrences are the norm and the meat of those who would like to know more. So what of accuracy one might ask? There is a saying attributed to Erich Fromm: “The quest for certainty blocks the quest for meaning.” The quest for objective accuracy is for the court of law, in life it may be a hindrance and an opportunity lost for interesting speculation and extrapolation.

However, a general idea which is the only possible result and usually achievable and adequate for us to fill any gaps with imagination. Accurate history is an assortment of stories about the same thing from different people. Each story/experience biased in some way by the teller of the tale, even about what many call “important” events.

Milestone events do exist. The miles themselves are the stories of everyday life from people, and the stones are how an event was seen or experienced by them and their telling, and of course what audience feedback is forthcoming. Milestones like fame and notoriety are manufactured by people who find other things more interesting than those of their own lives. Not everyone remembers the moon landing or the rise of communism. These markers are created by the interested prejudiced audience.

As we know, if more than one person sees an event being played out, each will see something different, tell the tale with a different slant and be amazed when hearing others tell of the same event and discover how different it was from their own experience or wonder how they missed something another noted. Then above and beyond all that, there is the interpretation of events and what was seen, as well as the passing of time and the way memory erodes or embellishes and highlights what has been observed or felt, changed by that factor alone.

Quoting The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906) of Ambrose Beirce:

HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.

Possibly the above is all that needs to be said about history, about life within and outside our own milieu upon which each individual places a certain importance. There are many who say Australia was built by the mining and agricultural industry. Exporting what others wanted and bringing in monetary wealth into the country. It is also good to consider how Australia would have been built had it been settled by people who were not so obsessed with monetary wealth and were more caring of their environment? Much like our first nation people.

However, the time has slipped away to make history like that.

Timeline Mining Cassilis Author: Keith Streames - 74/02291/T - 1979

1890 Robert Howard discovered a reef of gold.

Within the Schistose sedimentary rock of extremely complex sulphides seven major reefs of gold were found. A 400 foot reef found in Cassilis was the most extensive and in that day and age an easy, uncomplicated extraction of the gold was not available from the heavy mineralised ore.

1894 The discovery of gold instigated the installation of a 5 head stamp battery and chlorination plant Installation of a 5—head stamp battery and chlorination plant. Main shaft at 174!

1895 Plant closed due to installation of larger chlorination plant.

1896 Perplexities of Cassilis ores could not be overcome and mine was closed.

1897 Formation of Cassilis Gold Mining Company. Worked on Homeward Bound lease. Intensive exploration work undertaken. Chlorination plant improved.

1898 Takeover of Cassilis North Mining Company, Shamrock and Sons of Freedom leases. Sons of Freedom thought to be poor producer but after takeover proved the richest reef in Cassilis.

1899 Obtaining 1000 oz./350 tons of ore. Halley table and Berdan pan increased values of extractable concentrates.

1900 Mt. Hepburn company closed. Cassilis Gold Mining Company purchased 20—head stamper battery.

Completion of gravity tram line.

Jacques rock breaker purchased l9 cwt/ton from crusher and 8 cwt/ton from chlorination. Furnace proving incapable of handling ore quantity.

1902/03 Enlarged and improved equipment slowly introduced. Mine closed, shortage of water and backlog of residues waiting to be treated by furnace. New compressor installed. Negotiations to buy Brave George Battery and secure water rights of Swifts Creek.

Dam built in Powers Gully with 800,000 gal. capacity.

Foundry furnace converted to oil fired. Inclusion of cyanide plant.

200 men employed directly by Cassilis Gold Mining Company and 100 more indirectly in the town.

1903 Wood shortages - boilers required 9 cords of wood/day for continuous operation cord = (l28 cubic Feet) or a stack - 5' x 5' x 5'.

Plant was under powered due to inferior wood being burnt. Estimated that only 2 years supply of wood was in sight.

1905 Company purchased Consols mine. Fuel was conserved by installation of 20 h.p. fuel engine. Hydro electric scheme suggested to operate from Victoria River. Scheme planned and given go—ahead.

Increase capacity boiler purchased.

5 week output — 1075 tons of ore extracted for 1,214 ozs. of gold (selling at £4/oz.) 916 ozs. from battery 114 ozs. cyanide plant 184 ozs. concentrates.

Hydro electric scheme, based on dynamo at Victoria Falls driven by water turbine. Water was brought 3.5 miles around a hill then down pipe way for over 300' to the power station . Power produced was transmitted 15 miles to battery site in Powers Gully.

1907 Final change to electrical power completed in 1909. Plant was reckoned to be the most modern and efficient in Victoria.

1909 150 men employed in mine and 50 in battery. Tonnage of stone mined began to decline. New electric motors replaced all engines.

1910 Chlorination plant abolished — wet slimes plant installed. Very dry season.

Mine closed for 6 months due to water shortages. Mass exodus of miners from Cassilis and Tongio West began.

July 1910 57 men employed at mine. Slimes plant a failure due to ore material being contaminated with arsenic dust.

1912 6 miners employed.

1913 Mine closed again due to water shortage. Grandiose schemes mooted but nothing attempted due to lack of water in Victoria River.

1914 Tunnel from Cassilis mine pushed through to Ceresa. Outbreak of war - loss of men due to enlistments.

1915 30 men employed to build dam above generating station to circumvent the recurring water shortage problem. Ore extracted from mine reduced by 50%. Main shaft to be sunk another 400'.

1916 Heavy rain washed out dam. Mine ceased production August 1916.

The Cassilis Gold Mining Company produced 3½ tons of gold from 1898 until it closed in 1916. However, the huge recurring costs of machinery, coupled with errors in management and the fickle weather sapped her profitability.

The difficult nature of the Cassilis ores were not initially understood, making drastic changes in plant necessary as knowledge of them increased.

A total of 93,572 ozs. of gold was returned from the Cassilis mine, making it the highest gold producer on the Omeo goldfields.

Mount Hepburn — King Cassilis Mine

1888 Work commenced and ore was crushed at Brave George Battery. Values proved to be low but lode was largest in area.

1893 Installation of Otis_crusher (a ball mill) and completion of tramways from mine to mill. 6 months produced 1000 tons of ore.

Efficiency of crusher was low — 58%. No ancillary appliances were used with crusher, though separators or vanners could have increased gold recovered to 80%.

1894 Throughput of 140 tons of ore/week. 6000 tons of ore had been treated.

1897 Otis mill discarded as being not suitable for the complex Cassilis ores.

1896 Australian Gold Recovery Company installed cyanide plant. 60 men employed at mine.

1897 20-head stamp battery installed though poor results obtained.

1898 Mining ceased - 30 men laid off.

1900 Mining company wound up. King Cassilis founded to work Mt. Hepburn leases.

1902 New plant installed, Krupp dry crusher, new furnaces and rock breaker.

1905 28-men employed but mine closed due to shortage of capital.

1907 Company wound up.