I met an ole fellow when I was out detecting one arvo back quite a few years ago the old fella scared the bejeeezus out of me when he tapped me on the shoulder whilst I had my headphones on, anyways we got chatting he told me where he lived and what have you and then started telling me stories of yesteryear and gold that was found, one particular story had me by the short and curlies, an old timer back in mid to late 20's regularly camped under a big grey box tree with a small wheel barrow, in it were his pick shovel billy and swag, the old prospector this time was dead, the property owner was the old fella I was talking too's father, the prospector apparently had been going through this property for quite some time pushing his old wheel barrow back and forth to Bendigo, in it was large amounts of specimens, on many occasion the old prospector would stop in at the farm house for a cuppa and a chin wag, the old fella I was talking too told me that he remembers as a kid holding potato sized Quartz rocks filled with gold and that he used to sell them in Bendigo, as the story continued it came out that as a young lad the old prospector was one of George Lansells exploration miners, paid to go out and sink exploration shafts for the King of Quartz.
I ended up back at this old fellows place for a cuppa with him and he showed me the wooden wheel barrow pick and shovel, the old billy hung in his shed, I asked about the swag and what happened to the old prospector and he said that his father buried the prospector in his swag under the old tree with his gold that was found with him when he died, his father said it was respectful not to take the gold but to bury it with him, the old fellow told me if you were to ever find out where the old prospector was getting his gold from you would be a rich man, I never have found where the old prospector was mining, and since then the old fella I meet that day has since died, the property has new owners now and don't seem the least bit interested in this story, the wooden wheel barrow has since been lost/destroyed thrown out who knows, finding out that this had been done by the new owners of the place I thought it best not to tell them about the old prospector buried beneath a big old box tree on their property.
So i guess this story will turn into one of those myths, I've searched quite a few times for where the old prospector was getting his gold from but with no joy, each time I head out that way the bush seems to look a little different every time, having found out the old prospector was apparently one of Lansells exploration miners I can only have at a guess that he kept a spot on the quiet and went back later in life to work it, I'm guessing with the rate of pay old Lansell would of been offering I would of done the same thing.
