Member feedback!!!!!

[rc62burke]

Hi All
I am looking for some feedback from members here to gauge the need for a new section within the "Gold Detecting" & also "Gems" section.

What I am proposing is a section like, "Information on Goldfields" which would have a State by Sate section with relevant information in it, the same would go for the Gem/ Gemfields section.
I feel this would be a real asset for all members & I would like to hear your opinions so that maybe the MODS could take this on board & create the new sections.

This has come about due to the information below that I posted in the "Metal Detecting" section, which I asked to become a "Sticky" this thread was moved to the "Services Offered" section & was not easily found & I found myself having to add links to the relevant information in other posts, I believe this to be a very obscure section for the information to be moved to.

"For those members interested in "Prospecting for Gold" in North Queensland, here is some information that may make planning any trip a little easier.
Located around Georegtown "Etheridge Shire" there are a number of properties that members of the public can access for the purposes of metal detecting & camping.
Access to these properties is by pay to detect, contact the owners for current pricing.
those are as follows,
"Western Creek Station" - Which is located about 20 km South of Georgetown, operated by Shirley Young & Geoff Brown, this is a working cattle property & has only been open to the detecting public since May 2014 so it is relatively untouched, there was some good finds here since opening.
There is a designated camping area which is huge & has toilets & hot showers for campers.
"Flat Creek Station" - Is located a further 13km South West of Western Creek on the same road, this is also a working cattle property run by Peter Henry, it has been open for quite some time but still produce good gold, there are toilets & hot showers at the designated camping area.
"Dells Hole Station" - Is located South West of Forsayth & is run by Kevin Young, this is also an operating cattle property, this property has been open to the public since 2011, there are no facilities at the camp, so you need to take in all water
Here are the contact details for respective properties,
Flat Creek Station - http://www.flatcreekstation.com.au/
Western Creek Station - 07 40625591.
Dells Hole - (07) 4062 5534
Gilberton Station - Is located about 60km South of Forsayth & is accessed via the Kidston or Oak Park road, this is also a working cattle property that has been open for detecting for quite some time.
It is run by Rob & Lyn French, (07) 4062 5321
They also own Mt Hogan which is near by, that they open from time to time, both of these 2, have specific areas set aside for detecting.
In Forsayth there is a Caravan park, when you are staying at the park this gives you access to another property North East of town called Mt Talbot, the only way to access this one is to deal through the van park."

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So please have a think & put down your thoughts, this is to try to improve the availability of information.

cheers
Lee

 

[Chewy]

Yes, I think its a great idea. I wouldn't have thought to look under services offered for that. Would it be better to put it under the camping heading though, with all the info so ppl know about being able to detect there as well? I'm interested to hear what everybody thinks. Great info, thanks.

 

[mbasko]

How about a "Fossicking Information" section with the different states as subsections under the "Members Only" area. This would have a lot more forum relevance in that area than "The Comedy Shack" which could be out in "General"?

All sorts of state relevant information could be posted in an easy to find area to benefit all members. For instance the drop down of threads/sub sections could go something like this:
Members Only - Fossicking Information>
Qld>
Goldfield Pay to Dig sites or Permits/Licencing or Maps or Accommodation etc. etc.

Members Only - Fossicking Information>
Vic>
Miners Rights or Parks Victoria fossicking or Tours/Training etc. etc.

Members Only - Fossicking Information>
NSW>
State Forest Permits or Gemfield Pay to Dig sites or Geology etc. etc.

& so on & so forth

 

[yobskin]

YOur on the money there mbasko just like that...a combined informative menu. Education is the key to success.

 

[Metamorphic]

Quite a reasonable suggestion Lee.

An informative section on the forum for 'members only' will certainly help not only the current members, but also help to encourage guests to join up and share in the various info available.

Would be very handy having local knowledge posted from those who live in, or have experience in the various areas around the whole of Australia. Stuff you just cant Google!

I agree that when someone has valuable information to offer, it should be able to be easily found in its dedicated section.

Has my support mate!

 

[Bacchus]

I bookmarked that information when you were discussing it a few months back Lee , it is exactly the sort of stuff that I need to know when planning a trip so to have it easily accessible will save a lot of people a lot of time and promote our hobby

Cheers

 

[MJB]

great suggestion there Lee and it definitely has my support

 

[goldtruck59]

I think its a rip snorta of an idea. I'd be happy to contribute my wanderings, observations and what I reckon was good value and or prospector friendly.
Perhaps a rating out of 10 might get the establishments to lift their game if they know they are being rated on PA !!!
GT

 

[kemjak57]

I support you Lee. Thanks for putting it out there for the good of everyone.

 

[Magilla]

I really can't see why anyone would be against the idea Lee, seems like a section that should have been there from the start to me.

 

[Tassie Daz]

Yep, I agree too with all the above suggestions. Seems a forum with this much info, and this much experience is a wealth of fossicking info already but to centralize in an easy-to-find location is the way to go. To do a search one needs to get the words right to bring up a good result so that centralized place would cut the searching down. But I think I just said that.

The only thing I would say about searching for info is that if you are a state local, in any state, you have a better idea of things you need to look for. Those who live out of an area are not privy to "local" understanding. Anything in this section could be good, but I expect that the real relevant stuff the individual will have to go find.
EG. Everyone knows of the gold at Watts Gully, in South Australia, but to find the right place to detect one must know the soil type, or at least the soil composition, and where to find that soil composition. Only local people who have been to the gully, or at least detected there would know what they must find to have a decent chance to find the gold that's there.

 

[GaryO]

Hmm im lost , cant see a need for a separate section , I agree it shouldn't have been moved to "services offered " , but there are several categories already that your post would be suitable for .
Apologies if missed something :8 There are literally 100's of threads on here posting great thorough info .. So we put it all in a separate thread and before long that thread has dozens of pages so its still going to be lost in that thread and wil still l need to be searched to be found .
Just my thoughts.

 

[rc62burke]

Hmm im lost , cant see a need for a separate section , I agree it shouldn't have been moved to "services offered " , but there are several categories already that your post would be suitable for .
Apologies if missed something :8 There are literally 100's of threads on here posting great thorough info .. So we put it all in a separate thread and before long that thread has dozens of pages so its still going to be lost in that thread and wil still l need to be searched to be found .
Just my thoughts.

Hey Gary
Mate I can completely understand your view & that is why I asked to make it a sticky, soon after I originally posted it, as it was relevant info to that section that was not widely known & not easy to find without a bit of "Local Knowledge" this would have been so easy!!!!

I can see the merit of a State by State "Goldfield" listing as this would have reduced traffic & things would be less likely to be lost.

This is just to open the discussion to come up with the best solution.
cheers
Lee

 

[P924]

Yes I think a section with"nformation on state goldfields" would be excellent. The same as you have above. Brillant idea.

 

[rc62burke]

Hey Mods
What do you guy's think?????
Lee

 

[Rusty]

G'day Lee,

Sounds like a great idea. You obviously are well experienced and have a lot of information to share, which I for one enjoyed reading.
In fact, I'm heading up to Georgetown in a few weeks, ostensibly motivated by your posts on the region. (..together with a little more research). You changed my mind about a rushed trip to WA this season.

Just an observation though ..the info on where to go in the goldfields is very changeable. So, information specifying any particular detectable areas would need to be maintained up to date, to the point of deleting all out of date info. In WA, for instance, it's recommended that prospectors/fossickers check the WA Mines Dept Tengraph daily before heading out, to confirm legal access to any tenements that they were planning to swing on.

I saw people turn up at the caravan park in Leonora saying how they were going to go and swing on this patch or that, based on outdated information which they'd read about months earlier on a forum. In a lot of instances those tenements had since had various types of leases approved over them, which meant that without seeking appropriate permission detectorists would have been swinging illegally. Sometimes with unhappy consequences for the unwitting detectorist.
In other States too there have been instances where permission for public access have been withdrawn, both Private and Government.

Not attempting to present a negative, simply an observation that I think needs to be considered before putting info up on an "Information on Goldfields" section.

I sign in here regularly seeking & learning, and support any additions to the forum that will improve access to that information.

 

[Goldpick]

All that is proposed is to have a basic guide to point people in the right direction with regards to prospecting/fossicking areas and localities. It will still be up to individuals to practice due diligence when researching areas to prospect, accommodation, access, permissions and so on - links can be provided to govt & and other sites for more detailed information.

If people are relying 100% on information from forums to organise their trips, and where they can legally detect or fossick, then they are dooming their trip to failure from the get go. Detailed up to date information on access, permits/licenses and status of tenements/leases should always be sought through the relevant government departments, and to not do so would be negligent on their part.

As for your particular example in Leonora, those involved would have to be very naive to expect months old forum info to still be current, or even correct in the first place. These are the sort of people that lease owners detest, ill prepared with little or no effort on their part to ensure they are swinging a detector in the correct areas.

 

[Rusty]

All that is proposed is to have a basic guide to point people in the right direction with regards to prospecting/fossicking areas and localities. It will still be up to individuals to practice due diligence when researching areas to prospect, accommodation, access, permissions and so on - links can be provided to govt & and other sites for more detailed information.

If people are relying 100% on information from forums to organise their trips, and where they can legally detect or fossick, then they are dooming their trip to failure from the get go. Detailed up to date information on access, permits/licenses and status of tenements/leases should always be sought through the relevant government departments, and to not do so would be negligent on their part.

As for your particular example in Leonora, those involved would have to be very naive to expect months old forum info to still be current, or even correct in the first place. These are the sort of people that lease owners detest, ill prepared with little or no effort on their part to ensure they are swinging a detector in the correct areas.

I totally agree.

 

[rc62burke]

Hey Rusty
I agree mate, research is the key to it all & this info is just another "Cog" in the research wheel, easy to find info with contact details to get the low down right from the people running these places is what the aim is.
cheers
Lee

 

[HarriL]

Okey, There's now "Gold localities & information" forum under "Gold Prospecting" and "Gem/Minerals/Fossils localities & info" forum under "Gemstones, Minerals & Fossils".

Both forums have stickied threads for each state to share information in those states.

These forums are visible only to members.

Let me know what you think.

Big thanks goes to rc62burke for this idea.