- Alternative Names
- Jim Crow Diggings
- Wombat Flat Diggings
Gold discovery was officially recognised in the Daylesford area in 1852. Rewards were paid to two separate prospectors: John Egan and Thomas Connell. Early rushes did not yield great returns, but the town grew steadily as diggers worked claims along the creeks and gullies. Shallow alluvial mining became the predominant method used by the district’s diggers who, by the late 1850s, numbered in the several thousands. Deep lead mining commenced in the early 1860s, but had ceased by the 1880s. The subsequent commencement of quartz reefing saw the area emerge as a centre for mining and technological development.