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Eldorado Dredge
Eldorado is about 17kms from Wangaratta and stands as a reminder of Victoria's gold era. Visitors can see many examples of Victoria's mining history in and around the area.
Apparently the name 'Eldorado' is believed by the Spaniards to be a fictitious country abundant with gold.
It was also the name aptly given to a property owned by a Canadian drover 'Captain William Baker' who settled in the region in 1840 believing that the green pastures of his farm was indeed his Eldorado or pot of gold. Little did he know that in 1854 (just 14 years later) gold would be discovered in the region and with it would come thousands of miners hoping to find their fortune, and thus the town of Eldorado was born.
A large dredge was constructed in 1936 (the largest in the Southern Hemisphere) and was used for deep mining gold and tin. During its 18 years of operation (1936 - 1954) it produced a total of 70,664 ounces of gold and 1,383 tons of tin concentrate.
Although the dredge now stands abandoned, its a visual reminder of the prosperity found in the region during the gold era.
The dredge itself has a slightly eerie feel about, although you can actually walk onto the dredge and view the different aspects of the mining procedure which is really quite interesting and worth a visit if your in the area.
If you happen to be visiting the region and based in the Wangaratta area, a
really nice day out is taking a scenic drive to the Eldorado dredge and then
head up through the hills to Woolshed Falls (road is partly
unsealed but good) and from Woolshed Falls its only a five minute drive
to the historic town of Beechworth.
