Small gold-rush on the edge of Armidale

Thursday 21 September 1893, The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser

Some excitement was caused at Armidale on Monday, owing to a party of prospectors having struck promising wash on part of the Armidale temporary common, about two miles from the post-office and a few hundred yards off the Rockvale-road. A rush set in the previous night, and on Monday morning claims were pegged out for about half a mile east and west of the prospectors’ shaft. Your correspondent has seen the wash, which much resembles that found in deep leads at Ballarat. Evidently an old river bed has been struck, but the gold has not been sufficiently proved to warrant any rush as yet. A lot of men are at work to-day, and shafts are being sunk in all directions. So far only an odd dish or two have been washed, but the prospectors are well satisfied with the show. Their shaft is down about 28ft., partly through basaltic rock. A lot of pipeclay has been met with, and in the wash there is abundance of lumps of grayish white quartz. No water was met with till the drift was struck, and then it came in slowly. A rush is deprecated.