Lamplough is a locality near Avoca. It was the site of a gold rush from November 1859 and up to 16,000 people were on the site. The lead was worked for a distance of nearly 3 miles (5 km) to the point where it ran into the water and was abandoned.
The rush to Lamplough commenced during the weekend of 26-27 November 1859 and followed the discovery of payable ground by two Welsh brothers, John and Daniel Owens, who had been prospecting “for some time past” in various parts of a flat leading from the Avoca township which was about three miles to the north. Their find was officially reported on Saturday, 26 November 1859.
A cairn was erected in 1960 by the former Avoca Shire in memory of those buried in unmarked graves in the Lamplough vicinity prior to 1857. The cairn is made up of granite blocks and is sited on a rise overlooking the Sunraysia Highway. It was recorded in Volume 3 of the “Avoca Heritage Study” (1864-1994) at item AD29.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The Lamplough cemetery site cairn was erected here in the 1960s to mark the site of a graveyard of early pioneers and miners who were buried at the site prior to 1857 It is one of the few markers of the Lamplough diggings.
The Lamplough cemetery site cairn has symbolic importance as a memorial to those who died on the Lamplough gold diggings in the early 1860s.
HISTORY
During the Lamplough goldrushes in late 1859, the population of the area was estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000. When deaths occurred burials were conducted in an unofficial cemetery north of the centre of the diggings.
As the population declined, less attention was given to maintaining this burial site and on 24 December 1870 an article in the Avoca Mail brought public attention to the fact that:
at the present time heavily laden drays pass over the old graves, and at any moment the bones of those who were buried from Lamplough may be scattered about in the light of day.
The article suggested that the Shire Council ensure the erection of fence around the old graveyard. It is not known whether this advice was followed immediately but by the middle of the twentieth century a fence of square corner posts and black wire marked the site of the cemetery. At this time there were twelve to fifteen graves evident, some marked by wooden head boards.
In 1960 the present stone cairn was erected with the inscription, 'This cairn marks the site of a graveyard of early pioneers and miners who were buried here prior to 1857'. It was sponsored by Mr Alf Lobb and the work was carried out by W. S. Gollop.
DESCRIPTION
The cairn is a of roughly squared granite blocks which step up from the base to a single block at the top. A plaque is fixed to the elevation facing the highway. It is sited on a rise overlooking the highway.
The cairn is important as a marker of the cemetery site and as one of the few sites now linked with the Lamplough diggings.
In November 2009 a plaque was affixed to the cairn by the Avoca and District Historical Society commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Lamplough Rush.
Coming from Ballarat towards Avoca the cairn is on the right hand side of the highway on the rise, just after St Ignatius Winery….and before the house on the right. Sandek Dog Kennels is on the other side of the road.
See also:
- Strangman, Denis (1987). “The Goldrush to Lamplough, near Avoca in Victoria, Australia during 1859-1860”. Avoca and District Historical Society; first published Familia, journal of the Ulster Historical Foundation (Vol 2 No 3 1987 pps 3-21).
- Lamplough Name Index compiled by Denis Strangman containing over 3,000 names
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