"A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

[tinpan]

"A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Hi everyone,Went out this afternoon to a place called White Hills [hill number 3] Afok,Fok Sing and Company Gold Mining camp.This place remains untouched since it was last mined in 1909.You have to climb a steep ridge to get into this place and it is not easy going.I found 2 large cash coins and i have never seen these type before and about half dozen normal cash coins.Theres pics of the finds and quite a few of the area.Thanks for looking


                                  tinpan

 

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[tinpan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

site pics

 

[Southcacalaky]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Great Job WTG, HH Art...

 

[tinpan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

site of a mine

 

[tinpan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

more pics

 

[tinpan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

pic

 

[aa battery]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

FUN

 

[Snee]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Very nice!

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Tin,

nice finds, whatever type they are

Enjoyed the photos.

have a good un........

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Cool coins. Is that a utility pole I see in the background of one of those pics? Like maybe it has insulators on it?

Laater...

 

[FrankTM]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Very cool finds. I love searching a site that is not easy to get to. Hiking and metal detecting at once.

Frank

 

[shootist]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Cool site TP,man you hunt so many different places and some very rugged terrain, be the hell careful out there and I hope you take a cellphone and plenty of water...Shoot

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Nice pics and finds TP, thanks for the post! HH, Mike

 

[Dave N Japan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Nice Finds..Again. That bottom coin looks like a Emperor Kang Xi 1662-1723, I think you found one before.. Very nice! If you find a large one it would be worth $1200-$2000 They were minted at the Fujian Mint. The dates should be around 1714-1723 I am trying to send you the page but having a hard time to scan. Anyway, Way to go!

The ones on the top page look like Yong Li Tong 1646-1662, Looks like they were using some real old coins for that time.

 

[tinpan]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Thanks for the replies dave thanks for the reply and chinese cash coins are sometimes found in large numbers here and across the whole of Victoria.Angie the t.n member who lives 350 miles from me found 150 in one hole and there was real old ones in the pile.Gambling was their favourite pass time.used the cash coins like chips as they had no value in Colonies of Victoria.Thousands of them have been found. one chip[cash coin = !!!! weight in gold] Chinese used black and white counters in one of their gambling games.Seen shards of pottery that pre-date that coast brown earthware pottery from  1800"s brass opium animal weights have been found too but i hope i get lucky one day.

                                           tinpan

 

[Mona Lisa]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Tincan, Have I told you lately about how nice your pictures are?

Thanks for the tour, the story, and the education. Keep on swinging!

 

[goldencoin]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Gotta love those coins!

HH
-GC

 

[allen]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

way to go tinpan....some really cool finds there...

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

I know that this spot of the kiln is not in the same place as the mine....but found this article on it interesting...
In mid-2005, workers installing a fence in Thunder Street, Bendigo, accidentally uncovered something they didn't expect - the remains of a Chinese kiln.

Chinese artefacts are not surprising, given the area's history - Emu Point was known to be the site of the Ironbark Chinese camp, home to a population of about 1,000. Today, the precinct boasts a joss house - the only one in regional Victoria - and historical Chinese graves at the White Hills cemetery.

While the joss house, the cemetery and other resources such as letters, diaries and newspaper reports do provide some information on the history of Bendigo's Chinese population, there is still much that is lost to history. Discoveries like the kiln give insight into a previously little-seen area of Chinese history in Bendigo; the transition from the working on the goldfields to running businesses in the community.

The kiln's discovery was both unexpected and electrifying - and frustrating, because further exploration had to wait until a proper dig could be mounted. The tantalising site was covered up again to preserve it until later in 2005 when archaeologists could examine the site while protecting it and the artefacts it held.

Dr Don Hein, an expert in kilns from south east Asia, was brought in to lead the dig, and he and his team uncovered not just a unique kiln, but evidence that the area had also been used as a market garden once the kiln had been covered up. More detailed investigations also confirmed that it was a brick kiln, and that it was likely the only one like it outside China.

While archaeological investigations continued, so did the hunt through Bendigo history, turning up clues about the kiln's history. In September of 1859, the Bendigo Advertiser reported that A'Fok, Fok Sing and Co had applied for a lease of ground near the Chinese encampment for the purpose of brick-making. Once the lease was settled, building commenced, and it seems the kiln was in operation by October of that year. It consists of a three-metre long firebox leading into a domed chamber, around 10 metres in diameter, with a chimney at the rear. Using wood as fuel, it's estimated to have reached around 1200 degrees Celsius, a much higher temperature than standard European kilns.

It operated from 1859 to the late 1880s; Ah Jet bought the land in 1886 and operated a market garden on it as well from that time. When the kiln was finally abandoned, it was covered over.

Although the kiln was mostly safe underground after its final firing, it did have one near brush with disaster. In 1912, the banks of the creek below the market gardens and kiln site were blasted away with a sluicing nozzle to get to the gold in the banks; had the blast hit the kiln, the site would have been irreparably damaged.

As it was, the kiln lay undiscovered until 2005.

The archaeological excavation uncovered many artefacts - gaming tokens, small bottles that once contained a single dose of medicine, handmade gardening implements, and brown-glazed stoneware jars, once used for storing food and liquids. Some of the jars were almost intact; others needed careful reconstruction.

The dig in late 2005 has been called a 'very modest project,' and it's believed that the site holds further treasures and lessons about the history of both goldrush-era Bendigo and its Chinese population if a more comprehensive excavation can be mounted in the future.
Lots of pics at the site below
http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1763246.htm

 

[Hardy]

Re: "A,FOK,FOK SING AND COMPANY GOLD MINING CAMP [1854-1908]

Nice Area you got there Tinpan, Some of the sites you got for your self are just Fantastic! Happy hunting!!!