Historical and Other Notes

Daylesford in 1936 Daylesford, Victoria 1873 An historic etching of Daylesford in Victoria from 1873 J. C. Armytage Steam Train at Daylesford Railway Station This link will take you to a 66 page PDF of the Mining History of Daylesford RESEARCHED AND COMPILED BY ANDREW PARKER 2021

  Photo of Martin Street Blackwood with Blackwood Hotel on right and opposite is the General Store with the name of Alex Decker in front of roof.   Courtesy Barry Thurgood. © From a glass negative, Blackwood Mineral Springs by G.A. Hammond, photographer. c. 1908. Courtesy B.D.H.S. © Blackwood Cricket Club - circa 1895 Bacchus Marsh Express (Vic. : 1866 - 1943), Saturday 4 January 1890, page 7 (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) THE holidays have come and gone once more, and at the present time things in general here are far more promising than they were at the beginning of last year. If Byrne's and the adjoining claims were amalgamated, and in the hands of a genuine company, Blackwood might be heard of as a goldfield worth looking after. It is to be hoped that greater vitality will be shown this year on Blackwood than there has been in the past few years. I think there must have been a greater number of visitors here these last holidays than has been seen here for several years past. On

  Balt Camp, Baltic Refuges as Migrants. The Balt Camp was situated in Camp Road, Bullarto, north of Blackwood. It was a refugee work camp for ‘displaced persons’ – including from the Baltic States – after World War 2. All that remains today are a stone chimney and concrete foundations of the huts.    BALT REFUGEES AS MIGRANTS – Arrival at Fremantle in December   . The first party of 860 displaced persons would arrive in Australia early in December, the Minister for Immigration (Mr. Calwell) announced today. They were all of Baltic origin and had been instructed in the English language and the Australian way of life at a camp near  Berlin. This instruction would be continued on the voyage and in  Bonegilla camp, Victoria, where  they would stay for a month before being allotted to employment in the various States. West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 27 October 1947, page 16 Australia accepts displaced persons from Europe – 843 Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians arrive.

BARKSTEAD BATTERY   Ballarat Courier ( Vic.:  1869 - 1883; 1914 - 1918), Tuesday 6 July 1915, page 5   BATTERY AT BARKSTEAD, Monday. The  Government  battery near  Barkstead  is now in a completed state, and crushing will be commenced almost i mmediately . It is understood that the first  crushing to  be put  through  is from Strickland Bros. Pioneer mine. The battery is in every way an up-to-date  plant,  being  complete  in every  detail . It is situated  about  20 chains (400 metres) below Mullins' dam, where  an abundant  water supply is assured. The fall is all that  can  be desired, and concentrator,  Berdun  pan, cyaniding plant and settling pits are arranged to its best  advantage.  The mill is driven by a  suction  gas  plant . The plant has  been  declared by  those  competent to judge one of the best of its kind in Victoria. It is hoped that the  installation  of  the  battery will give a stimulus to  prospecting  in the  locality .   *  One chain is defined as  twenty-t