Iron Mine - Blast Furnace - Shepherd Daughters Grave
Shepherd Daughters Grave
New information emerges about young girl's
grave that has fascinated for more than a century
ABC Ballarat
By Dominic Cansdale
The gravesite in bushland near
Lal Lal can be found near a popular hiking path.
Supplied: Greg Johns/Hiking Fiasco
History researchers have uncovered new
information about a six-year-old girl's lone grave in central Victorian
bushland that has fascinated locals and hikers for more than 150 years.
The Shepherd's Daughter's Grave, south of the
Bungal Dam near Lal Lal, is believed to belong to Mary Paterson, who may
have died while droving sheep with her family in July 1867.
The most common story shared among locals is
that Mary contracted pneumonia during wet weather, with flooding along the
nearby Moorabool River blocking doctors from the area and forcing her family to
bury her body in bushland.
But research conducted by the Ballarat and
District Genealogical Society has uncovered inconsistencies about the girl's
name and the date of her death, while shedding light on how different languages
and accents may have affected the accuracy of record-keeping in 19th century
Victoria.
Tragic tale gives insight into Victorian gold
rush
The Shepherd's Daughter's Grave has been
maintained by locals from Lal Lal over the past 150 years.
Supplied: Greg Johns/Hiking Fiasco
Ballarat and District Genealogical Society
research coordinator Jennifer Burrell said based on the Victorian register of
births, deaths and marriages, the spelling of Mary's name was inconsistent,
while the year of her death was wrong.
"In this genealogical research world, we
know there are errors, but spotting them is the challenge," Ms Burrell
said.
"There was a little girl who died aged six
but it was 1863 not 1867 or 1869. Her birthplace was Edgerton … and she had an
unusual middle name of Redsale, also spelt Redsell."
Ms Burrell's research indicated that Mary
Ann Redsale Patterson was born to William Patterson and Maria Haney,
who also had three other children.
Flowers are regularly left at the Shepherd's
Daughter's Grave near Lal Lal.
Supplied: Greg Johns/Hiking Fiasco
But Ms Burrell said Mary Ann's death records
showed her last name as Paterson — as is inscribed on her grave — and that her
mother's name was spelt Mary Ann Houney.
"This family is moving around so
possibly he [William Paterson] was a shepherd, and I'm convinced on
the basis of probability that this is the little girl," she said.
"On the goldfields, which is the 1850s in
Ballarat, very few people had been born here. There was no such thing as an
Australian accent. People had come from all over the world.
"If you're from Britain, from Scotland,
England or Ireland, there are regional accents there too, so the clerks just
wrote down what they heard and, in my opinion, all the vowels are
interchangeable."
Ms Burrell said the Shepherd's Daughter's Grave
provided a "sense of place" for people living in the area and gave an
insight into the hardships of life 150 years ago.
"This is one little story that is quite
moving really, this poor little girl," she said.
Grave cherished and maintained by locals
Like many Lal Lal locals, retired
teacher Ursula Diamond-Keith has grown up with the story of the Shepherd's
Daughter's Grave.
"It's a piece of unusual history and it
tells you in great detail without actually having anything written, how people
lived and worked in the 1860s … just how precarious their lives were," Ms
Diamond-Keith said.
She said her father helped build a small wire fence around the grave before World War II in 1939, which has since been replaced by a larger wooden fence with Mary Ann's name inscribed
LAL LAL IRONWORKS.
The Ballarat Star October 28th 1878
Work at the Lal Lal iron mine was re-started on Saturday, when the hon. the Chief Secretary performed the ceremony of making the first casting. The Premier, with Mrs Berry and Miss Berry the Minister of Mines and Mrs Smith, Messrs James, Fincham, Bell, Richardson, Davies, and Sainsbury, M’s.L.A, Mrs Sainbury and sister, Messrs Leggo, Göller, Brown, Swifte, Seal, Laing, Batten, Nicholls, Clark, the representatives of the local and metropolitan Press and a number of other gentlemen, left Ballarat. By special train at 10.00 am. Drags were provided for the ladies and-some of the visitors, but the party was so large that many had to walk. The road to the mine has been constructed by the company at very great expense.
Over 130 tons of iron have been brought to: the surface, and when that, quantity has been increased to 200 tons, the company will claim the £1000 premium offered by previous Governments for the first 200 tons of colonial iron produced.
The works are situated on the western slope of a picturesque gorge through which the 'Moorabool Creek runs, and from the crown of the hill above a beautiful view of the surrounding country, well wooded and well watered, can be obtained.
The houses and huts clustered round the works were on Saturday gaily decked with bunting, and as the day was sunny yet cool, every visitor enjoyed the trip. When they arrived the furnace was in full-blast, and moulds for “pigs” were prepared under the superintendence of Mr Rowley, the mine manager. The ladies were placed in a position where they could see everything to the best advantage, the gentlemen stationed themselves as near the furnace, as was compatible with their avoidance of being roasted, and all being ready, the Premier drove a drill through the furnace outlet, and a molten stream of iron flowed forth .and filled the moulds. In addition, little iron saucers were cast by Mr Brown, and after being polished they will be presented as souvenirs to the ladies of the party.
Three cheers were given for the Lal Lal Iron Company, the, ceremony was over, and after a short inspection of works the party took its way to the hut, where luncheon was prepared. Mr Ward, of Ballarat, was caterer, and he. did his work in. excellent style. As the drive and walk had sharpened appetites, everybody played an excellent knife and fork, and.it was some time before any toasts were proposed.
The first casting at the Lal Lal Iron Works, 1878. State Library of Victoria (IAN28/11/78/196)
Lal
Lal Iron Mining Co.
Source:
Federation University-Australia
Background
Lal Lal iron was used by
many Ballarat foundries, including the Phoenix Foundry. It was used for many
purposes from the shoes of stamping batteries to the decorative cast iron used
for house decoration.
History
Iron ore mining began in
the Lal Lal district in 1857. The Lal Lal Iron Mining Company was formed in
1874 after the liquidation of the Victoria Iron Company. The plant including
the Lal Lal Blast Furnace was opened in 1878 but a new and larger blast furnace
was built two years later. The mine reached its peak in 1884 when 1,600 tons of
ore was smelted and 800 tons of pig iron produced. Within a few years
production rapidly declined.
The company set up an iron
ore quarry and smelting works, which at its peak employed 160 men. Charcoal
from local timber, brown coal from the area and Ballarat coke were all used as
fuel for the smelting process.
The fist furnace installed
was very crude and consisted of a boiler shell lined with fire brick. The fuel
used was charcoal and the limestone flux was obtained from Geelong. Later an
improved type was built, using coke as fuel, and the output rose to 5 tons per
day.
The ironworks closed in
1885 after producing 2,607 tons of iron from 5,230 tons of ore. The value for
the output over ten years was in the vicinity of 12,000 pounds.
Site
Lal Lal is in the vicinity
of the Victorian town of Ballarat.
Legacies
The venture was an
outstanding example of the spirit of local enterprise.
The gates and iron railings
around Ballarat's St Patrick's Cathedral and the Ballaarat Old Cemetery gates
were fabricated from Lal Lal iron.
Statement of
Significance
Victoria's only
attempt at mining and smelting iron ore took place at Lal Lal in the latter
stages of the nineteenth century. In the mid1870s, the Lal Lal Iron Company
installed mining machinery, erected a large blast furnace and constructed a
tramway to convey ore from the mine. For a brief time in the early 1880s, the
Lal Lal Company had over 100 men engaged in mining and smelting the iron ore,
gathering limestone (flux) and firewood, and manufacturing charcoal. The
company also operated a foundry at Ballarat. The Lal Lal Iron Works had ceased
operations by the end of the 1880s.
The Lal Lal Iron Mine and Smelting Works is of historical, archaeological and
scientific importance to the State of Victoria. The site is already listed on
the Register of the National Estate.
The Lal Lal Iron Mine and Smelting Works is historically and scientifically
important as the site of the State's only attempt to smelt iron ore with a
blast furnace. The significance of the site is enhanced by the substantial
remnants of the blast furnace being of its type surviving in the southern
hemisphere.
The Lal Lal Iron Mine and Smelting Works is scientifically important for its
illustration of local adaptation of imported iron smelting technology. The
design of the furnace, construction materials, and smelting technique used at
the site harking back to 18th century European iron smelting technology. The
site is archaeologically important for its potential to yield artefacts and
evidence which will be able to provide significant information about the
technological history of mining.
[Source: Victorian Heritage Register]
Researched and compiled by Janet McKay 2021
Links : Lal Lal Blast Furnace Report
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