Blackwood - Whipstick Loop Walk
A summary of the Whipstick Loop Walk is:
Grade of Walk: Grade 3
Distance: Circuit 5.0km
Time: 2 hours return
Gradient: Short steep hills
Quality of Path: Formed track, some obstacles
Quality of Markings: Sign posted
Steps: Occasional steps
Experience required: Some bushwalking experience recommended
This walk is situated in the Wombat State Forest and traverses part of the Great Dividing Trail but then loops down around Whipstick Creek through some beautiful open eucalypt forest, to bring you back to your starting point at the Jack Cann Reserve.
Along the walk there is historical evidence of various types of mining with both vertical and horizontal shafts. All of the mining in the area was conducted by hand in very difficult conditions. There is a fenced area with a viewing platform along the track, where you can safely view one of the old mine shafts. Take the time to look and appreciate the extent of works undertaken but for your safety, please stick to the track.
Further along the trail you will also get to walk along the remnants of a water-race, Miners hand dug these trenches to direct water both to and from their mine workings. At one section of the track a boardwalk has been constructed around an old tree through which the miners once diverted the water course. There is also evidence of a structure that once spanned the creek that may have been a tramway or bridge foundations.
Map
Download Walk Notes & Map
As you travel along the Whipstick Loop Walk you will circle through the famous Simmons Reef goldfield. From Jack Cann Reserve (named after a local philanthropist from years gone by), the walk follows water races and mining tracks. On the journey you will be able to see the remnants of historic mines and alluvial diggings. The walk also takes you across the valleys of Back Creek and Whipstick Creek. Vegetation ranges from open forest with low heath to a dense 'wet sclerophyll' forest of tall trees, ferns and mossy logs.
Flora and Fauna
The predominant overstorey vegetation in the area is a mixture of Narrow-leaf Peppermint (E.radiata), Candle Bark (E.rubida), and Messmate (E.obliqua), along with some magnificent examples of Blackwood (A.melonoxylon).
Picnic Facilities
Picnic facilities, car parking and public toilets are available at the Jack Cann Reserve.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs are allowed in State forest but must be under direct control at all times and are expected to be on a leash in picnic and camping areas or when near other visitors.
Getting There
The Whipstick Loop Walk starts and ends at the Jack Cann Reserve near The Garden of St Erth at 189 Simmons Reef Road, Blackwood. It is located approximately 1.5 hours from Melbourne and approximately 40 minutes from Ballarat. The walk is also easily accessed from the towns of Daylesford, Trentham and Woodend.
A Step Back in Time
Although well-known as one of the gold fields closest to Melbourne, Blackwood remained a hard place in which to mine. Dr Bacchus (of Bacchus Marsh fame) reported gold in the Lerderderg River in July 1851. The ravines and forests of the ranges blocked any great rush for several years. Not until 1854 were prospectors able to strike gold near Mount Blackwood. Most of the diggers were again frightened off by the harsh terrain. Then on 4 January 1855 Edward Hill hit on a rich find, sparking the first real rush to Blackwood. In September 1863 the Victorian government rewarded Edward Hill with 300 pounds for his pioneering discovery.
By April 1855 there were 2000 miners digging for gold around Blackwood. In June there were to 10,000 diggers and by September 13,000. An Argus reporter wrote that at Simmons Reef, gold "was seen lying on top of the reef just as openly as you would see gold watches, trinkets etc in a jeweller's shop".
The gold seekers soon turned from creekbed diggings to excavating shafts, so they could mine deep reefs of gold-bearing quartz rock. The Argus newspaper reported that by 1859 the miners were "anxiously" awaiting for a crusher to arrive, so they could break up the quartz rock and extract gold. The first wave of diggers swept hastily through Blackwood, moving on to new finds to the west and north.
By 1860 C R Longbottom, the local Mining Surveyor, reported 760 alluvial miners at work in Blackwood alongside 100 quartz miners. By then diggers were running out of water and had to stop sluicing work. Quartz mining also slowed and the Surveyor reported that "Simmons Reef is very dull at present, presenting a striking contrast to the noise lately occasioned by the crushing machines".
From 1861 a new Simmons Reef Reservoir brought water to the miners and by 1866 there were over 1000 alluvial and 280 quartz miners at work. Of these, more than 400 were Chinese. A Chinese settlement grew up around Blackwood's Golden Point, with shops, a temple, boarding house and a Chinese doctor and herbalist.
As well as baffling steep slopes and dense forest, diggers around Blackwood were often washed out by sudden floods. They often had to stop sluicing because of drought. Despite such harsh conditions local miners managed to extract an estimated 700,000 pounds worth of gold after 1869. Small mining companies worked through the quartz reefs until well into the twentieth century.
A few prospectors returned to the fields in the 1930s Depression and the Easter Monday Mine, Simmons Reef, did not close down until 1938. Remnants of these several eras of gold mining are now scattered through the Wombat forest.
Location
189 Simmons Reef Road, Blackwood 3458 Map
Web Links
→ Whipstick Loop Walk Brochure & Map (PDF)
→ Whipstick Loop Walk (Alltrails)
