Central Deborah’s History - Central Deborah Gold Mine

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xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" version="1.1" id="mapmarker" x="0px" y="0px" viewBox="0 0 80 80" style="width:20px;height:auto;" xml:space="preserve"> <g> <path d="M40,0C26.191,0,15,11.194,15,25c0,23.87,25,55,25,55s25-31.13,25-55C65,11.194,53.807,0,40,0z M40,38.8c-7.457,0-13.5-6.044-13.5-13.5S32.543,11.8,40,11.8c7.455,0,13.5,6.044,13.5,13.5S47.455,38.8,40,38.8z" fill="#FFFFFF" /> </g> </svg> </div> <a class="map-link" href="https://goo.gl/maps/H1VmKTi1y992"><div class="detail-content-address">76 Violet St, Bendigo</div></a> </div> <div class="search-field"></div> </div> </div>   <div id="main-content-area" class="main-content-area"> <div class="top-banner">    <img src='https://www.central-deborah.com/images/stories/History/Central-Deborah-Gold-Mine-Employees.jpg' alt='Central Deborah Gold Mine Workers standing on the surface of the mine during the Gold Rush Era'>  <h1> Central Deborah’s History </h1> </div> <div class="main-content-col-1 full"> <article class="item-page"> <div class="pull-left"></div> <span>Central Deborah Gold Mine operated from 1939-1954 and extracted 929kg of gold, which would be worth about $85 million today.</span> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">At its peak, Central Deborah Gold Mine reached a depth of 412 metres. It has 17 separate levels and 15 kilometres of drives and cross cuts (tunnels). The Central Deborah was very much a hands-on mine and the conditions that the miners worked in would be considered shocking by today's standards – being lowered underground in a cage with only two sides, often working ankle to knee deep in water, filling up to 32 ore trucks a shift by </span><span style="color: #000000;">hand which were then pushed a mile or more along rails in the drives, working by carbide lamp, breathing in the fumes and rock dust and </span><span style="color: #000000;">communication by </span><span style="color: #000000;">bells. Geez, they were </span><span style="color: #000000;">ironmen. However, at the time working conditions were considered</span><span style="color: #000000;"> to be among the best on the goldfields at Central Deborah, after all it was one of the only mines that had hot showers.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">Following Central Deborah Gold Mine's closure, the Bendigo skyline began to noticeably change. Obvious remnants of mining such as poppet heads, engine rooms, service quarters, battery houses and chimneys were steadily disappearing. After intense lobbying by the local community, the Bendigo City Council purchased the still very much intact Central Deborah Gold Mine in 1970 for a mere $6,000 to ensure that a vital link to </span><span style="color: #000000;">Bendigo's historic golden past was maintained.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">The Bendigo Trust was then formed to oversee the operations of the Central Deborah Gold Mine, </span><span style="color: #000000;">which led to the surface of the mine being opened </span><span style="color: #000000;">to the public in 1971. Initially the </span><span style="color: #000000;">surface was open for just 12 hours a week and </span><span style="color: #000000;">as the demand for viewing a part of </span><span style="color: #000000;">Bendigo's </span><span style="color: #000000;">history increased, so did the opening hours. In 1974 the mine was gazetted as a Public Historical Purposes Reserve and attracted such visitors as H.R.H Prince Charles.<br /></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">By far the greatest shortcoming at this stage was that no one could view the underground workings, as these had become flooded. After what could only be described as a monumental effort by everyone involved, Level 2 of the mine was officially opened to the public by the Premier of Victoria, the Honourable John Cain, on 20 June 1986, which brought to fruition a long standing dream.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">The Underground Adventure Tour on Level 3 was later launched in 1998 and in 2011 Central Deborah Gold Mine became the home of Australia's deepest underground mine tour with the launch of Nine Levels of Darkness, allowing visitors access to Level 9 of the mine, 228 metres underground.<br /></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">The key to Central Deborah Gold Mine's success as a tourist destination has always been the passion of our staff and tour guides, which include some of the grandchildren and relatives of the original Central Deborah miners. They literally bring Bendigo and Central Deborah's golden heritage to life as they passionately regale our visitors with stories of what life was really like during the harsh gold rush era of 1851-1954.</span></p> </article> </div> <div class="footer"> <div class="footer-inner"> <div class="footer-col-1"> <div class="custom" > <span class="footer-heading">ADDRESS</span> <span class="footer-text">76 Violet St, Bendigo VIC 3550</span> <a class="footer-link" href="https://goo.gl/maps/9urxiW98jkz"><span class="map-link">View Map ></span></a></div> </div> <div class="footer-col-2"> <div class="custom" > <span class="footer-heading">GET IN TOUCH</span> <span class="footer-text">Phone <a href="tel:0344442810">03 4444 2810</a> </span> <span class="footer-link"><a href="https://forms.roller.app/#/bendigoheritageattractions/fbdebc79b42d40f/form" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="color: #000000;">Send us an email</span></a> ></span></div> </div> <div class="footer-col-3"> <div class="custom" > <span class="footer-heading">GET SOCIAL</span> <span class="footer-icons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CentralDeborahGoldMine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 300px;" src="/images/icons/facebook-icon.png" alt="central deborah facebook" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/centraldeborahgoldmine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 300px;" src="/images/icons/instagram-icon.png" alt="central deborah instagram" /></a> <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g255347-d596490-Reviews-Central_Deborah_Gold_Mine-Bendigo_Greater_Bendigo_Victoria.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 300px;" src="/images/icons/tripadvisor-icon.png" alt="central deborah tripadvisor" /></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnSmE7Vc05GZrA3IdBiTN_Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 300px;" src="/images/icons/youtube-icon.png" alt="central deborah youtube" /></a> </span></div> </div> <div class="footer-col-4"> <div class="custom" > <span class="footer-awards">  <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g255347-d596490-Reviews-Central_Deborah_Gold_Mine-Bendigo_Greater_Bendigo_Victoria.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="/images/TC_LL_2023.png" alt="TripAdvisor" width="100" height="100" id="CDSWIDCOELOGO" class="widCOEImg" /></a> <img src="/images/QTAB-Shield-GreenYellow-Rev-RGB.png" alt="QTAB-Shield-GreenYellow-Rev-RGB.png" /></span></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sub-footer"> <div class="sub-footer-inner"> Copyright © 2018 Central Deborah Gold Mine. 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Central Deborah’s History - Central Deborah Gold Mine