In the 1870’s one of the first settlements, south of the established colony of The Swan River Settlement, later to become Perth, the capital of Western Australia, was Augusta and Busselton.
Augusta in Flinders Bay had a Wooden Jetty Dock for shipping but to get to Busselton Jetty dock to reload to bigger vessels to reach safer ports of Bunbury and Fremantle Docks for overseas journeys. Ships sailing around the two capes between Augusta and Busselton became floret with danger with rock island outcrops and coral reefs saw many ships go down in the storms of the Indian Ocean. Long delays of shipping the timber industries' massive stockpile of cut timber sleepers were of concern for the growing timber industry.
The only tracks by land were close to the coast and not suitable for the bullock teams to cart such large volumes of timber. A bridge was built over the Margaret River at Bridgewater using the existing trail that connected settlers and workers via the coast.
The timber industry was approaching from Busselton in the north following an old Aboriginal inland track and Flinders Bay in the south had already a timber tram line to Kudardup.
The area between Busselton and Augusta had been populated by indigenous people for 60,000 years named the Noongar Boodja Wadandi . They lived with the land and were responsible for the making of all the existing tracks. The Wadandi tracks at the time were enlarged by the new settlers to the region for wagons and horses to navigate the difficult terrine. The Wadandi people were non-confrontational and helped the new settlers but there were always times when people do not see things the same way. Many lives of the aboriginals were lost from the settler’s diseases which they had no resistance to.
The owner of the Timber industry and infrastructure South of Margaret River was Maurice Coleman Davies. In 1882 Maurice Davies Shifted the Kudardup Timber Mill to Karridale where he built houses for his timber workers. M. C. Davies along with the Busselton Timber industry and businessmen saw the need for a direct route from Busselton to Flinders Bay because of the hardship of transporting the massive stockpile of timber existing. The massive karri trees of Karridale where in 1876 M.C. Davies was thinking of building infrastructure for a new mill, dock and workers accommodation but to send the masses of timber by sea would still be very dangerous for shipping in the port and out to sea. The inland route would be the answer to the problem, however first they wanted to prove it was possible that a track could be put through the dense forest with all its unknown obstructions. The group decided to employ a man [nick-named Tracker] to find a more direct and more practicable route from Busselton to Flinders Bay. The exact year is not known but new research puts the departure between ‘1874’ to ’1876’, with the season of departure from Busselton most likely being late spring, as the winter rains would have swelled the creeks and rivers making such exploratory activities very difficult in the adverse conditions.
The man the Businessmen chose nick named Tracker [his first name was said to be Jimmy but cannot be sure] was a very good bushman and was equipped by the businessmen with a horse and dray, a spare horse, food provisions, gun, axes, saws and other necessary equipment for the long months ahead of him. Travelling south, the coast would be relatively close to the west of him. If he was to encounter any difficulties, he could make his way to the coast and alert any ship going by or use the known coastal track. However, being on his own in blazing this track through with a horse and dray was a bold
Tracker’s trip six months later ended successfully with great fanfare when he came across a small track leading to Karridale which joined up to Flinders Bay and Augusta. His trip was to be remembered for many years by foresters, cutting timber for the mills between Augusta and Busselton, but not just for bushman-ship of making it through, but what he discovered along the way… GOLD.
Tracker was three months into his trip when he came across a large range of iron stone, which made progress very hard going. He was following a small creek and had to track up the side of a range a bit higher. The ironstone rocks had rolled down the side of the hill and the wheels of the dray were getting caught on them. The dray being on an angle meant the downside wheel dug in and became lodged on iron stone breaking a large rock in half. Tracker climbed down from the dray and cursing why he took the dray to high up the side of the valley grabbed a bar and levered half of the rock out from the wheel. To his surprise the freshly cut rock shining in the sun had a distinct beautiful gold colour. Throwing the two halves into the back of the dray then moved the dray to a safer and flatter level before inspecting the rocks of ironstone. Tracker looked at the rock and admired the bright golden lustful colour travelling through the sample and immediately thought it was fool’s gold.
At the time there were only isolated reports of gold being present in Western Australia and most certainly not anywhere around where he was travelling. In Busselton there were workers from the old goldfields in Victoria who had lost their money searching for gold or mining and travelled to work for the new timber industries to save some money.
Tracker not being a prospector was not going to spend too much time digging the area up looking for more specimens but did decide to climb to the top of the ridge to see where it originated from. On his way up to the top of the ridge there were ironstone boulders rolling down from the top. Because of the mould had covered over all of the rocks it was not possible to see any colour beneath the mould. He thought himself lucky that he had found the nice, coloured sample he got. The top of the ridge showed a large outcrop of ironstone that was protruding out of the ground with boulders breaking off and rolling down into the valley, this being the source of where his specimens had come from. It was time for him to move on his quest another three months ahead of him through very thick forest the same as before.
As Tracker left the halfway point the creek systems drain into the Chapman Brook which would have taken off his line. There was no mention of Tracker reaching the Blackwood River, so it is believed he kept to his heading traveling Southwest.
Tracker finally completed his trailblazing task in six months to the praise and acclamation of the people from Busselton to Augusta, particularly M.C. Davies and the Businessmen that employed Tracker. When all the celebrations settled down, he sent a sample of rock he had collected up to Perth by ship from Augusta where he stayed. A few months later the sample was returned, and the reply was it was GOLD! Over 3 OZ of the real thing, GOLD!
Word travels fast in a small country town and a group of would- be prospectors set out to retrace Tracker’s route through the bush and locate the reef from which Tracker’s gold had come from. Six months had passed, and late winter would make going very tough. The tracks were grown over and rain always washing away. Tracker's Gold Reef was Lost.
From the Book Tracker's Lost Gold Reef in Margaret River by Tom Wenman. With the compliments of The Margaret River & Districts Historical Society and Tom Wenman.
The Latest News
Tracker's name was Jimmy, and he is a Wadandi Boodja tracker. His last name will be released when more information is researched and hopefully, we can trace his descendants.
This gold find in Margaret River is the first in Western Australia. If you know of any documented gold finds earlier than 1874, we would love to know. Thank you.