Ladies Please Start Your Engines
This book is a must for any gold mining historian or researcher as it contains 420 pages of documented descriptions of approximately 160 Gold Mines from Creswick to Geelong including Ballarat Victoria Australia during the 1800s.
Many lesser known small towns in between are covered as well as many settlements that sprung up during the 1800s gold rush of Victoria Australia.
It describes the construction, christening and naming of the steam engines that powered the machinery. The ceremonies are usually done by a Lady by breaking a bottle of “Gold Top” over the flywheel and giving a name to the engine. There are many illustrations and photos of the mines and machinery in the book as well as around 180 names they were given.
Sometimes the engines were named after the person breaking the bottle and others were named after famous people, fairy tales, legends and places where famous battles and wars were fought.
If your mine was named the St George then it would be fitting the engine would be named the “Dragon” or if the mine was the Waterloo in Steiglitz then it was named “Arthur Wellesley” after the Duke of Wellington who
fought in the battle of Waterloo and defeated Napoleon in 1815.
A pumping engine to drain the water from the mine would have the fitting name of "Mermaid"
There is detailed descriptions of the banquets that followed these events that were lavish and all kinds of delicacies were served and copious amounts of liquid refreshments were also served. Many toasts to the dignitaries were proposed and drunk to and the speeches that followed gives a detailed description of the lives of a Gold Miner or Company during those times.
In many communities the shops and business would close for the afternoon and most of the town attended. The stories of traveling to and from the mines were done on unmade roads and boggy tracks in all types of weather and some journeys took several hours to reach the destinations. The hardship and the excitement of the people of the day is well documented and paints the picture in one’s mind of what they endured.
Also included are many details on the engines and machinery associated with gold mining. Engine Companys that manufactured the engines, the details on the bore and stroke, the horsepower they produced the size and style and the buildings and brick and stone foundations, chimney stacks, and tramways that housed these magnificent machines also detailed.
If you have any interest in gold mines and how they were constructed this will be a fascinating and great reference to have in your collection and covers much more than the christening and naming ceremonies and is a must have for the researcher and gold mining enthusiast.