Magenta Mine Walk
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 10.97 mi
- Elevation gain
- 459 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 459 ft
- Max elevation
- 903 ft
- TrailRank
-
72
4.7
- Min elevation
- 625 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 3 hours 28 minutes
- Time
- 4 hours 59 minutes
- Coordinates
- 3041
- Uploaded
- July 16, 2020
- Recorded
- July 2020
near Chiltern, Victoria (Australia)
Viewed 244 times, downloaded 2 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
A historic walk was enjoyed by 6 members of the (Facebook) Take A Hike - NE Victoria walking/hiking group.
Fair weather and sunshine made for a wonderful day out.
Mining of the Magenta Reef commenced in 1860. Earth, rock and quartz were excavated and carted out by horse and dray. The open cut was worked to a depth of 15 metres and later partially filled with mullock. Two shafts were sunk to access gold bearing ore. Today, you can view one of these from the eastern side of the open cut. The other shaft has since been filled in for safety. Further along the track there is a viewing platform to view the enlarged tunnel or drive, which was worked to a depth of 30 metres. The quartz was crushed at the nearby stamper batteries and the timber foundations can still be seen today.
The mine closed around 1910, but was revived during the 1930s Depression. Published figures report a total of 21,665 tons of material was crushed, yielding 9,900 ounces of gold. It is thought 13,000 ounces of gold is more accurate. In its heyday, Magenta was a significant residential area. Now the tall Ironbark trees with their black, deeply furrowed bark, are a spectacular backdrop to the red soils of the area.
There are picnic tables at the Magenta Mine area but there’s plenty of picnic opportunities during the walk, including at the Pioneer Cemetery.
Nearest toilets are at the Chiltern visitor centre carpark, where our walked commenced/ended today. In hot weather bring your togs as the local public swimming pool is located adjacent to the carpark too.
Chiltern township is full of dining options with bakery, IGA, pubs and cafes.
Fair weather and sunshine made for a wonderful day out.
Mining of the Magenta Reef commenced in 1860. Earth, rock and quartz were excavated and carted out by horse and dray. The open cut was worked to a depth of 15 metres and later partially filled with mullock. Two shafts were sunk to access gold bearing ore. Today, you can view one of these from the eastern side of the open cut. The other shaft has since been filled in for safety. Further along the track there is a viewing platform to view the enlarged tunnel or drive, which was worked to a depth of 30 metres. The quartz was crushed at the nearby stamper batteries and the timber foundations can still be seen today.
The mine closed around 1910, but was revived during the 1930s Depression. Published figures report a total of 21,665 tons of material was crushed, yielding 9,900 ounces of gold. It is thought 13,000 ounces of gold is more accurate. In its heyday, Magenta was a significant residential area. Now the tall Ironbark trees with their black, deeply furrowed bark, are a spectacular backdrop to the red soils of the area.
There are picnic tables at the Magenta Mine area but there’s plenty of picnic opportunities during the walk, including at the Pioneer Cemetery.
Nearest toilets are at the Chiltern visitor centre carpark, where our walked commenced/ended today. In hot weather bring your togs as the local public swimming pool is located adjacent to the carpark too.
Chiltern township is full of dining options with bakery, IGA, pubs and cafes.
Waypoints
Photo
682 ft
Carpark
Pernod spaces for parking. Public toilets and swimming pool adjacent. 50m walk to town Main Street cafes etc.
Photo
735 ft
Trail
It’s easy walking in good weather and even after many days of rain the fire and parks management access tracks were solid under foot
Photo
663 ft
Bee Site
Apiculture or beekeeping under licence or permit has been a longstanding use within many parks and reserves.
Photo
663 ft
Bee Site
Apiculture or beekeeping under licence or permit has been a longstanding use within many parks and reserves. Today we came across hundreds of bee boxes.
Photo
778 ft
Suffolk St turn off
Look for white picket fence, that’s your turnoff to return to town.
Comments (2)
You can add a comment or review this trail
I have followed this trail verified View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Easy
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it. It’s a favourite of ours, particularly when in training for camino. We have a walking group on Facebook. Take A Hike NE Victoria