Steiglitz BLOG

New Gold Mining Proposal for Steiglitz

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Category: Blog

Created on Wednesday, 28 October 2020 19:36

You’d think a historic town, nestled within a National Park would be safe from mining wouldn’t you?  Think again.  

Just weeks ago, a company with the exploration licence for this area, contacted me.  Their goal?   To find out how locals felt, before proceeding with their latest attempts to find gold in Steiglitz.  Stressing – this was not a necessity, simply a courtesy.

Now, you may think drilling a few test holes doesn’t sound overly damaging.  Though if they find what they hope to, the result will be devastating… to every element of life in this area. 

At a meeting it was obvious NOBODY WANTS THE MINING TO PROCEED.  !f you feel the same, then contact us….please!  We can add you to the ‘fight gold mining in Steiglitz’ email list.  

You do not have to be a local to have a say.  If you love this area, have childhood or family memories here, or simply want this special piece of public bushland to stay just that – then let us know.   Please join us and LIKE our Facebook Page and keep a close eye on the updates. 

Doesn’t take much to picture how their many huge, long trucks going back & forth daily (taking the extracted soil to Ballarat for the next stage) will affect our already stressed koalas, endangered phascogales, threatened powerful owls and rare orchids or wildflowers.  

Their constant noise will drone on, day after day, maybe even year after year.  Living in town, noise is something soon tuned out.  Whereas here, we revel in the silence of the bush.  Delight in the laugh of kookaburras.  Chirping of tiny blue fairy wrens.  And smile at the sound of roos jumping through our properties on their way to the nearest watering hole.  

As do the tourists who come here from all around the globe.  Pre covid, annual tourist numbers for the Brisbane Ranges were almost 200,000.  The numbers of international tourists may be well down, though local numbers have soared.  Come through here any day of the week and you’ll find buses slowly meandering down the roads, filled with school kids or elders.  Hundreds of family-filled cars cruising through this relaxing scenery. Visit Steiglitz itself and you’ll see the streets alive with large groups of people enjoying a quiet stroll along the road edge, prams in tow. Scout groups walking around with compasses in hand. Artists sitting in silence inspired by the surrounding  beauty. Even film crews, using this tranquil setting to ‘step back in time.’

Can you imagine how the constant flow of huge trucks roaring down the roads would affect any & all of that?  Not only ruining the quality of experience for visitors, but the quality of life for locals.   

Coincidentally, just over two years ago locals got together to fight another mining threat, about 10 kms away in She Oaks.  Then, it was sand.  They’re already coping with the problems of numerous sand mines, so nobody (except the owner profiting from it) wanted more.  

Realistically, this group thought their chance of stopping the mine almost non-existent. Even so,  with passion, determination & shire support, they headed to VCAT.  Hoping to limit the road dangers for locals & tourists alike, they were elated with the results -  no new sand quarry allowed!

This group’s reasonings, statistics, tourist figures, knowledge of how damaging it would be to endangered flora & fauna, and other wealth of information will be relevant to this new gold mining proposal.  Especially considering the exploration license covers a wide area of She Oaks as well.

Needless to say, with all this in mind, I put the call out to locals…were they interested in meeting with this company rep?  The answer was a resounding, “You betcha!’     

So we set it up…in the open, all wearing masks, and keeping the social distancing rule. It wasn’t a bad meeting. Though while the company rep, Adam, seemed upfront, he was also good at ‘speaking the speak.’  

The end result was everyone wanted to take this further.  Whether locals or those who simply loved this area, nobody wanted the mining to proceed.  If you feel the same, then contact us….please!   That way, if you want, we’ll add you to the ‘fight gold mining in Steiglitz’ email list.  Thereby allowing you to know what’s happening, whether these explorations are set to go ahead, rather than read about it in the paper after its happened.

Remember, you do not have to be a local to have a say.  If you love this area, have childhood or family memories here, or simply want this special piece of public bushland to stay just that – then let us know.  Oh, and feel free to spread the word too.

With thanks,

Lindy Allinson (Steiglitz resident & Secretary of the not-for-profit Back to Steiglitz Association).