approached the novice miner.
‘Hello, George! Fancy seeing you here of all places.’
‘Hello. I’m sorry, I can’t remember your name.’
‘It’s Henry Baynes; we went to school together in Somerset.’
‘Henry Baynes, my goodness of course! How are you?’
‘I’m well George, but may I ask what you are doing here in Melbourne half a world away?’
‘With luck, I’m here to make my fortune in the goldfields. What are you doing here?’
‘The same as you, old friend.’
‘I’m staying at Mac’s Hotel so why don’t we meet there at say 5 pm and have a drink and catch up on each other’s news?’
‘That sounds like a splendid idea. I’m staying quite close to you at The Royal.’
John wished to make a purchase also but not for gold mining equipment. He headed for the finest men’s outfitters in Melbourne; A. G. Hodgson in Little Lonsdale Street. He desired to buy a fine English suit, which he would wear to the poker games where he sought to increase his wealth. Mr Hodgson measured John and assisted the young man in selecting the right English cloth. John was informed that the first fitting appointment would be in three days. All going well, the suit would be completed in seven.
The theology major had decided he could make more money at the high stakes poker table than breaking his back on the goldfields.
George was sitting in the saloon lounge at Mac’s waiting on his old school friend Henry. At 5 pm, Henry entered the bar and approached George who was in a booth at the far end of the saloon.
‘Good afternoon George, can I buy you a drink?’
‘Thank you, Henry I’ll have a stout please.’
‘I think I’ll join you.’
Henry approached the barmaid and ordered two stouts, returned to the booth with the drinks and took his seat.
‘To your health George.’
‘To your wealth Henry.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’
‘So, Henry you’re intending to become a miner. What makes you think you can find gold while so many others have failed?’
‘I suppose there are no guarantees, but having a degree from Cambridge in geology will improve my odds somewhat.’
‘I didn’t realise you studied geology.’
‘Yes, my initial ambition was to travel to South Africa working for a diamond company but decided gold and Australia was a better option.’
‘From what I hear you’ve made the right choice.’
‘I sincerely hope so. What about you? Why did you make the decision to immigrate here?’
‘Without going into too much detail, Henry, let’s just say I didn’t have too many options.’
‘I see. I’ve been thinking… why don’t we become partners? I believe the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.’
‘I must admit I have been thinking along the same lines.’
‘We can pool our resources to purchase the right equipment, and we split the profit down the middle.’
The two old school chums shook hands and that gesture became their bond.
November 4, 1856
Mathew was in his room at Mac’s when an envelope was slid under his door. He opened it and read the letter from Horace Morgan.
Dear Mathew,
My client has rejected your offer of £8,500; however, he is prepared to accept a counter offer of £9,000.
I believe this is a reasonable amount for such an excellent hotel. If you wish to submit a revised offer, I will arrange to see him immediately.
Please inform me of your intentions as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely
Horace Morgan
Morgan & Davey Real Estate Agents
Mathew was delighted, as he was prepared to pay the full asking price of £10,000. He decided to catch a taxi from outside his hotel and visit Morgan in his office. On the way, he stopped at his bank and arranged a draft for £9,000. He arrived at Morgan & Davey at 11.30am and by 5 pm the Golden Nugget was effectively his. The settlement was arranged for December 15. The purchase included all stock and furniture, in what Morgan termed “walk in walk out.”
John soon discovered that a high stakes poker game was held in room 306 of Mac’s every Friday night; the room belonged to the owner of the hotel, Frank Gardener, and it was more an apartment than a hotel suite. It comprised of five rooms; a parlour, a dining room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. The young professional gambler enquired if he could join the group. Frank, always on the lookout for fresh blood, readily agreed.
John continued his winning ways and although he had his bad nights he ended the month £2,000 better off. His wealth was now £8,000, so he was considered a wealthy young man.
George and Henry decided their quest for gold and riches would best be achieved if they dug a shaft. Alluvial gold had started to become scarce and consequently, miners turned to digging deep holes, or shafts, in the ground. These shafts would be approximately one metre squared and could be up to 50 metres deep. The miners would prop timber along the sides of the shaft to stop it from collapsing and would use a windlass or winch to bring up buckets full of soil.
They had purchased most of their mining equipment in Melbourne, arranging it to be transported to the goldfields outside Ballarat by horse and dray.
Henry decided to register their claim close to a major mining operation where the geology seemed right, and the two novice miners began the long and arduous task of digging the shaft. Every six feet they placed wooden boards around the walls to ensure there were no cave-ins.
After two months digging, they had reached the required depth, forty feet. They took turns on being lowered down the shaft, digging the rock, while the other winched up the bucket. When they had removed a suitable amount of rock and dirt, they would wash the soil in the cradle, extracting any gold they found.
For the first three months, they found enough gold to encourage them to keep going but not enough to make them rich.
March 1, 1857
George was on winching duty one day when Henry shouted out to winch up the bucket. George complied with the request. God knows how many
