Attempts to find gold in Queensburgh fruitless

IN February 1853 the Natal Government, fearful of the increases drainage of manpower and as a counterbalance of manpower supported by several private firms, offered rewards of £1000 for the discovery of gold in Natal.

In addition 20 Durban merchants, who had decided to make Natal their permanent home, had offered a reward to the value of £5000 to anyone who could discover gold in Natal.

This offer was valid for a limited period of four months.

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Fifty years later in 1905 the Natal prospector, Nathan Young, going on a rumour that gold was in the Queensburgh area, in the valley between Pinedale and Chester Roads, tried his luck and dug a shaft with the hopes of finding gold, only to be sadly disappointed as there was none to be found.

Jubilee Hill in Escombe was another site where gold was said to be. However, the men who tried to mine the spot found there was only a very thin trace that was not worth considering. So the hopes of the “miners” once and for all disappeared. Research has also revealed that attempts were also made to mine gold at a locations in Bellair and Sarnia in the vicinity of Paradise Valley without success.

Researcher Donald Davies has to date been unable to pinpoint the exact location of the Queensburgh mining efforts and would welcome any assistance. Contact Donald on dsdavies@iafrica.com

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Elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal six mining attempts were carried out on the South Coast, three on the North Coast and one inland on a farm Doornhoek near Table Mountain (Pietermaritzburg) originally owned by Jan Thomas Martens and later years by Reggie Raw.

The Inspector of Mines reported that Messrs, Ekstein and Co had sunk two vertical shafts and that one such shaft had reached a depth of 65 feet. Traces of this shaft can still be found in present times.

On a South facing hill approximately half way up from the base (200 metres) overlooking the Umsunduzi River, two horizontal tunnels (adit) were dug into the hill, one such tunnel being about 265 feet (80m) long, 5foot high (1.5m) and 4 foot 6 inches (1.3m) wide.

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