Jeweller’s shop
Definition of jeweller’s shop
A claim in which occur patches of extraordinary riches. – The Gold Fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria, 1869.
The famous jeweller’s shops at Ballarat
Some claims in Ballarat were so rich they were called “Jewellers Shops” and were described as table tops of gold!
The area around the junction of the Prince Regent and Canadian leads was famous for the abundance remarkably rich jeweller’s shop claims.
The Blacksmith’s Hole
Worked in the early years of the Victorian gold rush, The Blacksmith’s Hole was an extraordinarily rich mining claim on the junction of the Prince Regent and Canadian Leads in Ballarat, where a mine shaft was sunk in 1853 to over a hundred feet deep with incredible results.
Known as a “jewellers’ shop”, this remarkable claim is estimated to have yielded a ton of gold!
Miners in the adjoining claims dug in upon the blacksmith’s claim to get at the rich wash dirt, with one party driving right through into the blacksmith’s mine shaft. This claim was worked multiple times, with rich yields every time.
This unbelievably rich mine shaft was situated alongside the present course of the Canadian Creek, and if you go there today, you can walk right by the spot where the incredible discovery was made.
The Blacksmith’s Hole is commemorated by an ornate iron signpost on the roadside, which states that it was located about five chains due east of the sign.