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I was standing on the crest of the ‘hill of gold’ site of the Blaaubank Historic Gold Mine admiring the view of the Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg ranges behind and beyond Magaliesburg when the silence was shattered by the sound of eight excited young people emerging from two cars. From the called comments between the drivers, who looked to be about 20 years old, it was clear that they had found the drive up the rutted dirt road from the station to the mine to be a challenge that they were excited to have overcome. I wondered how they would have managed that track up the hillside in an oxcart in 1874, when the gold reef was first discovered there by the Australian prospector, Henry Lewis.

The youngsters rushed over to reception. With the exception, that is, of a pretty girl wearing footwear that was entirely inappropriate for a walking tour of the Gold Mine. She hopped along at the back trying to get grit out of diamante-trimmed sandals made for show, not walking. The others clearly had no problems in their trainers and hiking boots, which were better suited for the tour of the original horizontal mine shaft.

A few minutes later the group emerged from Reception with their tour guide and headed for the lamp room to collect their battery powered mining helmets. Not for them the old carbide lamp in the mine museum. The guide led them across the camp site. She told the group that they could camp there overnight and sleep out like prospectors in tents next to the mine entrance. Shrieks of horror rose from Sandal Girl when she realized that there could be snakes, scorpions, spiders or porcupines in the mine area. She calmed down as the guide explained the format of the walk into the mine.

The mine was operated without mechanical equipment and was hand-dug through quartzite and shale in pursuit of the vein of gold ore visible in the waiting area outside the mine entrance. The walk is fairly level and the first part is lit by electric lights.

Historic Gold Mine - part 1

These are turned off when the group has reached a certain point and they activate their helmet lights. After that, the only natural light is the odd seepage through air vents, which is reassuring for the claustrophobic and those scared of bats.

I knew from my own tour that the mine interior was cool, damp and dark. I had no doubt that the youngsters would be intrigued by the guide’s account of the history of the mine and the early mining techniques. I lingered over my picnic until the group re-emerged to see the machinery plant where ore has been crushed since 1874. There is also a new mine shaft that can be included in a longer tour, but it has a steep entrance and is only toured by prior arrangement, so I haven’t seen it yet. This group was happy enough with the 45 minute tour, which ends with gold panning in the traditional way. Sandal Girl was convinced that she had found a speck of gold and was very excited when she was told she could keep it.

She went off clutching her commemorative certificate and bragging that she was the only one who would make a good miner. Presumably she had been paying attention on the tour and learned first-hand what it was like to be a miner with no mechanical aids or coco-pans to transport the ore. Those sandals would have had to be replaced by sturdy boots!

I was relieved for Sandal Girl’s part that this group of tourists wasn’t going to attempt the hikes down to the prospectors’ cemetery or the ruins of the original Magaliesburg Hotel. She would have had to contend with all manner of African reptiles and insects in the long grass and those sandals wouldn’t have lasted long! It was better by far for her to head back to civilization with good memories of her historic South African gold mine adventure.

Historic Gold Mine - part 2

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