A few weeks ago I spent a cold morning photographing a dark and dusty historic interior hidden in the bushlands of Central Victoria.
The Archbold Gold Treatment Works is protected by Heritage Victoria and is a site of historic significance to the gold mining history of Victoria. It was built in 1884 by Jeremiah Archbold who operated it as an assay and metallurgical business. Jeremiah died in 1917 and the works continued to be run by his sons Herbert and Harry. By the late 1980s the treatment works was closed and everything left as it was. The family guarded their methods with secrecy and did not discard anything . What is then left all these years later is an incredible trove of in situ artefacts.
The images I took will be archived for future research. Here are some of my favourites.
Assay /əˈseɪ,ˈaseɪ/noun assay
1. the testing of a metal or ore to determine its ingredients and quality.
Acknowledgements: Heritage Victoria and Peter Quinn
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