Captains Flat
Captains Flat (56 km south east): a small town nestled into a valley, the hills around scoured of trees by constant mining. Captains Flat was birthed as a result of mining for gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper and iron pyrites in the hills surrounding the upper reaches of the Molonglo River. It is today a rare mixture of interesting historic buildings and regional residential areas.
Of interest to visitors is the Lake George Mine site, heritage buildings including a miner's cottage, miner's memorial and historical museum.
For almost a quarter of a century a British company called Lake George Mines extracted four million tonnes of zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold ore from Captains Flat, then walked away, selling what it could and leaving the rest. What it left included hectares of toxic tailings, which taxpayers were still bandaging well into the 1970s, a ruined landscape and a derelict ore loader. It followed what had been standard operating procedure since the 19th century, a process that had left the Australian landscape littered with abandoned townships, exhausted deposits, rusty machinery, dangerous shafts and poisons. The mine closed in 1962.
Just how Captains Flat was named is a mystery. The locals still argue about the origins, with a number of legends and possibilities being put forward. It may have been named after an old sea captain, or a landowner that used the term Captain, who in fact turned out to be a Private. It may have been one of the owners of the surrounding sheep runs, but the story I like best is as follows.
The river valley was a favourite resting-place for teamsters who were driving their bullocks. One of the local stations had a bullock was called Captain. He was a large white beast who had a habit of escaping and would always be found in this valley along the riverbank. He escaped so often to this place that the place became known as Captain's Flat. Whatever the truth, the stories and legends add to the mystique of this place.
Gold was first found in this area in a freshly dug grave, near the town sometime in the 1860's, but nothing came of that find. The owner of the land simply utilizing his knowledge and digging the gold for himself. However in 1864 a shopkeeper displayed a sample of gold, found by a boy. Undoubtedly the shop keepers intent was to create a stampede for the gold thus enhancing his business. Incredibly this did not create the rush that was expected either, and although some prospectors were in the area, the area was not rushed. It was not until prospectors travelling to the Cooma gold field stopped there in the 1860's and took some gold that the area became alive with prospectors. There was not a large influx of diggers into the area at this time, but interest and activity increased.
History of Captains Flat
