Tarnagulla Goldfield Prospecting Maps – Explore Victoria’s Field of Golden Wonders

 

Step into one of Victoria’s richest and most nugget-laden goldfields with the detailed Tarnagulla Goldfield prospecting maps. Nestled south of Inglewood within the heart of the Golden Triangle, the historic town of Tarnagulla became world-famous in the 1850s for its extraordinary alluvial gold discoveries and rich quartz reefs. Today, with surrounding areas of crown land and state forest still accessible under a valid Victorian Miner’s Right, Tarnagulla offers a dream destination for modern fossickers and detectorists seeking real gold in proven ground.

 

🪙 Historical Overview: Tarnagulla’s Golden Explosion

Gold was first discovered at Tarnagulla in 1852, when shepherds found gold in the gullies draining into Sandy Creek. Word quickly spread, and a rush of thousands followed, uncovering some of the richest shallow alluvial goldfields ever seen in Victoria. Early miners recovered enormous quantities of coarse gold, much of it lying just inches beneath the surface. Tarnagulla became even more famous with the discovery of the Poverty Reef in 1854, one of Victoria’s richest gold-bearing quartz reefs, which yielded spectacular specimen gold for decades. Tarnagulla’s combination of incredible shallow alluvial gold and later rich quartz reef mining secured its place as one of the true jewels of the Victorian goldfields.

 

✨ Notable Finds & Field Highlights

The fields around Tarnagulla were legendary for producing massive nuggets, with many pieces weighing several ounces and some exceeding one hundred ounces during the peak years. The Poverty Reef produced astonishing specimen gold, with quartz rich in visible gold, while the surface flats and gullies yielded coarse nuggets that made fortunes almost overnight. Areas such as Sandy Creek, Nuggety Gully, and New Chum Gully became famous names in Victorian gold rush history. Even today, detectorists continue to recover nuggets and specimen gold from the old surfacing grounds, drift terraces, and dry gullies that stretch across the Tarnagulla district.

 

🥾 Ideal For

Tarnagulla is ideal for detectorists chasing large nuggets across shallow drift flats, dry gullies, and ironstone-rich terraces. Those targeting quartz reef gold will find old reef outcrops and mullock heaps that still produce specimen pieces with modern technology. The relatively open bushland, light ground cover, and vast historical workings make Tarnagulla one of the best goldfields in Victoria for both beginner and experienced detectorists. Whether you are dreaming of finding a solid nugget or a beautiful piece of reef gold, Tarnagulla’s historic ground still offers real opportunity.

 

⚠️ Fossicking Rules and Access Information

Fossicking for gold is permitted on crown land, state forest, and designated public areas around Tarnagulla with a valid Victorian Miner’s Right. Some areas are close to farmland or conservation reserves, so always confirm access status before detecting by using the GeoVic mapping tool. Excellent fossicking grounds include the Sandy Creek flats, the old surfacing fields west of town, and the gullies leading toward New Chum and Nuggety Gully. Always fossick respectfully and preserve the incredible heritage of this historic goldfield.

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Find Gold Where Victoria’s Greatest Nuggets Were Pulled from the Earth – With the Tarnagulla Goldfield prospecting map, you can walk the same flats and gullies where fortune hunters once found life-changing gold. Real nuggets, real history, and real adventure still wait at Tarnagulla.

 

Bealiba, Moliagul, Tarnagulla, Waanyarra, Dunolly, and Archdale Gold Map 1915:

https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE7317750&mode=browse

 

Tarnagulla and Newbridge goldfields map 1979:

https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE15495990&mode=browse