The Richest Alluvial Shaft in Victoria

Take a deep dive into the heart of Ballarat’s Canadian Deep Leads, where one of the richest alluvial gold claims in history was unearthed—Blacksmith's Hole. A single shaft that yielded over one ton of alluvial gold. This fascinating chapter of the Victorian gold rush begins with Canadian Swift, a determined miner who defied convention by digging into the hillsides and ultimately uncovering one of the first, and richest gold-bearing leads ever discovered in Australia.

Join me as I unravel the secrets of the Canadian Lead, a hidden treasure buried beneath layers of sediment eroded from the nearby Whitehorse Ranges over millions of years. In this video, you'll learn about the incredible natural forces that created the perfect conditions for gold to concentrate, especially at the confluence of three ancient rivers—the Scotchman’s Gully, Sailor’s Gully, and the Prince Regent Lead—where miners found gold in abundance as they met with the Canadian Deep Lead.