In 1862 Billy Barker discovered gold on Williams Creek. The Barkerville/Cariboo Gold Rush was on!
Thousands of people from all over the world tried their luck – most of them failed. For every 5,000 mining prospects that are tested, only one producing gold mine is made!
Initially miners used picks, shovels and gold pans.
More efficient methods evolved including hydraulic pit mining and the use of cyanide and mercury. All of these methods created huge heaps of discarded rock and chemicals on the landscape.
Nothing grows on this beach after chemical infused debris was left from mining activities.
Today's laws attempt to protect the environment but can only be afforded by large corporations. There are still a few intrepid gold miners in the Cariboo but they are mostly hobby miners.
By the 1880s half the population of Barkerville was from Guangdong China, many of whom were lured by false promises of riches only to become indentured laborers.
Today's laws attempt to protect the environment but can only be afforded by large corporations. There are still a few intrepid gold miners in the Cariboo but they are mostly hobby miners.
By the 1880s half the population of Barkerville was from Guangdong China, many of whom were lured by false promises of riches only to become indentured laborers.
Barkerville's Chinatown has many buildings portraying the businesses in the late 1800s.
Billy Barker introduced us to the assay office of the 1800s.
He then switched his persona to the modern day and really caught our attention.
Researchers have confirmed that the gold mined on our planet Earth is from outer space!
During the formation of Earth, molten iron sank to its centre to create the core. That took with it the vast majority of the planet’s precious metals – such as gold and platinum.
So why do we have gold on the surface? More than 200 million years after Earth was created, before continents were formed, our planet was hit by about 20 billion tonnes of asteroid material from supernova stars. The impacting meteorites were stirred into Earth’s mantle by gigantic convection processes. The full load of meteorite gold was added to the mantle alone and not lost to the deep interior.
Now look at your gold jewelry, etc. and realize that the gold likely came from outer space!!
In the late 1800s the Cariboo Gold Rush highlighted the need for access and policing in the interior, which led to the consolidation of British Columbia as a single Crown colony in 1858 and then in 1871 as a province in Canada.
We learned about gold mining from the 1880s to today and the creation of our home province. Great history lesson where it really happened!
Most interesting information. Think of all you've learned over the past few years of retirement and travel... Good for you. Keep in touch.
ReplyDeleteI love Barkerville... interesting and fun all at the same time!
ReplyDeleteHeather