Eldorado, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Eldorado, or El Dorado, is a small town in the north-east of Victoria, Australia
. At the 2006 census
, Eldorado had a population of 287.
was found in the area during the 1850s, the source of the town's name (after the legend of El Dorado
). Eldorado Post Office opened on 1 August 1861.
The town's population declined sharply after the area ceased to yield gold. The remains of an old gold dredge
can still be seen today.
This is a large steel dredge which was designed and built by Thompson's Engineering for the Cocks Eldorado Gold Dredging Company in 1935-36. By the time it was decommissioned it had dredged 30 million cubic metres from the river flats of the Eldorado Plain. It has 110 digging buckets each of which was capable of digging and lifting 0.3 cubic metres of soil.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Eldorado had a population of 287.
History
GoldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was found in the area during the 1850s, the source of the town's name (after the legend of El Dorado
El Dorado
El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
). Eldorado Post Office opened on 1 August 1861.
The town's population declined sharply after the area ceased to yield gold. The remains of an old gold dredge
Gold dredge
A gold dredge is a placer mining machine that extracts gold from sand, gravel, and dirt using water and mechanical methods.The original gold dredges were large, multi-story machines built in the first half of the 1900s....
can still be seen today.
This is a large steel dredge which was designed and built by Thompson's Engineering for the Cocks Eldorado Gold Dredging Company in 1935-36. By the time it was decommissioned it had dredged 30 million cubic metres from the river flats of the Eldorado Plain. It has 110 digging buckets each of which was capable of digging and lifting 0.3 cubic metres of soil.
External links
- www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources05/05_1355.pdf - Parks Victoria's visitors guide to Cock's gold dredge.