In 1853 gold was discovered at the junction of two rivers not far from where I live, and soon after a town was formed. Today it is nothing more than farm land with only a few clues as to what was once a quaint little town.
My brother and I had been researching the state school and trying to pinpoint the location. After talking to our local farmer he showed us the location where it once stood. This conversation also revealed the location of the original town, store and hotels. Looking from the road the paddock where the town used to be doesn't show many signs of what once stood, but upon entering the property you can see where the old road used to run and among the phalaris grass old foundations and a few, now shallow, cellars.
I decided to detect the former road first, being a large open paddock with few landmarks or trees made it hard to grid and cover all the ground. I then made my way from the old road down the hill towards a mound that bore the signs of a large handmade brick house. I was about halfway down the hill when I got my first target. The target ID was all over the place, jumping from the 20s up to the mid 30s. After removing the grass from the surface and an inch of soil the target began to get clearer. I dug down another 4 or so inches and as I was removing the dirt from the hole I saw a round shape with the distinctive colour of gold glistening on an outer edge.
My initial thought was that I had unearthed my first gold sovereign. Heart racing, I reached out and picked it up with care. The face was covered with a thick layer of soil and only a small rim of gold was showing around the edge. I turned it over and was surprised to see a loop on the rear. Eager to see what I had found I raced back to the car and gave it a very gentle clean in some water. Which revealed the most intricate and beautiful button I had ever layed eyes upon.
The face of the button was gold plated with stunning detail and on the rear was stamped P&S Firmin 153 Strand.
That night I did some research. I fou
In 1853 gold was discovered at the junction of two rivers not far from where I live, and soon after a town was formed. Today it is nothing more than farm land with only a few clues as to what was once a quaint little town.
My brother and I had been researching the state school and trying to pinpoint the location. After talking to our local farmer he showed us the location where it once stood. This conversation also revealed the location of the original town, store and hotels. Looking from the road the paddock where the town used to be doesn't show many signs of what once stood, but upon entering the property you can see where the old road used to run and among the phalaris grass old foundations and a few, now shallow, cellars.
I decided to detect the former road first, being a large open paddock with few landmarks or trees made it hard to grid and cover all the ground. I then made my way from the old road down the hill towards a mound that bore the signs of a large handmade brick house. I was about halfway down the hill when I got my first target. The target ID was all over the place, jumping from the 20s up to the mid-30s. After removing the grass from the surface and an inch of soil the target began to get clearer. I dug down another 4 or so inches and as I was removing the dirt from the hole I saw a round shape with the distinctive colour of gold glistening on an outer edge.
My initial thought was that I had unearthed my first gold sovereign. Heart racing, I reached out and picked it up with care. The face was covered with a thick layer of soil and only a small rim of gold was showing around the edge. I turned it over and was surprised to see a loop on the rear. Eager to see what I had found I raced back to the car and gave it a very gentle clean in some water. Which revealed the most intricate and beautiful button I had ever laid eyes upon.
The face of the button was gold plated with stunning detail and on the rear was stamped P&S Firmin 153 Strand.
That night I did some research? I found that Firmin are still in production today and have been since 1655. Having no luck finding any information other than a year of manufacture (1837) I decided to email Firmin themselves to see if they could shed some light on the history of the button for me. I am yet know anything about it and will endeavour to continue researching. Hopefully I can uncover an interesting story behind it. And in the meantime cover as much ground at the site as possible.
Clem - Australia & NZ
nd that Firmin are still in production today and have been since 1655. Having no luck finding any information other than a year of manufacture (1837) I decided to email Firmin themselves to see if they could shed some light on the history of the button for me. I am yet know anything about it and will endeavour to continue researching. Hopefully I can uncover an interesting story behind it. And in the meantime cover as much ground at the site as possible.
Clem
