Anchor Stampers platform
I was down in Tassie for two weeks catching up with family. My niece Rebecca and I had already done a couple of walks on this trip. I wrote about one of them
here.
On our way back to my sister's beach shack after visiting St Columba Falls, we turned off and headed to the car park for a short walk to the Anchor Stampers Tin Mine.
Sign to Halls Falls on highway
We drove past the entrance to the track to Halls Falls. I had done that walk on my Tasmanian visit last year. The road sign was on our left. If you were coming from Weldborough the turn off is 17 kilometres away. We drove past the turn off to Halls Falls and on about another four kilometres on Anchor Road to the Anchor Stampers car park, crossing over the Groom River Bridge on the way. We did a walk to
Halls Falls last year.
Road sign
We had also done a walk to the
Giant Tree Walk in the Blue Tier area a couple of years before. The whole area is very interesting and beautiful.
Our car was the only one in the car park and we only saw one other walker who was coming in just as we were leaving. We set off for the short 0.8 kilometre return walk.
On the trail
It was a bit overgrown and there were lots of Common Foxglove flowers. These plants look very pretty but are a fast-growing toxic weed.
Toxic Foxglove Weed
I remember hearing about Foxglove many years ago when I was a student nurse in Launceston and learnt the drug digoxin, which was made from digitalis, was used for heart problems.
Getting close to the Stampers
The Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a fast-spreading toxic weed found in many parts of Tasmania. Native to Europe, it was imported as an ornamental garden plant. In Tasmania's cool, well-watered climate, it has escaped into the wild and spread explosively. Foxglove is extremely poisonous.
Old concrete structure on the way
We walked through the bush which was a bit overgrown and the track gradually descended down. There were a few steps. Suddenly, we came out of the bush and saw this amazing huge steel structure. It felt like something out of an
Indiana Jones movie.
Anchor Stampers
We stopped to read the information boards about the history of the Stampers, which was very interesting. There were two different Stampers - one is the Thompson, brought across from Castlemaine in Victoria, and the other is the Salisbury, manufactured in Launceston. We could see the stamps on the front of the two machines.
I had previously seen photos of the Stampers, but it was much more interesting seeing them in real life.
Castlemaine sign
Launceston sign
Alluvial tin was discovered in the Groom River during 1880. Arthur Hodge and James Robinson worked the original Anchor leases on "tribute". The tribute system involved a self-employed miner agreeing to share the profits of his labour with a mine manager in return for the use of the mine property.
Old wheel
The old Anchor Tin Mine is located on the southern foot slopes of the Blue Tier. Most lode tin mines had a crushing battery to reduce the ore to fine particles ready for further extraction treatment. In the 1880s, the Anchor Mine in Tasmania had an enormous crushing battery of 100 stamps.
Close up of Anchor Stampers
The site showcases the remains of stampers (a crushing mechanism) used for tin mining in the early 1900s that have now been completely reclaimed by the bush.
Track and signs
The Anchor mine and its stampers started operating in 1880 until closing finally in 1996. Horse-drawn ore skips were carted via a tramway from the mine face to the battery 1889.
Becca taking photos
The Anchor Mine Mining Co NL was floated on the Hobart stock exchange in September 1882. The Anchor Mining Company used the capital raised from the float to replace the alluvial mining with an open-cut lode mine. The company opened two faces into the steep hillside at the site. In addition, they erected a crushing and concentrating plant and installed the famous water wheel. However, the company soon closed and sold the mine only two years later.
Steps on track
So, if you are down visiting Tasmania's East Coast, go and visit the interesting, historic Anchor Stampers old mining site.
Snaky track
