Henry William Newman

Henry William Newman was born in Nantes, France on 27 November 1839. Henry Newman’s grandfather was the British Consul in France and his father Robert William Newman was Vice Consu ...Read more
Safety in the mines

Safety has long been an issue in mining. Although the Lucknow mines were renowned for their good safety record, mine manager Henry Newman enforced very strict, but sensible rules t ...Read more
The Lucknow Strike

The strike was against the reduction in wages, the new system of grading pays and to protect the miners against ‘the perpetual search warrant’. There was a lock out by Superintende ...Read more
Blacksmiths’ Shop

Anything made of steel was created by the blacksmith, also known as the ‘smithy’. Blacksmithing and blacksmiths were a fundamental component in gold mining and agriculture.Blacksmi ...Read more
Mining in Lucknow

There have been four peaks in the production of gold at Lucknow, the first being 1862-1867, 1873-1889, 1892-1899 and then in the late 1920s with over 30 mines being sunk throughout ...Read more
Wentworth Main head-frame and winding-house in c1895

Wentworth Main head-frame and winding-house in c1895 from the South with substantial mullock heaps running North and West. The houses along the west side of the main road are some ...Read more

The entrance to Wentworth Main mine in 1935, with the office and pay office on
the left and the equipment store on the right.
Photo courtesy Nita Wasson

The Lucknow goldfield was discovered in 1851, soon after Australia’s first payable gold was found at nearby Ophir. The Wentworth Main Mine, located on the eastern side of the village, relates to the 1890s and 1930s mining booms.

The entire mining area was situated on land initially owned by William Charles Wentworth; the gold field was known as the Wentworth Field until the name Lucknow was adopted in 1863. It is said the name ‘Lucknow’ derived from good prosperity the town offered i.e. luck now.

The Wentworth Main Mine tells the story of goldmining in the Central West, from its early stages in the 1850s, through three stages, until its closure in the 1950s. It has been estimated that the fields yielded around 14,000 kg of gold in all.

One hundred and sixty years on, the landscape around Lucknow is still dominated by its gold mining heritage. Poppet heads, mine buildings, mullock heaps & bluestone dam walls are still plainly visible in & around the village.Lucknow, near Orange, which was worked extensively from 1862 to 1867, yielding 504 474 oz to 1923.

Explore the History of Wentworth Main Mine

First Aid Room

This room is said to be the First Aid Room, set up to render first aid when a mine disaster or accident occurred. Miners would have … Read more

Uncertain times, 1900 to 1935

The year 1899, saw the Department of Mines report that payable ore had become difficult to find. As companies came and went, Frank Gardner continued to have … Read more

The Lucknow Strike

The strike was against the reduction in wages, the new system of grading pays and to protect the miners against ‘the perpetual search warrant’. There … Read more