In her floppy miners hat and suspenders, Penny the Prospector swirls grit and water in her pan and soon spots a sparkly little fleck. Gold? Not in Goldstream.
Naturalists at the Goldstream Nature House use period costumes and a muddy trough to give students a hands-on history lesson on the river's short-lived but energetic gold rush 150 years ago.
Kids pan for pyrite bits B次元官网网址� foolB次元官网网址檚 gold B次元官网网址� and learn that despite itB次元官网网址檚 name, Goldstream holds virtually no gold. Unfortunately, some adults are still trying to pan like its 1863.
Goldstream naturalists say a steady number of people are calling to inquire about panning for gold on the river. Some show up with gold panning gear in hand.
B次元官网网址淲e had five or six guys show up from Vancouver thinking since itB次元官网网址檚 called Goldstream, thereB次元官网网址檚 got to be gold there,B次元官网网址� said naturalist Tracey Bleackley. B次元官网网址淔ortunately most people come to us first so we can stop them.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had a number of phone calls asking B次元官网网址榳hereB次元官网网址檚 the best place to pan in the river?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said naturalist Bre Robinson, who plays the role of Penny the Prospector. B次元官网网址淲henever the economy is down, some people try to turn to the basics.B次元官网网址�
Disturbing the river bed and removing gravel and dirt, especially in a provincial park, is illegal without a permit and can kill incubating salmon eggs.
B次元官网网址淚f you disturb the gravel you kill the eggs,B次元官网网址� Robinson said. B次元官网网址淢ucking around in the river isnB次元官网网址檛 good for any species.B次元官网网址�
The naturalists suspect the high market price of gold and TV reality shows such as Discovery ChannelB次元官网网址檚 Gold Rush have spurred a renewed interest in what is known as placer mining. Goldstream is a sure hit in Google searches for modern-day panning hobbyists.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 like to think we stop all (gold panners) but unfortunately IB次元官网网址檓 sure we havenB次元官网网址檛,B次元官网网址� Bleackley said. B次元官网网址淭here is no gold in that river, but naturalists here think of the salmon as the gold.B次元官网网址�
The "gold" in Goldstream originates from colonial-era engineer Peter Leech, who referred to the stream as Gold Creek in 1858 after claiming he found traces of gold, according to the book Old Langford by Maureen Duffus.
It was a name that stuck as rumours grew about a major gold strike near Fort Victoria, and it offered more hope for the young colony than the original name of Dead ManB次元官网网址檚 Creek.
In the fall of 1863 some 30 companies with hundreds of men staked claims and began peppering the Goldstream area with mine shafts. A number of assays even suggested the Goldstream ore held valuble deposits of gold.
Riches didnB次元官网网址檛 materialize, and by the following summer, miners abandoned Goldstream for more promsing finds in Leechtown. To this day, placer miners still legally sluice for gold in claims on the Leech River, near Sooke.
B次元官网网址淚n October, 1863 (miners) stampeded to Goldstream; now some nine months later they headed for Leechtown,B次元官网网址� wrote Paula Wuorinen in A History of Goldstream Provincial Park, from 1976.
B次元官网网址漇ome believe not one speck of gold was taken from Goldstream. There is no doubt that early colonists and miners believed in Goldstream.B次元官网网址�
For more on placer mining on Vancouver Island, see . For more on Goldstream park, see.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
