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Building and mining shaft in the goldfields1850s

by Marcus Jacob Oxen 

from Notebook containing sketches of goldmining equipment, buildings and technical notes, 1850s  

Marcus Owen’s technical drawings give a unique insight into goldmining practices on the New South Wales and Victorian diggings in the 1850s, from his perspective as a German immigrant engineer. With style and detail rarely seen in watercolour drawings of the period, the notebook documents the processes involved in extracting gold from the earth, including shaft sinking methods and cradling techniques. Oxen went on to make his fortune on the Hill End goldfields and registered his own goldmining company on the Sydney stock exchange in 1872.