It was reported in the early 1900's that it was known for many years that there were valuable and useful deposits of kaolin under Stawell.
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As a result of continuous testing over many years, it was found that the kaolin deposits at Stawell were suitable for making chinaware, porcelain ware, tiles and insulators for power lines and telephone lines.
Kaolin is the essential ingredient in all porcelain ware. The fine white of the clay and the fact that it will stand the test of the hottest fire, changes the whole character in the kiln by producing suitable clay for all the finest types of pottery. Kaolin is also mixed with flint feldspar and other ingredients to form glazes for the better kinds of stoneware.
In the mid-1920's some local school children were known to walk long distances under Stawell following these diggings and they would appear above ground some distance from where they entered.
The main diggings for kaolin were around what was then known as Church Hill near the old Church of England, which was near the corner of what is now Seaby and Stone Streets.
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The area was then bare of houses but had plenty of shafts and drives into the Kaolin deposits.
It was all pick and shovel and windlass work to mine the Kaolin. Contractors were paid 8 shillings a ton. The kaolin was put into bags of a sugar bag size, with 22 bags to the ton, which was then transported by rail to Melbourne.
In May and June of 1974 there were three collapses of these old kaolin mine workings on two different house lots in Shirreff St. In May 1983 and June 1989 there were other collapses when sections of Shirreff Street gave way. The holes created by these collapses required a minimum of 400 hundred tons of sand to fill them in. The whole hill in the surrounding neighbourhood was worked for kaolin mining. It was known by local people that the hill was "honeycombed" by the workings.
It is believed that the mines were last worked in the depression years of the late 1920's and early 1930's.
If any of our readers have a photo of the mine collapsing in the old Church Hill area, we would be pleased to hear from you - Stawell Historical Society.
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