Those Places Thursday – Bendigo

I started out writing about Bendigo and then got side tracked making this collage in Gimp.  I’ve cheated a bit in the younger generations because not everyone has had a son.  Left to right is James Wigley, Charles Robert Wigley, Richard Henry Wigley, Charles Thomas Hardy (changed his name), James Richard Hardy, Charles Richard Hardy, Michael Willison, Geoff Green and Douglas Willison.  Eight generations.

Anyway back to writing about Bendigo.  🙂

James Wigley moved his family from Burra in South Australia to Bendigo in Victoria in about 1853.  Charles Robert Wigley married in Burra and Richard Henry Wigley (pictured above) and his older brother William Henry were born in Burra.

James Wigley was a miner in Bendigo, Charles Robert Wigley an engine driver, and Richard Henry Wigley was a miner and later a mine manager.

Richard Henry Wigley, my great, great grandfather was in a mining accident in 1881.  This newspaper clipping contains quite a grissly account of the accident in which another miner, George Jenkin, was unfortunately  killed.

Richard was manager of the Unity mine for some time.  This is all that remains of it today, a plaque and some lumps of concrete.

The Goldfields Research Centre in Bendigo is a terrific resource!!  The people there were extremely helpful too.  I spent many hours there and will be going back again in April next year.

One of the mining exhibits at Central Deborah Mine
You can see the poppet head of the Central Deborah mine in the distance.
Charles Robert Wigley and his wife Eleanor nee Greenway
A group of miners, Long Gully, Bendigo
Miner’s cottages, Bendigo
James Wigley and family lived in Little Iron Bark and later had a house on Mt Korong Rd.  Charles Robert Wigley lived in Little Iron Bark and Long Gully, Richard Henry Wigley lived for a long time in Garden Gully Hill and also Long Gully.

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