Mogo gold rush

Mogo might be a small town, a tiny dot on the map of Australia, but tucked behind the few houses and businesses on the main road to Braidswood is an amazing collection of old buildings that have been accumulated to create a representation of a Gold Rush town of the 1850's. The "theme park" is called Old Mogo Town and it was begun in the mid 1990s. Colin and I visited this place when it was still in its infancy in 1996 and since then it has more than doubled in size and really does look as old as it is intended to look.
When I last visited I was shown the shed that contained the old gold stamper - the shed (back then) was so full of junk that no one could climb through it! I also was taken through the part of the tunnel that was part of the actual gold mine and told how the roof was to be strengthened before tourists would be allowed through it. The rails and the small carriages that carried the rocks out of the mine were still in place and they moved over the rails.
On this visit the strengthening was very evident and the rails were buried in dust and grit and the carriages did not move at all. The elevated tracks outside had gone. But the young guide gave an excellent description of what went on in the mines and which tools were used and how.
Outside the mine was the stamper and to everyone's surprise it was turned on (with an electric switch) and the stamper rattled and thumped and created a lot of dust - but no quartz was put under the hammers to be crushed.Cameras clicked and video cameras rolled as the small crowd watched this stamper in action.
The buildings around the stamping shed - which is now free of all that junk and instead has a working water wheel splashing comfortably and attracting interest - looked authentic with their timber and shingle cladding.
Inside there were a few artifacts to show what the building was to be used for. It is an interesting place to visit. It is also a good place for taking photos that are intended to look as though they were taken before cameras were invented!
AJ