The discovery of gold in the early 1870s to the west of present-day Gloucester led to the opening up of the Copeland goldfield and the establishment of the bustling, thriving, township of Copeland. During its life, the Copeland field produced, at today's values, more than $300 million worth of gold. For the next twenty to thirty years, up to seventy mines were worked on the field, but this number gradually dwindled until, by 1930, only a few remained. Today, very little of Copeland township remains to be seen. A visit to the cemetery will provide more interesting information. The ever-encroaching vegetation is once again covering the building sites, the vegetable gardens and all the other open areas. However, of those seventy mines back in the 1880s-1890s, one still remains today.

Mountain Maid Gold Mine

It is a working mine, and a living memory to the hard work and skills of the early miners. Situated in the valley of the Copeland Creek, surrounded by lush rainforest, including a magnificent stand of red cedars, is the Mountain Maid Mine. Old mining memorabilia, including the steam engines used to power the stamper battery, is on display. A guided walk takes you deep into the hillside, following the main shaft to where the gold-bearing ore was extracted, before it was fed into the stamper battery, to be crushed so that the gold could be separated from the quartz and other impurities. The head stamper battery still operates today, powered by a more modern method than the original steam engine.