Puddling
S.T Gill painted a number of works that showed gold mining techniques used by diggers on the fields.
This painting depicts the process of puddling in which beer barrels were cut in half and used to wash the dirt excavated by miners. A constant supply of water was needed to get the best results.
This painting comes from print collection Gill's Gold Fields of Victoria during 1852 & 3 that includes fifty original sketches.
S.T. Gill, 1852. Painting: watercolour, pencil, gum arabic on paper
Accession number: H5318
From the State Library of Victoria's Pictures Collection
