Cradling

Cradles, similar in design to a baby's cradle, rely on gravity to separate and trap the heavier gold particles from the lighter washdirt.  Cradling was more efficient than panning with a tin dish, and allowed miners to process greater quantities of gold-bearing dirt in a shorter period of time.

 

Samuel Thomas Gill, watercolour, 1869

 

Accession number: H86.7/8

 

From the State Library of Victoria's Picture Collection.

 

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Prospecting methods