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There are many ways to connect with other gold prospectors, including taking detecting workshops, joining prospecting clubs, engaging with online communities, and more. Take a look through the following links for some of the most useful community-based resources for gold prospectors in Victoria.
Gold prospecting workshops and tours in the Victorian Goldfields
Heading out on a gold prospecting tour or workshop is a great way to meet like-minded people and learn new prospecting skills. There are lots of great local options for these workshops in the Victorian Goldfields.
- Bendigo Bendigo Miners Den, Demo Days and Training Sessions
- Bendigo/Eaglehawk Gold Finger Historic Tours and Prospecting Workshops
- Bendigo Gold Prospecting Australia, Training Days
- Creswick Gold and Relics - Gold Prospecting Adventures, Half Day, Full Day, and Three Day tours
- Creswick Flying Dutchman Prospecting, Four Hour Training Sessions
- Dunolly Raw Gold, Geology tutorial and gold prospecting field course
- Maryborough Coiltek Gold Centre, Gold Prospecting Tours
- Maryborough Chicks with Picks, Training Days
- Maryborough Gold Detecting with Stinky Pete, Gold Detecting Tours
- Raywood Golden Triangle Tours, Half Day, Full Day, and Overnight tours
gold prospecting clubs and associations
Image source: PMAV
Joining a prospecting club is a great way to connect with others, meet like-minded people and share information on gold prospecting. There are a range of options to choose from in Victoria, including:
- Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria (PMAV) - State-wide branches
- Victorian Metal Detector and Prospectors Association (VMDPA)
- The Victorian Seekers Club - Melbourne
- Bendigo Prospecting Club
- Sunbury Metal Detecting Club
Some great gold prospecting Facebook communities
Image source: Gold Hunters Victoria
There are so many Facebook groups you can join to connect with others and learn about gold prospecting!
Today you can get a healthy dose of the Aussie sense of humour from following various gold prospecting Facebook pages, with one standing out in particular - Aussie Gold Addiction.
- Chicks with Picks Australia - online shop and community for prospectors
- Gold Hunters Victoria - lots of useful information, great admin moderation
- Aussie Gold Addiction - lighthearted fun, lots of memes and jokes, lots of useful information
- Gold Prospecting Australia - lots of useful information
- Gold Prospecting Victoria - lots of useful information
- Detecting Downunder - lots of useful information, treasure and relic hunting community
- Gold Finger Prospectors Victoria - Eaglehawk/Bendigo area, lots of useful information and local history
- Ballarat Gold Seekers - Ballarat area, useful information and gold finds
- Bendigo Gold Seekers - Bendigo area, useful information and gold finds
- Reddogs Gold Adventures - Lots of gold finds, useful information
Join in on the Aussie sense of humour online
Having a good sense of humour is a handy asset for those interested in gold prospecting. Years ago my grandfather dropped his full vial of gold out of his shirt pocket into a fast-moving river, never to be seen again. I watched someone drop their first ever gold nugget through old floor boards, where it now lies trapped beneath the building. Any prospector who uses a detector can tell you they have laboured endlessly in the hot sun digging holes for gold nuggets only to come home with nothing more than nails and bullets at the end of the day. These people all have one thing in common - they laugh it off and get back out there looking for more!
The Aussie community spirit and sense of humour has a firm footing in our local gold prospecting history, and fool's gold has been used in jest over the years to hoax novice prospectors, as shown in a 1937 article printed in the Cobram Courier:
"Iron pyrites, a yellow mineral that looks very much like gold, is known to miners as "fool's gold", and is used by them to hoax amateurs and novices at the game". Source.
Image source: Aussie Gold Addiction
Aussie Gold Addiction is a Facebook page which shares endless gold prospecting memes, and they have a handy Facebook group as well where people can share their own gold finds, questions and information.
Connect with other prospectors through YouTube Channels
There are some seriously informative gold prospecting YouTube channels around, with local prospectors sharing their gold finds, prospecting methods, equipment, useful tips and more through their videos. We've got a huge directory of gold prospecting YouTube channels from the Victorian Goldfields for you to check out, and many of these channels encourage community connection through live videos, Q&A sessions, meet and greet events, discussion on their associated social media pages, and more.
Gold prospecting forums
Prospecting forums are another fantastic way to connect with other gold prospectors, ask questions and share information.
Also of interest
- Local gold prospecting guides for the Victorian Goldfields
- General guide to gold prospecting in the Victorian Goldfields
- Gold-bearing creeks and rivers in Victoria
- Historical gold maps of the Victorian Goldfields
- Abandoned mines of the Victorian Goldfields
- Dangers of mine shafts in the Victorian Goldfields
- Gold puddling machines
- Gold shops, detector hire and gold tours in the Victorian Goldfields
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