Dundas was a historical mining locality, mineral field and railway location on the western foothills of the
West Coast Range
The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
The range has had a significant numb ...
in
Western Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the mo ...
. It is now part of the locality of
Zeehan
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown.
History
The greater ...
.
Location
The town was located 5 kilometres east of the town of Zeehan, and almost 10 kilometres west of the
Mount Read township. The
North East Dundas Tram branched off the
Emu Bay Railway
The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount Lyel ...
approximately 3 kilometres north east of the
Dundas railway connection.
The location was hilly and heavily wooded, making the location hazardous in the event of bushfires.
The location, being close to Mount Read, was also prone to heavy rain and cold weather.
Mount Dundas Post Office was opened on 22 November 1890, renamed ''Dundas'' in 1892 and closed in 1930.
The ''
Zeehan and Dundas Herald
The ''Zeehan and Dundas Herald'' (also seen as ''Zeehan Dundas Herald'') was a newspaper for the West Coast Tasmania community, based in Zeehan and Dundas from 1890 to 1922.
It was published by William Lawrence Calder and Joseph Bowden, with ...
'' (1902–1922) was one of the more significant newspapers of the west coast during its operation.
Mines and minerals
Silver was discovered early in the Dundas area in 1890, and the name of the Dundas field was incorporated into that of the adjacent Zeehan field.
A number of mines near Dundas are known as locations of rare minerals:
* Adelaide Mine near Dundas was the location of special specimens of
crocoite
Crocoite is a mineral consisting of lead chromate, Pb Cr O4, and crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system. It is identical in composition with the artificial product chrome yellow used as a paint pigment.
Description
Crocoite is commo ...
,
stichtite
Stichtite is a mineral, a carbonate of chromium and magnesium; formula Mg6 Cr2 C O3(O H)16·4 H2O. Its colour ranges from pink through lilac to a rich purple colour. It is formed as an alteration product of chromite containing serpentine. I ...
and other rare minerals.
* Comet Mine was identified as a location of
anglesite
Anglesite is a lead sulfate mineral with the chemical formula PbSO4. It occurs as an oxidation product of primary lead sulfide ore, galena. Anglesite occurs as prismatic orthorhombic crystals and earthy masses, and is isomorphous with barite and ...
,
ankerite and
cerussite
Cerussite (also known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate (PbCO3), and is an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin ''cerussa'', white lead. ''Cerussa nativa'' was mentioned by Conrad Gessner ...
.
*
Dundasite
Dundasite is a rare lead aluminium carbonate mineral. The mineral is named after the type locality, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia. The mineral was first discovered in the Adelaide Proprietary Mine. Dundasite was first described by William Frederick ...
is named after Dundas.
* Hecla Mine (also known as Hecla Curtin Mine) was identified as a location of
aikinite
Aikinite is a sulfide mineral of lead, copper and bismuth with formula Pb Cu Bi S3. It forms black to grey or reddish brown acicular orthorhombic crystals with a Mohs hardness of 2 to 2.5 and a specific gravity of 6.1 to 6.8. It was originally fou ...
.
See also
*
Mount Dundas (Tasmania)
Mount Dundas is a mountain located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The mountain is situated at the north west edge of the West Coast Range.
As colourful a history as that of Mount Lyell, Mount Dundas has had a range of mines ...
*
West Coast Tasmania Mines
The mines of the West Coast of Tasmania have a rich historical heritage as well as an important mineralogical value in containing or having had found, specimens of rare and unusual minerals. Also, the various mining fields have important roles ...
*
Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania
The history of the Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania has fascinated enthusiasts from around the world, because of the combination of the harsh terrain in which the railways were created, and the unique nature of most of the lines.
Points of ...
References
Further reading
Specific
* Bottrill, R.S., Williams, P., Dohnt, S., Sorrell, S. and Kemp, N.R. 2006. Crocoite and associated minerals from Dundas and other locations in Tasmania. Australian Journal of Mineralogy, (Dundas Issue) 12, 59-90
*Bottrill, R. S. (2000) ''New minerals from old deposits: The Dundas Mineral Field, Tasmania'' in Abstracts Minerals and Museums 2000: 4th seminar. Melbourne, Victoria, June 2000.
* Reid, A. McIntosh. (1925) ''The Dundas mineral field'' Geological Survey Bulletin 36, Dept. of Mines, Hobart, Tasmania.
* Tilley, Wilberton. (1891) ''The wild west of Tasmania : being a description of the silver fields of Zeehan and Dundas''Evershed Bros., Zeehan, Tas. : Dundas, Tas. :
*
Region
* Haupt, J., 1988: Minerals of Western Tasmania. Mineralogical Record, Australia Issue, 196, 381-388
*
*
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Ghost towns in Tasmania
Mining towns in Tasmania
West Coast Range