The Big Miners Spade
Height
5 metres
Year Built
Address
Chiltern Road (southern entrance), Chiltern, VIC 3683
The Lowdown
The Big Miners Spade stands 5 metres tall at the southern entrance to Chiltern, a perfectly preserved gold-rush era town in Victoria's High Country. Created by artist Xavier Pinard who won a competition by Indigo Shire to design a new symbol for the township, this impressive sculpture celebrates Chiltern's proud gold mining heritage. The handle features carved regent honeyeaters, honouring the endangered birds native to the nearby Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park. Alluvial gold was first found in 1858 in the Indigo Lead about 3.4km from where the town now stands. Within four months there were between 12,000 and 15,000 miners on the field, rapidly growing to over 20,000. The shopping precinct - Conness Street - was named after John Conness, the man who first discovered gold at Chiltern.
Did you know?
"Features regent honeyeaters carved on the handle"
History
Alluvial gold was first discovered at Chiltern in 1858 in the Indigo Lead. Within four months, 12,000-15,000 miners had arrived, growing to over 20,000. The town's Conness Street shopping precinct is named after John Conness, who made the first gold discovery. Artist Xavier Pinard won an Indigo Shire competition to create a new symbol for the township, designing the Big Miners Spade as a tribute to this heritage. The spade features regent honeyeaters on the handle, recognising the endangered birds found in the nearby national park.
More Fun Facts
- •Created by artist Xavier Pinard through a shire competition
- •Features regent honeyeaters carved on the handle
- •Gold discovered here in 1858 attracted 20,000 miners
- •Conness Street named after the first gold finder
- •Chiltern is a perfectly preserved gold-rush town
- •The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park has regent honeyeaters
Visiting Tips
- 💡Explore Chiltern's perfectly preserved gold-rush streetscape
- 💡Visit the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park for bushwalking
- 💡Dow's Pharmacy National Trust property is worth seeing
- 💡The Federal Standard newspaper building is historic
- 💡Between Wangaratta and Wodonga in the High Country
Opening Hours
Outdoor sculpture accessible at all times.
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