Historic Gold Dredge

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In 1936 production with Cock's large bucket dredge began, and it worked the alluvial gold and tin until 1954.  In its 18 years of operation the dredge produced 70,664 ounces of gold and 1,383 tons of tin concentrate.   

The largest dredge in the Southern Hemisphere, it was a floating monster weighing 2,142 tons and pulling the third most amount of power from the State Electricity Grid after Melbourne and Geelong. 

By the time it was decommissioned it had dredged 30,000,000 cubic metres from the river flats of the Eldorado Plain.  It remains a formidable sight and graphically illustrates the extent of the mining operation in and around the town.

Click here to download the Eldorado Historic Reserve - Cocks Eldorado Dredge Park notes.