Millwood, South Africa

Millwood in South Africa was the site of a short-lived gold rush in the 1880s. Millwood Mining Village was located in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains near Knysna and had a population of a few hundred at the height of its small-scale mining activity which lasted only five years, largely due to the difficulty of following the vein in much-folded formations. In 1876 a certain James Hooper discovered what he thought was gold-bearing gravel in a small creek off the Karatara River on the farm 'Ruigtevlei' near Rheenendal, and his suspicions were confirmed by the town chemist, William Groom. The creek was later named 'Jubilee Creek' to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Charles Osborne, an engineer working on the road from George to Knysna, was granted £100 by the Cape Government to prospect for gold in the area. He started at a sawmill run by the Thesen family, whence the name of 'Woodmill', but was unsuccessful. He was transferred to Port Nolloth and returned to the Woodmill area later. In the meantime various people such as Thomas Kitto and E. J. Dunn, the Cape Government Geologist, discovered alluvial gold in the area and reported favourably on mining prospects in 1880. In 1886 the area was declared open as "public diggings", John Barrington (son of Henry Barrington) being appointed as its first Gold Commissioner. Osborne returned and prospected in the catchment area o

Mine data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).