Donnybrook Historical Society calls for abandoned mine shafts to be preserved for heritage value

The Donnybrook mine shafts were used to mine gold from 1897 to 1903 and are located within an area of forest some two kilometres south of Donnybrook.

The shafts are part of the state Department of Mines' Abandoned Mines Program, which focuses on rehabilitating abandoned mines throughout WA.

But with plans to rehabilitate the mines in place, which could include backfilling, Society president Steve Dilley flagged the need to preserve the history of the Donnybrook gold rush.

"A lot of people actually don't know that Donnybrook had a gold rush in the short amount of time the mines were operating," Mr Dilley said.

"There was actually a reasonable amount of gold that was extracted but the problem was the amount of water that got into the shafts as Donnybrook is a high rainfall area. As soon as they started digging down the shafts by hand, they obviously didn't have the de-watering pumps so it caused a lot of issues."

Mr Dilley said he met with a Department representative about six months ago, prior to the rehabilitation program beginning, to show off the mine shafts in the area that were a potential danger to both the community and wildlife.

"I asked her what the Department was going to go about this and she said they were considering options at the time, which included backfilling the shafts.

"Backfilling isn't always good because the mine shafts can be quite deep and problematic in that they can collapse again."

According to the Department, there is a significant number of historical mine workings at the site which present an ongoing safety risk.

Many Bunbury residents will remember a dog which fell down one of the shafts in July, resulting in the call for the shafts to be made safe for the community.

Department spokeswoman Michele Spencer said Donnybrook was selected as a shaft remediation project site after concerns were raised for community safety.

She said a geotechnical assessment of the site was undertaken in early 2021 to determine a remediation methodology.

"Once the remediation methodology has been finalised in consultation with land managers and key stakeholders, works will progress to rehabilitate the site and ensure the features are safe," Ms Spencer said.

Mr Dilley said if the Department took at least one mine shaft, covered the opening with heavy, steel grating and installed a few interpretive signs telling people about the history of the Donnybrook goldfields, then it would be a potential 'tourism and heritage drawcard' for the Shire of Donnybrook-Ballingup.

"One abandoned mine in particular located alongside Upper Capel Road would be great for this. It's called The Queen of the South.

"There's also another shaft some two, three kilometres from the Queen of the South, located on private property, Hunters Venture Mine."

In regards to a potential tourism drawcard for the Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup area, Ms Spencer said the shafts program is on Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions managed lands, so it was at the department's discretion.

A spokesperson from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said any heritage considerations associated with the shafts would be considered as part of the proposed works of remediation.

"I hope this can just plant the seed in the minds of our community that the shafts are an important part of Donnybrook's history," Mr Dilley said.