Sludge

Disaster on Victoria's Goldfields

Nonfiction, History, Australia & Oceania, Modern, 20th Century, Science & Nature, Nature
Cover of the book Sludge by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence, Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence ISBN: 9781743821091
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd Publication: August 5, 2019
Imprint: La Trobe University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
ISBN: 9781743821091
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
Publication: August 5, 2019
Imprint: La Trobe University Press
Language: English

The fascinating, troubling legacy of the gold rush

Everyone knows gold made Victoria rich. But did you know gold mining was disastrous for the land, engulfing it in floods of sand, gravel and silt that gushed out of the mines?

Or that this environmental devastation still affects our rivers and floodplains?

Victorians had a name for this mining waste: ‘sludge’. Sludge submerged Victoria’s best grapevines near Bendigo, filled Laanecoorie Reservoir on the Loddon River and flowed down from Beechworth over thousands of hectares of rich agricultural land. Children and animals drowned in sludge lakes. Mining effluent contaminated three-quarters of Victoria’s creeks and rivers.

Sludge is the compelling story of the forgotten filth that plagued nineteenth-century Victoria. It exposes the big dirty secret of Victoria’s mining history – the way it transformed the state’s water and land, and how the battle against sludge helped lay the ground for the modern environmental movement.

‘A remarkable achievement’ —Tom Griffiths

‘A work of brilliant rediscovery and a wake-up call for our own times’ —Grace Karskens

‘Vividly conveys the long-term costs of short-term gains’ —Billy Griffiths

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The fascinating, troubling legacy of the gold rush

Everyone knows gold made Victoria rich. But did you know gold mining was disastrous for the land, engulfing it in floods of sand, gravel and silt that gushed out of the mines?

Or that this environmental devastation still affects our rivers and floodplains?

Victorians had a name for this mining waste: ‘sludge’. Sludge submerged Victoria’s best grapevines near Bendigo, filled Laanecoorie Reservoir on the Loddon River and flowed down from Beechworth over thousands of hectares of rich agricultural land. Children and animals drowned in sludge lakes. Mining effluent contaminated three-quarters of Victoria’s creeks and rivers.

Sludge is the compelling story of the forgotten filth that plagued nineteenth-century Victoria. It exposes the big dirty secret of Victoria’s mining history – the way it transformed the state’s water and land, and how the battle against sludge helped lay the ground for the modern environmental movement.

‘A remarkable achievement’ —Tom Griffiths

‘A work of brilliant rediscovery and a wake-up call for our own times’ —Grace Karskens

‘Vividly conveys the long-term costs of short-term gains’ —Billy Griffiths

More books from Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd

Cover of the book Quarterly Essay 42 Fair Share by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book The Best Australian Stories by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Salt by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Freedom on the Fatal Shore by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book High on Hawthorn by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book The Best Australian Poems 2017 by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Short Black 10 Killing the Black Dog by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Vertigo by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Takeover by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Their Brilliant Careers by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Rudd v. Abbott by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book Stand Out and Succeed by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book A City Lost and Found by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book With Every Step by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
Cover of the book The Bee Hut by Peter Davies, Susan Lawrence
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy