[Editor: This Gold License was issued to Berney Wheaton, in Victoria, on 3 September 1853.]
Gold License.
No. 108 3rd Sept 1853.
The Bearer Berney Wheaton
having paid the Sum of 2 One Pound Ten Shillings, on account of the General Revenue of the Colony, I hereby License him to mine or dig for Gold, or exercise and carry on any other trade or calling on such Crown Lands within the Colony of Victoria as shall be assigned to him for these purposes by any one duly authorised in that behalf.
This License to be in force until and during the month of November and no longer.
R. L. Mackenzie
Commissioner.
REGULATIONS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE PERSONS DIGGING FOR GOLD OR OTHERWISE EMPLOYED AT THE GOLD FIELDS.
1. This License is to be carried on the person, to be produced whenever demanded by any Commissioner, Peace Office, or other duly authorised person, and is not transferable.
2. No Mining will be permitted where it would be destructive of any line of road which it is necessary to maintain, and which shall be determined by any Commissioner, nor within such distance around any store as it may be necessary to reserve for access to it.
3. It is enjoined that all persons on the Gold Fields maintain a due and proper observance of Sundays.
4. The extent of claim allowed to each Licensed Miner is twelve feet square, or 144 square feet.
5. To a party consisting of two Miners, twelve feet by twenty-four, or 288 square feet.
6. To a party consisting of three Miners, eighteen feet by twenty-four, or 432 square feet.
7. To a party consisting of four Miners, twenty-four feet by twenty-four, or 576 square feet: beyond which no greater area will be allowed in one claim.
Printed by John Ferres, at the Government Printing Office.
Source:
Gold license: 1853, State Library of Victoria
Editor’s notes:
Handwritten text has been rendered in italics.
The printer’s details were printed on the left side of the Gold License.
The text “One Pound Ten Shillings” on this document has been changed, so that it now reads as “2 Pound”.
This document was altered, in order to change it from a Gold License which was valid for one month to a Gold License which was valid for three months; this was in line with the introduction of a quarterly fee of two pounds (forty shillings); therefore this Gold License covered the period of September to November 1853.
Berney Wheaton, the holder of this Gold License, is believed to be John Berney Wheaton (there is a tradition in some British families whereby children are called by their middle names; this may especially be the case where the first name is a traditional family name, being one which is used by successive generations of the same family). John Berney Wheaton arrived in Victoria, via the ship Diadem, in 1852; was the manager of two mining operations in the Bendigo area in 1871; was married to Amy Elizabeth Cook on 18 September 1871; and died in Canterbury (Victoria) on 19 May 1903.
See: 1) “Messages”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 19 April 1855, p. 1 [message re mail; this is the first located mention of John Berney Wheaton]
2) “Registration notices”, The Bendigo Advertiser (Sandhurst, Vic.), 23 August 1871, p. 4 [manager, based in Sandhurst (Bendigo), of the Extended Hercules Tribute Company (operating at Derwent Gully, Bendigo) and of the Phillips’ Reef Gold Mining Company (operating at New Chum Gully, Bendigo)]
3) “Married”, The Bendigo Advertiser (Sandhurst, Vic.), 19 September 1871, p. 2 [marriage]
4) “Personal items”, The Ballarat Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 25 May 1903, p. 1 [arrival in Victoria; death]
5) “In memoriam”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 19 May 1904, p. 1 [date of death]
Sept = an abbreviation of “September” (also rendered as “Sept.”)
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