Rivers of Gold: The Legacy of Historical Gold Mining for Victoria's Rivers

通过将河流视为文物，该项目旨在评估历史上的金矿开采如何塑造了维多利亚州的河流系统。维多利亚州历史悠久的采矿业给整个州的水道带来了广泛而持久的变化。该项目计划整合景观考古学、自然地理学、地貌学和环境化学的方法，以确定和绘制变化的程度，包括增加的沉积、侵蚀和化学污染。该项目计划展示历史采矿如何继续影响维多利亚溪流的化学和物理过程，并加深对维多利亚人在采矿热潮高峰期所经历的景观的理解。项目成果可能为集水区和水库管理提供更好的背景，并消除对已观察到的河流损害原因的普遍印象。

By considering rivers as cultural artefacts, this project aims to evaluate how historical gold mining has shaped river systems in Victoria. Victoria’s historic mining industry led to extensive and long-lasting change to waterways across the state. The project plans to integrate approaches from landscape archaeology, physical geography, geomorphology and environmental chemistry to identify and map the extent of changes, including increased sedimentation, erosion, and chemical contamination. The project plans to demonstrate how historical mining continues to influence chemical and physical processes in Victorian streams and to develop understanding of the landscapes experienced by Victorians at the height of the mining boom. Project outcomes may provide improved context for catchment and reservoir management and counter prevailing impressions about causes of observed damage to rivers.