Where'd it go?
During the 1860's there was a lot of activity in this district to do with the gold rush. Preston Hill Township was a prime example of this. Where gold was found, people and all that goes with them followed. In the 1860's this area was a thriving gold community that boasted a population of around 1500 people. However with many little settlements like this, once the gold ran out, people moved on.
Below is an exerpt from the Reports of the Mining Surveyors and Registards - Quarter ending 31st December 1864 presented to parliament of Victoria. You can find a copy of the report HERE if you wish to read up on it a bit more.
There are six companies on Preston's Hill employing steam power; as they are on private property, I cannot tell accurately what they are doing, but there is no doubt that they are getting on prosperously. Immediately adjoining the private property, where the Preston Hill Lead emerges into Crown lands, there is a block claim, which was formerly held by the· Hand-in-Hand Company, now in the occupation of Messrs. Pope and Jungwirth, who have purchased it. These gentlemen have also applied for two . blocks of thirty acres each, under the gold mining leases regulations, of the land stretching from the northern boundary of the Hand-in-Hand ground to Russell's private property. Upon a review of the state of mining throughout the entire division, I am warranted in stating that at no previous period has it been more prolific than it is at present; and considering the number, extent, and richness of the claims now in actual operation, the improvements that are being daily effected in the management of the mines, and the vast extent of ground still untouched, including several miles of our main trunk leads, I feel confident that several years of increasing prosperity awaits it.
Today nothing but a small monument and a stock watering trough remains. Perhaps the writer of the above text was overly optimistic of what the future held for Preston Hill Township.
Access to the GZ is an nice easy park and grab cache located not far from the monument.
The cache is not in private property, nor is it on the fenceline.