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Directions to your ninth story point. Return via Fiddlers Track to the intersection of Percydale Road and Susans Lane, Old Coach Road. Notice that the southern track is named Old Coach Road. Pause this video and park your car safely. Then play the video once you have parked.
Finding gold was hard enough. Imagine the anxiety involved in protecting and transporting it. Looking along the Old Coach Road, you can imagine the opportunity provided by isolation and bush to hold up coaches carrying gold. In this painting, 'Bailed Up' by Tom Roberts (1895), the leader of the bandits seems to be yarning with the passengers in the coach. In reality, coach robberies were often violent and terrifying. The most infamous gold escort robbery took place in 1853 near Heathcote.
A coach carrying 2,223 ounces of gold was being escorted by police troopers to Kyneton. They encountered a tree fallen across the road and were immediately attacked by armed robbers firing bullets. They vanished into the scrub with the gold. The government offered a huge reward. A report that a possible suspect had left a paper containing a name and passenger information of a ship bound for England became the main focus.
Two of the robbers were quickly arrested. One robber turned queen's witness after being offered a large reward, a free pardon, and a passage out of the colony for information about the other robbers. One robber committed suicide, and three were sentenced to death and hanged in the Old Melbourne Gaol. There is much more to this story. Search on the internet for "McIvor Gold Robbery".
Your story trail has ended. To return to Avoca, proceed east along Percydale Road, then turn left north into Andersons Lane, and then right back into the Sunraysia Highway which will take you back to Avoca.
We hope you have enjoyed the Percydale Union Jack Mine Story Trail. Has your curiosity been rewarded? Feel free to share this story trail with friends. And as always, Happy Trails!