Gympie Shaft Repair Program
Gold was discovered in Gympie in 1867, and the field was worked continuously for 60 years until 1927, producing around 3.5 million ounces of gold. Almost all small-scale mining on the Gympie goldfield ceased by 1923; however, some small concerns continued, and mining was still occurring beneath the city in the 1990s.
Some mining continues in the region today.
Due to the scale of the mining activities, urban development occurred over many of the old unrecorded or concealed mine workings. As a consequence, mine subsidence and collapses still occur in and around developed areas in the city.
Common causes of subsidence in the Gympie area are historic shafts, old wells, trenches, dumps and unconsolidated fill. During and after periods of heavy rainfall, the saturated ground can weaken causing collapses. Timbering and other supports covering unfilled historic mine shafts can also become stressed and prone to failure due to degradation and rotting, creating the potential for subsidence.
The objectives of the Gympie Shaft Repair Program are to:
- respond to public notifications of possible shafts or legacy mining features
- provide information on the location of known legacy shafts and mining features through an online undermining search.
Undermining searches are available through the Queensland Government’s GeoResGlobe application. GeoResGlobe is an online, interactive experience to view Queensland's mining and exploration data and now includes abandoned mine spatial data layers.
- View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: Southern Queensland
Location: 170km north of Brisbane, Latitude -26.1908730, Longitude 152.6652870
Commodity: Gold
Mining type: Underground
Date of abandonment: N/A
Status: Investigation of shaft notifications and remediation as required
Native title interest: N/A
Public land registers: Some parcels of land listed on the Environmental Manager Register or Contaminated Land Register due to historic mining activity
Photo gallery
Key risks
Health and safety risks associated with subsidence or holes appearing under buildings, in roads, or in areas with open public access. These events pose significant risks to people and property, particularly after rainfall events.
Completed works
Since the program’s inception in 1990, an estimated $13.5 million has been spent to make more than 2,000 shafts in the Gympie area safe.
Planned works
- Ongoing investigation of notifications of abandoned mine features and remediation as required.