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"SUDDEN DEATH OF WELL- KNOWN FORMER DISTRICT PROSPECTOR”<strong>Grandparents</strong>The death of George Henry Bell of Tuncurry on September 21, 1966, at the ageof 87 years, closed the career of a man who was always prospecting for anothergood strike of gold.He was never without his "miner's right" and had intended to go with two mateson a prospecting tour at the time of his death.Born at Boorowa on September 8, 1879, to Thomas and Matilda Bell, of Picton,he seemed to have inherited the wander-lust of his grandfather, George Bell, whomigrated from England in the early 1800s with his brother, both under the age of30 years.Thomas Bell was known in the Tumbarumba district as a mining engineer, alwaystaking an active interest in the district's welfare. He was chosen as one ofthe six original Councillors from the Tumbarumba Shire Council - a position heretained until his ventures at gold mining ceased at Cherry Hill about 1910.Matilda Bell nee Anderson. - c.1880 Thomas Bell - c.1905George was brought by his father, at the early age of 14, to get his baptism ofalluvial mining with his elder brother Will and younger brother Jack.The country here is wild and rugged with basalt traversing the whole of the TumbarumbaRange. Soon the whole family of the Bell's - father, mother, sevensons and a daughter were established in alluvial mining at Cherry Hill, andhigher up the range.Before George had reached the age of 19 years he met his life long companion tobe. She was Charlotte Caroline Bartholomew, the daughter of a mining pros-Page 4
<strong>Grandparents</strong>pector living on the banks of the Tumbarumba Creek.Married at the age of 19, he settled in Wagga, but soon the urge to travel overcamehim. He worked hard in the mines at Rutherglen in Victoria where he metJack McIntyre, who later induced him to accompany him to Mt. Lyell in Tasmaniawhere miner's wages were high, although tough conditions prevailed.He yearned to get back to the basalt ranges where gold still influenced his mind.Consequently, with Jack McIntyre, he came back to Leykauf's Hill where a rangeof basalt formation had him fascinated.Building a home a few hundred yards from their activities, his wife and daughter,Reta, were once again under the roof. Their first tunnel failed and funds nearlyexhausted. However, rummaging through the rugged ridge they came across awombat hole, disclosing water worn wash and gravel with promising signs ofgood gold. So the lucky strike put George and the two McIntyre's, Jack and Jim,on to a well-paying mining venture that amassed quite a small fortune for them.Water had to be obtained, so they constructed a race from the head of TumbarumbaCreek for a couple of miles, where a wide gorge separated them from theobjective. How to get around the gorge was the problem which they solved byconstructing a pipe line- using much ingenuity in so doing. From sheet flat galvanizediron 6'x3', they rolled it out to form 12" pipe. rivetted every inch with agalvanized rivet, making one end slightly smaller than the other, so as to make aperfect join when slotted together with hot tar to make them water-tight.George Bell’s water race and sluice at Leykauf’s Hill - c.1915Page 5
Page 1: GrandparentsCharlotte and George Be
Page 6 and 7: GrandparentsGeorge’s race at work
Page 8 and 9: GrandparentsKiandra to Kosciusko, b
Page 10: GrandparentsWe are thankful for the

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