The Fossickers Way Visitor Guide Volume 1 | Page 20

Emmaville

Did
you

know?

with a population of
just 520, but it still
has more than a few
Emmaville was originally named
tricks up its sleeve.
Vegetable Creek after the Chinese
The Emmaville
market gardens that supplied
Mining Museum
the tin miners. It was changed
is the town’s main
in 1882 in honour of the then
attraction, having
Governor General’s wife,
opened in June 1999. The
whose first name
quaint museum includes
was Emma
impressive mineral and
fossil displays, featuring
the nationally renowned
ocated just a half-hour
Curnow Collection as well
drive from Glen Innes on the
as a photography gallery
mineral-rich Mole Tableland
featuring more than 200
is the historic mining town of historic photographs of mines
Emmaville. Formerly known
and miners. The adjoining
as Vegetable Creek, the little
Foley’s Museum also features
township boomed with the
a beautiful bottle collection
discovery of tin in 1872. It
and a range of farm
was estimated that in the
machinery and working tools
early 1900s the population
that hark back to yesteryear.
was around 7000, including
In the 1960s and ‘70s,
2000 Chinese people, who
Emmaville came into the
formed a large part of the
spotlight when tales of the
mining community.
Emmaville Panther emerged.
These days, the town emits There are no big cats native
a sleepier, more laid back vibe to Australia, yet since as far

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back as 1958 there have been
panther sightings around
Emmaville. Is it actually real
or just a legend? No one
knows, but there is certainly
a sense of mystery in the
surrounding region.
At nearby Torrington State

MOLE TABLELAND
The Mole Tableland and its
surrounding area, including the
Torrington State Conservation Area,
is a plateau of granite standing 200m
above the surrounding countryside
and covering an area of around 3000
square kilometres.
This unique region is rich in topaz,
tin and tungsten resources and is
unusually rich in flora and fauna.
There are 750 plant species here, 34
of which are rare or endangered. The
Mole Tableland is considered one of
the largest deposits of quartz-topaz
rock in the world.