13/12/2025
Back in May, PMAV President Jason Cornish publicly called out the Victorian Labor Government, its agencies, and the Member for Bendigo West, Maree Edwards, over the slow-motion neglect of the historic Wattle Gully Goldmine.
The site is officially listed with Heritage Victoria and sits on Parks Victoria land under the management of Earth Resources, yet despite its protected status, it has been deteriorating for years while locals watch on helplessly.
Jason said the PMAV and a community committee have spent three years trying to get the site properly secured and preserved, only to be met with endless promises and absolutely no follow-through.
Maree Edwards attended multiple meetings and vowed action, but according to Jason, nothing meaningful has materialised. Gates have been ripped off, locks removed, and the mine has been left exposed to vandalism and theft.
Even a stolen nineteenth-century level gauge recovered by the PMAV last year remains a sore point, with half of the reward money still unpaid by Resources Victoria despite assurances.
The breaking point came when Jason spotted yet another bloke up at the site helping himself to wiring.
He waited, reported it, and watched police arrest the man â a moment that underscored the wider failure of government agencies to protect a place where six miners once lost their lives.
Jason didnât mince words. He accused Parks Victoria, Heritage Victoria, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, and Maree Edwards of letting the site rot on their watch, saying the destruction happening there sits squarely on their heads.
His message to locals was simple: stay alert, report anyone damaging the mine, and refuse to let a significant part of the regionâs heritage be trashed while bureaucrats shuffle papers and Labor MPs nod sympathetically without delivering a single concrete result.
A blunt reminder that heritage protection means nothing without action â and action is exactly what the community still hasnât seen.
