Nettle Creek Tin Dredge, Mining heritage site in Mount Garnet region, Australia

The Nettle Creek Tin Dredge is a floating bucket-line dredge on a pontoon, about 47 metres long and 23 metres wide, with roughly sixty 12-cubic-foot buckets and two surviving Richardson electric motors. It dug at the bow and dumped washed tailings at the stern, carrying its own pond forward. A Vaughan 15-ton gantry crane and a by-pass conveyor remain on the structure.

The dredge was designed by FW Payne & Sons of England and built around 1937 in New Zealand by Oak Ridge Co Ltd as the FW Payne, a gold dredge for Barrytown on the South Island's West Coast. Alluvial Gold Co Ltd bought it, had it dismantled and shipped to Queensland in 1954; it was railed to Mount Garnet, rebuilt on a new pontoon at Battle Creek and started tin dredging there in November 1957. It moved to Nettle Creek in 1965 and worked until 1992.

The dredge's names record its travels: launched in New Zealand as the FW Payne for Barrytown gold, it became the Barrytown 2 Dredge, Barrytown Gold Dredge and Battle Creek Tin Dredge in Queensland. Its two Richardson electric motors and bucket drive cog wheels are British, and a Vaughan 15-ton gantry crane survives on board.

The site sits about 14 kilometers east of Mount Garnet and requires permission from Woodleigh Station for access. Visitors should arrange clearance with the property owner before planning a visit to the location.

The dredge began as the FW Payne, built around 1937 in New Zealand by Oak Ridge Co Ltd for Gold Mines of New Zealand and used at Barrytown as a gold dredge. Alluvial Gold Co Ltd had it dismantled, and it reached Cairns in 1954, was railed to Mount Garnet and rebuilt on a new pontoon at Battle Creek. Its two Richardson electric motors and Vaughan 15-ton gantry crane are original British equipment.