Garland's Mine, Winnecke Goldfield, Georgina Range, Central Desert Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Garland's Mine	Mine
Winnecke Goldfield	Ore Field
Georgina Range	Mountain Range
Central Desert Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The Garland gold mine is on the eastern edge of the goldfield, on the way south to the Big Gun/Ciccone/Russell Creek areas. This track is said to be barely passable. Named after Laurence Garland, who owned and worked the lease through a tumultuous period from 1933 to 1936.

Garland is first noted in 1933 for firing a bullet from a .38 calibre pistol through the head of German prospector Fredrick Lehmann (29), at Lehmann's camp on the Winnecke Goldfield. Despite the bullet entering his brain, Lehmann survived but lost three-quarters of his sight. While charged with wounding (it should have been attempted murder), no further mention is made of the case, and Garland was free to cause more trouble in 1935.

Garland claims he was offered £250,000 by a representative of the Rothchilds for his mine, after this person had looked over the mine for 30 minutes. He did not take up the offer, flashing a gold specimen the size of an egg at a subsequent court case, as proof the mine was far more valuable.

Norman Crowther had met Garland in Alice Springs, and requested a lift to the Winnecke Goldfield, as he thought he knew of some spots with payable stone. The pair prospected together, found little, before returning to Garland's camp, where it appears Garland gave him the neighbouring lease to his own. Then Jacob Maurer arrived, bootless and starving, requesting a job. Garland employed both for a new syndicate he was 50% part of, giving the pair 25% of his share.

This syndicate had been formed by Tasmanian orchardist E.B. Pixley. The syndicate was composed of Dr. C.N. Atkins $25, Dr Norman Moore Simpson $25, Pixley $25, Cyril Flood and Ivor Hodson $12 each, for a 50% share of the mine with Garland.

Garland had noticed unusual activity like washing dishes and a rapidly growing mine dump. Then Crowther and Maurer suddenly left for Sydney. After Garland reported theft of gold, the police stopped their truck south of Newcastle Waters finding 580 pounds worth of gold. Kurt Gerhardt Johannsen who pops up often in this region, stated Maurer had told him Crowther had uncovered a rich leader on Garland's lease and was secretly mining it for himself. Crowther contended the gold had come from his own lease given to him by Garland. Crowther was sentenced to 12 months, and Maurer 3 months imprisonment.

At the time, the Winnecke Goldfield consisted of only three miners apart from Garland. Patsy Ciccone with his Italian wife, James O'Connor and family living out of a bough shelter, and Morry Thomas, a pensioner working a dry blower. Thomas once a month would walk to Alice Springs, taking 1.5 days, to collect his pension.

Garland's syndicate shortly after fell apart. Ellis Brooke Pixley charged Garland with embezzling 50 pounds of the syndicate's money. He also brought to court requests to dissolve the partnership, an order for accounts, the sale of the mining lease, all struck down by the court.

Shortly after Garland's camp burned to the ground while he was away in Alice Springs. An aboriginal tracker blamed O'Connor, but the judge dismissed this, as there was no reason O'Connor and Garland had fallen out. The judge probably had in the back of his mind it was Pixley, Lehmann, Maurer, Crowther, or someone employed to do the job by one of them, but with no evidence, he determined the fire was an act or arson, but by whom was not known.

The following year the court ordered Garland to pay Thomas Henry Graham £12 in missing wages. Garland appealed and lost.

D.M. Ransom studied the deposit in 1969, stating it was some very small auriferous quartz veins, and uneconomic.

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