Woodsreef: Gold, Dreams and Dust A Lost Australian Mining Community Remembered Seventeen kilometres north-east of Barraba, in the rugged ranges of New England, New South Wales, lie the scattered remnants of a goldfield that operated for nearly eighty years yet has been almost entirely forgotten. This is the history of Woodsreef. From the first strikes of 1874 through to the final closures of 1953, Woodsreef sustained generations of miners and their families. At its peak, the township boasted a post office, school, hotels, and stores, sustained by major mines bearing names such as the Baffler, Barney Barnato, King Solomon, Garry Owen, and Addison Reef. Professional mining families — the Coates, Brownings, Faints, and others — spent decades extracting gold from some of the most challenging quartz reefs in New South Wales. Drawing on NSW Gold Lease Registers, digitised newspaper archives, and the records of the Nandewar Historical Society, this book reconstructs the goldfield's major claims in precise detail — tracing ownership, partnerships, production, and the human stories behind the leases. Part One examines the principal mining claims. Part Two explores the broader community: the old-timers who provided continuity, the township infrastructure, and the boom and decline of the early twentieth century. Part Three recounts the author's personal rediscovery of Woodsreef through fieldwork, underground exploration, and GPS mapping of surviving mine workings. Woodsreef never rivalled the fame of Hill End or Gulgong, but it was home to real people who built a community from hard rock and harder work. This book restores their story to the historical record.