The site is owned by the Orange City Council and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018.

[1] The field was on the property of statesman William Wentworth, who subsequently sold it to the first gold mining company in Australia of which he was a director.

[2] The village of Lucknow has historic and scientific significance for its links with gold mining activity dating from the very first discovery in 1851 up to the present day.

The Wentworth (or Lucknow) Goldfield was discovered in 1851, only two months after Australia's first payable gold find was made at nearby Ophir.

It is a good representative example of the many small gold mining settlements which spread throughout the state, and nation, during the mid-late 19th century.

[1] The character of the village is enhanced by the extent of the remaining above ground mine shaft structures – particularly the steel head frames of the Wentworth Main and Reform sites – which are rare survivors, both within the region and the state, and give the village a striking historic accessible immediacy because of their prominent location on the main road.

At the height of the gold rush the whole hillside beyond the Reform site was a hive of activity, including a battery, foundry and grand two-storey mine office, along with houses, stables and numerous shafts and tunnels.

The small corrugated iron shed behind the poppet head, old equipment and overgrown mullock heaps are other reminders of years of toil by hundreds of men.

[1] Mining activity declined in Lucknow by the 1920s, only to be renewed under amalgamated companies, particularly during the ownership of the Marshall family from the 1930s era.

The extraordinary underground system provides an efficient and specialised integrated network, now all substantially flooded due to a rising water table.

From a c. 1890s photo there is clear evidence of a small shaft with a hand-operated windlass located near the quartz outcrop close to the creek.

[1] Concrete pads provide evidence of the location of the former assay building as well as the site of cyanide tanks for the treatment of tailings.

The poppet head was constructed for this purpose rather than for removing ore, and it is a dewatering bucket that is clearly visible suspended over the main shaft.

[1] The winding engine and stamper battery, and an early boiler are in fair condition; the winder devoid of its brass fittings.

Timber processing tables that were situation adjacent to the stamper battery are intact but their condition has deteriorated from use and immersion in water.

Visible on the site now is the poppet head, a small shed, overgrown mullock heaps and remains of a bluestone wall.

Minor domestic scale works occurred during this time, such as construction of a stockyard and reuse of ore bins for poultry feeders and nesting boxes.

The use of corrugated iron and a design that is in scale and keeping with the earlier buildings reduces the visual impact of this addition.

The presence of the intact stamper battery building and its associated infrastructure is a rare example of its type remaining in situ in NSW.

[1] Wentworth and Reform Gold Mines was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018 having satisfied the following criteria.

The sites together are of state heritage significance for their historical values which demonstrate, by their high degree of intactness and integrity, aspects of early 20th century rural commercial gold mines.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The intactness of the site establishes the buildings and machinery utilised in the gold mining company operations, particularly of the 1930s era.

The presence of the site adjacent to a State Highway makes the site highly visible to the travelling public, and its dominant landmark features are important to the wider community of regular travellers moving from all parts of NSW through the central west region.

[1] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

Further research into the site, and the integrated operation of the entire Wentworth gold field is likely to reveal considerable social, technical and scientific research information, archaeological and otherwise, about the evolution of the central west gold fields and the associated mining companies and communities.

[1] The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The existence of the stamper battery building and its associated infrastructure is considered rare and is thought to be one of the few remaining in situ in NSW.

The non-contiguous sites have a state level significance in their ability to demonstrate characteristics of a gold mine operating in rural NSW, especially during the 1890s–1940s eras.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Wentworth and Reform Gold Mines, entry number 2004 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2020 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on {{{accessdate}}}.