Prospector Cory Dale says looking for gold at Indooroopilly is a 'lost cause'. The "Indooroopilly gold" story has attracted national media attention and caused embarrassment for Brisbane prospector Cory Dale, who found the nugget pictured in the article at Warwick, not Indooroopilly. Gold nuggets can be found near streams at Brookfield, Mt Coot-tha and out towards Warwick, but recreational prospecting is complicated and fossicking in state forests – including Brookfield and Mt Coot-tha – is illegal. Now recreational prospectors are asking if they can search in state forests for gold. Mr Dale, a prospector for 20 years, is trying to encourage the state government to open up areas of state forest near Warwick, where gold can still be easily found, for recreational prospecting.

He said looking for gold nuggets at Indooroopilly was a lost cause. Walter Taylor found gold at Indooroopilly at a rate of 70 grams to the tonne about 80 years ago, as documented in a book written by Mr Taylor's grandson, Noel Davis, about the bridge. Mr Dale said the gold was found in tailings as bridge footings were placed in the Brisbane River. "The story goes that when they were about halfway through building the bridge, they were drilling down into the rock to set the pylons," Mr Dale said. "And in the tailings from the drill, there was a massive amount of gold. It is good, it's not that rich, but it is better than most (gold) mines."

However Mr Dale said the state government took out a 100-year mining lease in 1932 to stop anyone from coming in and undermining the bridge. Mr Dale said he had never found gold under the bridge and doubted any "average Joe" ever would. "It was all deeply embedded, hard-rock type of gold, so it was deep beneath the surface layer. So there is not really any chance of the average Joe in that sort of area," he said. "Unless you had specialist mining equipment, you could not get onto any there." The 1932 historical gold find by Walter Taylor was backed by Indooroopilly Historical Society's Michael Yeates, who said gold was always relatively common in Brisbane.

"There have been gold mines, there is obviously Gold Creek Road out at Upper Brookfield," Mr Yeates said. "But the problem has been that it has not been in nugget form, and it has normally been in smaller quantities and spread throughout the quartz. "So getting it out has been the problem and it has not been particularly financially viable." Prospectors want the new state government to open up areas of state forest near Warwick for "recreational" prospecting, using metal detectors and panning equipment. They have launched to petition the state government to use areas of the Talgai State Forest and the Duakai State Forest near Warwick, southwest of Brisbane.

"Legally, there is nowhere you can fossick for gold because the government has all the gold-bearing grounds locked up as state forest or national park," Mr Dale said. "And you can't go fossicking in any of those areas." Mr Dale understands why large scale mining should not be allowed because of environmental impact, but questions whether small scale fossicking could be allowed in some areas. "The state forest at Mt Coot-tha [Brisbane Forest Park] has a lot of old gold mines in there, which means there is the potential to find gold in there for the average prospector," he said. "Metal detecting is probably the easiest way, or you could go go panning in the creeks or gullies."

Mr Dale emphasised fossicking in state forests was illegal, but theoretically gold could be found. He said a "few flecks" could be found in the streams and if there was a change in policy, gold could be found with metal detectors in some state forests. "Places like Gold Creek [Brookfield]. The old-timers have taken all the alluvial gold from the creeks and what is really going to be left is larger nuggets that you will only find with a metal detectors. "If you get into an area where the old timers dug gold out of the creek, and they also had mines in the vicinity, then anywhere between the mine and the creek is perfect grounds for using a metal detector." Legal, designated fossicking areas exist at Thanes Creek near Warwick and Deep Creek at Gympie, north of Brisbane.

"But the catch with those two is that there is pretty much no gold there," he said. Comment has been sought from the state government.