Julie Millowick lives in the small Central Victorian community of Fryerstown, which, during the 1850's, was the epicentre of the Victorian gold rush.

The scars of that incredible assault upon the environment still dominate it. Fryerstown and surrounds will never recover from the sluicing, excavating and general impact of the 10,000 people who flocked there from all over the world. The paddock surrounding Millowick's house contains 15 mine-shafts and two considerable mullock heaps; these are some of the remnants from the world's richest alluvial gold discovery. They are the most obvious - and in some instances - the most dangerous traces from that era.

The more subtle and benign traces are botanical, and it is these more fragile aspects of the gold rush that Millowick addresses in her work.