Gold Rush Dictionary: Why Historians Get Mining History WRONG By Misunderstanding One Simple Word "The paddocks in Hill End were glistening with gold." WRONG interpretation! Historians blunder when they think "paddock" meant farm field—it was actually quartz storage areas at stamper batteries! After rain, these quartz piles revealed their hidden gold. The word has FOUR different meanings in mining context, including the Chinese miners' technique of "taking everything between bedrock and surface.