When the river had run out of gold, the river banks were dredged. This was termed ‘paddock dredging’. This continued day and night between 1896 to 1924 and again between 1951 to 1963. The noise was ever present and loud and it also produced significant quantities of dust which plagued Alexandra. If the dredging hit hard rock, it interrupted the power supply to Alexandra and the lights of the entire town dimmed. The tailings from all the dredging now cover 170 hectares in a historic reserve known as the Earnscleugh Dredge Tailings.