ON THE GOLDFIELDS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1813, 4 November 1931, Page 1

ON THE GOLDFIELDS.

CENTBAL OTAGO MEMORIES. 'Way back in the early 'sixties v youth who is now an old man living in quiet retirement in Auckland was ly attached to various agencies opened by U- the Bank of New Zealand on the Goldis. fields of Central Otago. The bank til then was very young—it was estabic lished on October 16, IS6l—and its in representatives willingly bought all the gold that was offering. There nuia times when the youth had to make long journeys on horseback, carrying either bank notes to buy gold, or gold to be sent under armed Government escort to Duncdin, and on these occas- _ ' ions there was always the possibility l that lie would be held up and robbed. | But the youth was apparently born under a lucky star, for in nearly ten years' service on the goldficlds he was never once "stuck up." The old man, d who was then the youth, is Mr 11. H. n Holmden, who was nearly half a century with the bank until his retire- [.. nieut some years ago. y Born in England, eighty-six years ago, Mr Holmden came to ,New Zealand r as a boy of fourteen, and his first , employment was with Mr Larkworthy, 1 who played a considerable part in the formation of the bank. With Mr Larkworthy and two others he went to Duncdin and helped to date a numr • ber of the Bank of New Zealand issue - of notes, which were later not accepted ' as legal tender, because the date shown on them happened to be a Sunday. In j ISG2 Mr Holmden went to the bank's c ' agency at Waitahuna, where alluvial '" j gold was bought direct from the fos- . sickers. The bank building at Waitahuna was merely a shanty built at t Duncdin, and transported to the goldfields. Four men were attached to the office, and at night they slept in bunks, two under the counter and two above it. After a short period at Waitahuna, Mr Holmden was transferred to Weatherstone, seven miles away, where tho bank '' office'' was merely a canvas shelter, without even boards j j for the floor. One of Mr Holmden's I jobs when attached to the agencies . ; at Waitahuna and Weatherstone was to "blow" gold when it was brought in by the diggers. This work consisted I of placing the gold in a shallow pan and blowing upon it to separate parj tides of dust and other worthless matter. When the gold had been "blown" jit was weighed, and the prospectors ; paid in notes, the average price paid ! being £3/15/- per ounce. ! ' Bobbed and Bound. ; From Weatherstone Mr Holmden j : went to (he bank's office at Dunstan, and while he was there one of the Bank of New Zealand employees was ■ stuck up and relieved of £o(J0 in notes. ■ , The man was travelling from Dunstan , to Nevis, and on his journey had lo lead his horse up a stiff hill strewn with huge boulders. As he led his horse between two rocks, two men suddenly appeared. One carried a gun, and the other a revolver. The ' bank official had no opportunity to i show light, and the money was quickly ' • t.-ken from him. The robbers trussed ! liim up and rolled him down the hill i after his horse, which had bolted when 1 the robbers had first made their appearance. After a considerable struggle, the bank official succeeded in i getting free, and ran back to Dunstan with the news. A hue and cry was 1 at. once raised, and within a few hours the robbers were captured. "Personally, I was never stuck up, but I often think it a wonder that I wasn't, for I must have carried thousands of pounds ; when I was on the goldficlds," said Mr Holmden. . i I On one occasion, in the late 'sixties. : when .Mr Holmden was crossing the Old Man Range from Dunstan to s Nevis, he was caught in a severe snow- f storm. Weary after hi'; stiff climb, ha J made the mistake of sitting down for i a rest at the toji of the range, and \ within a few minutes felt himself fal- 1. • ling off to sleep. It was fortunate for t j him that at this stage a party of packers came along and offered to shepherd him down to Nevis, for had he gone to sleep he would probably never have awakened again. In winter I the long journeys that Mr Holmden t had to make alone were a severe lest 7, .on his stamina, and he can still re- I ' member many a wild storm that he n was caught in when miles from the k nearest house. o While he was stationed on the gold- n fields. Mr Holmden had a heavy Colt 9. revolver, which, he admits now, was a "an awful weapon." When the trig- lr gcr was pulled all the five cartridges si that the revolver bold were likely to J go off. Mr Holmden smiles when he ii recalls that the revolver once slipped tl off the desk in tho bank where it was T kept and discharged five bullets into 0 the wall. fi After nine or ten years in Central 0 Otago, Mr Holmden was transferred to d the main office at Duncdin, and later he saw service at Timaru, Nelson, Law-

~l renee and other places. He was man-J nger at Lawrence for n period. | "There is no doubt that there is still a lot more gold in Central Otago , than has ever come oiit of it," said Mr Holmden. "Some day. perhaps, someone will strike one of the rich reefs p which must exist j lie re, and there Willi be a revival of the romance that was\ there in the 'sixties." j