THE MAHIKAPAWA GOLDFIELD.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 266, 10 November 1888, Page 7

THE MAHIKAPAWA GOLDFIELD.

AS old Thames man has just returned from a trip to the Mahikapawa (foldfields. He went via Picton, that being, in his opinion Se easiest route. A 1 ittlesteamer tool him for a shilling to fcne Groves about eWifc miies from Picfcon and ab the head oi See, Charlotte's Sound The remainder of the iourney to the Meld can be done b, coach for Is 6d, so that the whole ionrnej from Picton to the field can be done fa 2s 6d The distance from Queon Onav lotto's Sound to Cullenville is aboub im * miles. The writer describes the field as follows : -From the head of Queen Charlotte Sound to the head of I'elorus bound is only three miles: and is all a flat between tie bills. About half-way on this flat you tain to the left up another flab, and this IS the lead through which the gold-bearing lead is expected to run. I reached the field on a Saturday at noon and found than all work was suspended, and, like the man who knocked oft work to carry bricks, there was' the-lucky digger (Maori and European) indulging in quoits and skittles, shooting galleries, etc., to his heart s content That there is a lot of gold being got there no one can doubt. 1 was shown several large lumps, the largest being Soz; but pieces as big as 260z have been gob there! Nearly all the claims ab the head of the creek are getting gold. The lead there is narrow and consequently shallow sinking, and may be called the poor man s portion of the field ; but lower down where the flab commences and widens out, little or nothing has been done, so that the flab may be taken as improved. I think that payable gold must be found all down this flab for ab least 1£ miles, for the reason that where such coarse gold is gob up tne creek there must be also gold farther down the lead. One party have sunk the shaft 25ft on the flab and were driven out by water. They are now aboubto erect apumpinc engine to enable them to bottom. I do'n't think thisflatwillbe worked until large -companies take it in hand, as the sinking .will be at least 70 to 100 ft, and the ground •■will want both timbering and pumping, as "the bottom will be only readied at aboxit low water levelin the sounds. This flat is the'private property of Cullen (a farmer' and others, and a large portion of it is let at a monthly rental per acre. The whole country is pegged otf, and two old miners (acquaintances of mine) from the Thames complain bitterly of the way the country is locked up by shepherders,. etc. Reefs have beeniound ab the head of the creek, and all sorts of rumours are afloat as to their richness, bub from what I can learn nothing has been done to prove them yet beyond what a Thames miner would call a little scratching. I did not visit the reefs, as my time would nob permit o! ib. I be-, lieve good reefs will be found, as I was shown a 3oz specimen which came from an alluvial claim, and appears as if it had at some time become detatched from a reef. It was more gold than stone, and this is not exaggeration. Mahikapawa will never be what is known as " a poor man's field " for the reasons given above; but I believe ifc will be a good goklfield for years. The township Cullenville is about 600 or 700 in population. The rush is going off, and those who rushed there without any object are returning now to their homes. It is hard to estimate, but I don't think1 there aro more than 100 getting payable gold ; others are prospecting and shepherding. The township is what yon may call "all over the shop." Mosb of the buildings are of a temporaiy character. Litchfield's yeneral f store and Mrs Dickson's hotel (the only one) are the best buildings, namely, rough planks and corrugated iron. The widow Dickson's pub is the best gold mine in the district. She only wants £2*ooo to sell, and £1,850 of that may be said to be purely goodwill, and has accumulated •within four or five months, because the "buildings are nob worth £150. All the trades are represented there. The Cap and Jacket Variety Company. (Miss Amy Vaughan and Co.), who " did " the North a few months ago, are playing to failhouses theve in a circus tent. If you want to do a good turn, advise people in the North not to come here, because capital is wanted to work the field, and they would do better to come hero 12 monbli3hence than now. The Waikakaho field is similar to the other, but ia nob of snch extent nor is it so rich. I think almost nothing has been done there yet and the population is very much smaller. The field is situated in a gully and creek on the Blenheim side of the range, just on the ridge of the mountain between the two fields. Many think the Mahikapawa gold came from reefs on the Waikakaho side.