THE UREWERA COUNTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 81, 3 April 1908, Page 6

THE UREWERA COUNTRY.

IS IT A GOLDFIELD?

When the Cabinet next meets, amongst the business to be considered will be the formal proclamation of the opening of the Urewera country for prospecting. As the result of the recent visit of the Hon. J. Carroll, Native Minister, to Ruatoki last week, the consent of the native owners has been obtained to prospectors going into the country, and it now only remains for the Cabinet to draw up regulations under which prospecting may be allowed. When these are approved, the next step will be to declare the gbldfield and notify at what place miners' right may be obtained. The opening of the Urewera for prospecting should afford an opportunity for proving the truth or falsehood of the many rumours which have been circulated for years about payable reefs being known to exist there. Some of these stories are sensational, but the difficulty has been to see any stone known to have come from the Urewera country in which there was visible gold. At the same time the fact that the Government has for years been importuned to throw' open this land for prospecting, leads to the impression that those who were moving in the matter had something more than casual rumour to go upon. At the meeting in Ruatoki last week several men were in waiting to try and get early into the country. Apparently they were under the impression that the field would be declared as soon as the Maoris had given their consent. As a precautionary measure, one man at least had secured a miners' right form from Paeroa, which, of course, was wasted money, as a new district will most probably be declared. One- miner who was. waiting said he had been asked by the Maoris to prospect the country for them, and he stated that he had seen 12 years a»o several large reefs which looked promising. Samples of stone shown by various men were more of a jasper than true quartz, while in another case the stone was of a greenish colour. No doubt once the prospectors get to work something definite will be known, but as one old miner said, "Tlie Maoris know enough about mining now to understand when they see at gold-bearing lode, even if it was sulphide ore." Still, with an area of 756,000 acres of practically unexplored country, it is quite possible that something important may be unearthed in the future as the result of the opening up of Tuhoeland to the vigorous prospector.