PROSPECTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 213, 8 September 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

PROSPECTING.

ON THAMES FIELDS. A Pioneer's Story Of Gold-Seeking Days. CHASING THE ELUSIVE LODE. (By W. S. C. NICHOLLS.) TBelow we give the second of a series of articles by Mr. TV. S. C. Nicholls, for sixty years a prospector on the Thames, Coro"inandel, and Ohlnemuri goldflelds. Mr. Nicholls 1s one of the best known mining men in the Dominion, and hia reminiscences are full of interest.] After we had cleaned up the terrace on the Waikoromiko Creek, as recorded in my first article, we found that the Tokatea, had struck a new reef, and it was yielding a lot of gold. The mine was opening up well and getting specimens in tons. I decided to start for the Tokatea next morning and try to get work in the mine. I rolled up my bluey next morning and started for the mine. When I got to the mine I Avent to the office of the manager, Bob Kelly, and asked him for a job. He looked at me and said, "I don't think you are strong enough to push a truck." I told him that I wouldn't inind betting my first month's wages that I would lift more than he could. Ho told nie to come on next morning, and he would find me something to do. I went along to the storekeeper to "hit him up" for an outfit to start with. He offered me all that I wanted, so I got a half axe, a billy, a frying pan and the goods I wanted to bach with. I had no hut, so I had to build a "mimi" under the shelter of a rata tree, alongside the creek that runs below the Tokatea mine. When I got my "mimi" built I went to the creek for a billy of water to make some tea. When I was dipping the billy into the water- I noticed a lump of quartz lying on the bottom of the creek; I picked it up to aj lock at it, and to my surprise it was' peppered all through T*ith fine gold and

weighed ten pounds. I lit a fire and boiled the billy and fried some bacon, and had a good blow out of bread and cheese and bacon. After I had my "mimi" built and my bunk rigged up I went to tho store and weighed the stone and 6o)d it to Mr. Lick for flO. lam sure it was well worth £30. I bought a pick, dish and 6hovel, and started fossicking in the creek next morning, instead of going on to work with Bob Kelly. I followed it up till I came to an old tip, by which time I had found 35 pounds of good stone. I thought it was better than working for seven bob a day.

Next day I went up on the tip. There were two tunnels, one running east and the other west, and the gulley between the two. I got a stone with a blotch of gold in it in the clay in the gulley. I started to navvy into "it, and I wasn't long before I struck a leader eighteen inches wide showing blotches of gold. I knew nothing about pegging out ground and recording it, so I had nothing to do but get my mates and take them in with me.

It was Christmas Eve in the year 1870 that I went to fetch my mates. I took some of the stone over to show them. They were excited over it and started with me on Christmas morning for the Tokatea to stake the French Republic claim and record it. They staked four mens ground on the line of reef and wo took another mate in with us and started to drive on the reef. We drove a tunnel on it nearly up to the boundary and got good dirt all the way along it and then we sank a winze on it 50ft and I crushed as a trial crushing six tons of the or© broken from it, and it yielded 6ix ounces to th© ton. The Bismarck was a claim of three men's ground, between us and the Tokatea. They proposed to amalgamate with us and form a company to work the ground. We consented to join them and the company was floated and worked under the name of the Bismarck and French Republic Gold Mining Company. It was worked for five or six years, and Hs output was about £70,000 worth of gold. I stayed i t Coromandel for ten years and found many good patches of gold, amounting to thousands, but 1 had not learned to say "No." What with wild cats and lending money I could get rid of my money faster than I could make it. One of my claims paid me £40 per "week for two years and when it was worked out. I was £30 in debt—l did not spend the money, but others spent it foi' me.

The repor' of gold being struck at Te Aroli_v <■ _j -1 the move again.

I rolled up my swag and started to go through overland. There was only a Maori track most of the way through. I started at daylight in the morning, with a swag 631b iu weight. I tied up a little poodle dog of my mother's before I started; he always liked to be with me. When I got about seven miles from home the little devil came, yelping up behind me fagged out. Ho had broken the string and followed my scent. He was knocked up so I put him on the top of my swag and carried him to the Thames. I arrived at the C'laremont Hotel at ten o'clock that night and 1 admit I was a bit tired. Z\l y brother-in-law kept the hotel and iny sister was not long in getting me something to eat. I liad a good night's rest and mv sister made me take a day's rest. After the rest I started a-t daylight in the morning to swag it through. I got to Te Aroha an hour and a-ha If before dark. T. went up to O'Halloray's pub; there were about 200 men standing about it. I learned that there, had been nothing new, only what the prospectors had discovered. I spent two days in prospecting above and below the township and only found gold in the Waiorongomai Creek. I was on my road to follow the gold up the creek, when I found that Johnny Waieke had found the reef at the head of the Waiorongomai Creek, so I decided to go up to the top of the mountain next morning toi see what prospect T would have to' explore th<>. eastern side of the range, as I thought there were plenty of men already on tho other flank. When I got to the. top of the mountain 1 could see Waitekauri to the north, arid what I took to be reef outcrops on some isolated hills on the north-east side of the Waihi Plains, so I decided to roll up my swag next morning and start up the mountain and drop over into the Waitawheta Valley and prospect creeks on my way through. I got a few colours of gold in the Mangakere Greek, but not enough to induce me to follow it. I spent three days in the Waitawheta watershed and could find neither gold nor -martz, so I left there

| I started out to prospect the country round, and could find no quartz until I got to the Waihi hills, and my first impression was that they were "bucks," till I tried the drifts coming from them and found gold in them. There was a tunnel put into the reef on the highest part of the hill, and had struck a hard bar of flint, with a seam of rubble on the footwall of the reer that had a few colours of gold in it. The flint in the face of the drive was "buck" and of no commercial value. The reef kept the

centre of the spur for about tbirt\ chains, and was covered with a wind drift; the triable <|uartz having boon weathered down, left nothing but the "buck" exposed above the wind drift of sandy loam. 1 decided that the best way to test the reef was to pothole down to her drift on the western flank of the spur, as J found out that was the side she was shedding her drift, and if I thought tliat the prospects would lead to payable gold I would follow to where it was shed from. I found prospects in four places along the line that would lead to payable gold, but the best I found was on the north end of the spur about 125 ft north of MoOonibie and Lees' drive. I started to follow the gold to locate its source, and had just, cut into the cap of the reef in a. trench I made ♦»ft dp, and had struck quartz worth 4oz of gold to the ton. and was slogging into if head down, when T was clapped on the back by Mr. I'red Hollis. T nearly jumped on! of the trench, for T had no idea that any.me was within miles of me. He and Charlie Jennings had come over from Waitekauri to hunt me up. and found me delving into it on the Sabbath day. I showed them the prospects 1 was getting, and I'red Hollis pegged a claim on the north end of the Martha claim. It was called the Young Colonial, and was worked after that by him and "Jam" Smith, of Owharoa. After I was satisfied that my prospects were highly payable I went to Thame* and reported my find, and applied for a claim. At that time I would require Ir> men t«> man it. T went to the "Star'' OtVne at Thames and reported the reof 4t»ft wi<i worth 407. to the ton. There was a hit of a rush on, but they left it. thinking it not worth much. 1 started next morning to walk through to G'romandel to let in y'mate know of my find, and to fetch him up with me to work his sharp in tlxclaim. He went to Paeroa by boat, and I walked back to Waihi. When 1 got back T could see that a few people had been since 1 K-ft the cap of the reef and rooted about a bit. and the fern was burnt all round. My mate got lip two days later, arid T decided to take out a trial crushing of five tons and get it dragged to the Owharoa battery and run it through to prove its valu". Mr. March, a farmer at Paeroa, carted it for me. The Farmer boys at that time had the Smile of Fortune battery on tribute, and they ran it through the battery for us. There were only .10 sacks, tied at the mouth, and in reality only about i four tons of ore. It yielded 240z of gold, but it hadn't a fair trial. It was ! rub through very coarse mesh gratings, ' and I suppose only half of the gold was i saved. _