NEW OIL FIELD

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 90, 11 January 1924, Page 7

NEW OIL FIELD

PROSPECTS AT PONGAROA A representative of I'he Dominion returned vesterday form a tour of the East Coatrt, where he had an opportunity of seeing the Pongaroa oilfields, concerning which , .there has been much conjecture during the past few weeks. The second) meeting of settlers, was held this week, and it was decided, for the present at any rate, to limit the operations of the proposed company to sinking a test boro at one of the sites indicated by the diviner, Mr. Alexander McDonald. “Wo have a feeling,” said one local business man, prominently associated with the oil investigation, “that the development of the certain sources of oil in Taranaki has been throttled by certain interests, and wo intend to proceed very cautiously at Pongaroa. The residents are fully convinced that oil is there, and they are. determined that the whole of the district community shall benefit, and exploiters are to be left out.”

Interesting details weie gleaned in regard to the work of the diviner. He is a farmer and a native of the district. Ono of the tests put to lim, to try-out his divining capacity, was propounded by Sir. G J. Sykes, M.P. Hearing from Mr McDonald that his divining-rod would locate metal, he buried a penny in the mud—before the- drought—and indicated to the diviner an area of about a chain wide, where it wars Mr. McDonald had no difficulty in finding the penny, although Mr Sykes had forgotten where he had hidden it. At the request of members of the company, who were anxious to test him still further, Mr. McDonald went to Taranaki last week, and it is stated that he indicated to the promoting syndicate there the exact locality of the oil.