GOLD RUSH FRIENDS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 12

GOLD RUSH FRIENDS

Contact Re-established After 40 Years STIRRING DAYS RECALLED Dominion Special Service. Mastertoil, July 30. A friendship begun 40 years ago in the famous Klondike gold rush promises to be renewed as the result of a remarkable coincidence in which radio played a prominent part. The central j figures are Mr. J. Malton Murray, Wellington, and Mr. Richard KibbleWhite, Masterton. Mr. Murray was speaking from a radio station last night on his experiences in the gold rush, and mentioned that while there he was befriended bj’ a New Zealander, a Mr. Kibblewhite. Neither of them had seen each other iu the intervening years, but through hearing the address Mr. Kibblewhite is anxious to get iu touch with Mr. Murray and discuss the experiences'which thev shared in those hectic treasure-seeking days. “Although I cannot remember the name of Mr. Murray, the incident, which be explained in detail, is perfectly clear,” Mr. Kibblewhite said. It was interesting how the news of the gold rush got through to him, said Mr. Kibblewhite. A man named McDermott, after serving two year’s imprisonment for sly-grog selling in the Wairarapa, went to Vancouver and wrote 'to a friend in Masterton about the rich gold finds. Australia got to hear of the fabulously rich discovery, and a ship, the Cape Ottway, was chartered. After loading in Australia she came to Auckland, where 280 New Zealanders were taken aboard. The ship left Auckland on March 12, 1898, aud among the adventurers were Mr. Kibblewhite and Dr. Archer Hoskiug, at present medical superintendent for the Wairarapa Hospital Board. Impatient Travellers. “We travelled at five to six knots an hour, and deputations waited on Captain Savage asking him to get a move on,” said Mr. Kibblewhite. “The captain, however, said he could not travel at a greater speed until the time of tlie engineer, who had been placed on the ship by the owners, had expired. The time expired the day before we reached Honolulu and the captain speeded up, but unfortunately the engines broke down. We landed at Honolulu, and the 400 odd miners and the crew from two American gunboats had the time of their lives. We took possession of the town, and wrecked saloons and shops. There was a reason for that, however. We were not familiar with American money, and at some of the saloons we were given change which would not be accepted anywhere else. It was negotiable only where we had received it.” Mr. Kibblewhite went on to say that three days before they left Honolulu bubonic plague broke out, and many of the sheds and shanties had to be burnt to prevent the spread of the disease. Vancouver, where they completed their outfits, was srething with industry. Torches and flares, which lit up all the building!;, gave the place a tremendously animated appearance. Most of the food they had to take with them was iu concentrated form, and everything was branded so that stolen articles could be traced. Landed in Snow. After going through the tropics it was a terrible experience, particularly for the Australians, to land on the beach in 20 feet of snow. They were wearing only their summer clothes. | From there they made their first trek i of four miles, and that night a great } snow-slide buried the camp. All night men were digging out bodies, and 6S were recovered. There were scores of big. strong, husky men, who sat down and cried through all the wretchedness, gave their outfits away, and turned their backs on the lure of gold. At the foot of the mountain the following night 300 men camped in a 60 by 20 feet tent during a blizzard. There was no room iu which to move, and they passed coffee and doughnuts overhead to one another. Mr. Kibblewhite, who was away from New Zealand for three years, remarked that at one stage of the venture he was six thousand pounds sterling in hand, but he lost it again in further speculation. However, he made sufficient to tour the United States, and was able to return to New Zealand with some tangible reminder of the Klondike gold rush.