GOLD

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1934, Page 2

GOLD

In Days of Old ( By W. Smith, Hokitika . From the opening up of the West Coast—the Golden Coast —some activity was shown by the Provincial Government of Canterbury in making a road over the ranges and in certain other arrangements for the great rush which was destined to set in. Blit the Canterbury authorities, who wished. of course, to compete against Nelson for the profitable tr.-ole from hero, were however, deficient in the arrangements which they did make. The discovery of a goldifeld within the limits of their ju ri-di't ion was an unexpected ami novel event. and therefore, with perhaps the best intentions. as well as eyes to future revenue, they engaged in a plunder that could scarcely have been exceeded for shortsightedness. Faced with rhe news of the large finds of gold, the rapid increase of population, and rhe sudden up-springing of Hokitika, the Christchurch authorities determined ’.•» emulate the administrators in Victoria bv providing a waggon Io bring gold across in plenty to their capital. They made one that was shot proof, and selected a. posse ot constables to escort the probable ton of gold which i ould be sent along from Hokitika to Christchurch right over the Southern Alps. This idea may have emanated from the brain of a Mr. X. or perhaps. of some sanguine official, ignorant of the facts of the case. It was at any rate seized on with avidity in the City of the Plains, ami was* promptly carried into effect. Carriagebuilders, saddlers, blacksmiths, and other tradesmen were soon hard at work. Waggons that were' proof against the shots of «lefiant bushrangers were built, and a troop of smart young fellows, under Inspector James, were sworn in as escort constables, while a number of excellent horses were purchased. and an experienced Jehu bv name Chamberlain, was engaged. Along the now road stables were erected, at each of which a constable and groom were stationed. One fine day the escort started out from Christchurch, and after doing the long journey of 147 miles, .July arrived in Hokitika. But what an anti-climax, there was! They came only to find Hokitika intensely amused at this provincial fiasco. One solitary pennyweight was about all of the precious metal which this expensive escort took back to the Canterbury capital. The explanation simply was that all of the gold was exported seaward. One recalls the 6th of October. 1866. The ‘‘Tararua’’. a steamer of two thousand tons, full of miners am] others bound for West laud, came up to the Coast. Not far is another steamer, the “Alhambra.” just as full of peojde. Men are sleeping in every possible corner. We on the Tara run are lying at anchor, after a passage of twelve hundred miles from Melbourne. We are waiting off the strand of Maoriland for a tug to come out and bring ashore the passengers. That memory has survived well nigh seventv vears. since when there have indeed been great changes under one’s observation. After arrival, great as was the local excitement, one heard also of neighbouring land next ?o Ross. Tn that vear. 1866. Ross became the seat of a large goldmining industry. The borough stood partly on wooded terraces at the foot of Mount Greenland and partly* on the celebrated Ross Ftat. This flat extends from Jones’s Creek to the sea, a distance of some miles. 'l’he year before, in 1865. a very rich deposit of gold was found in shallow ground at the mouth of Jones’s Creek, and to the scene there flocked a large number of alluvial diggers, whereupon a town sprang up rapidly. In those days, the miners were allowed to hold onlv a hundred square feet of ground per man. but so rich was the land that even such small holdings gave large returns. The gold was rapidly traced down the creek and into the Flat under the town, where it was found deeply under the surface. dividing into a number of clearly defined layers. As the deeper ground came to be worked it was found to bp more profitable to deal with it on a large scale by the opening of small companies. and a number of these, such as the Scandinavia, Morning Star. Cassius and Comisky, Prince of Wai es and Band of Hope were formed.

They übtaiued leases oil an area of from three to five acres. The rom ponies worked the ground to a depth of about two hundred and fiftv feet, ' at which level it was discovered that water became too prevalent to allow them to go any deeper. As to the value of these claims, it is worthy, of note that when the Cassius and Comisky. Morning Star and Excelsior companies were working they alone produced in a period of thirty-five weeks 11,543 ounces 4dwts of gold, the individual returns being as fol-, lows: Cassius and Comisky claim, 4.722 ozs 6dwts 23 grs; Morning Star (34 weeks) 4.694 ozs 6dwts 23grs.; Exeelsior (27 weeks 5 days) 2,726 ozs. l.ldwts sgrs. 'l’he other companies mentioned also were all in full operation. but there is no authoritative record of their returns. They probably produced as niueh more as the others mentioned. Therefore, exclusive of the returns of the ordinary small , claims, the output for about thirtytwo weeks when mining operations were in full swing was 23.000 ozs. of gold, value at over £90,000