The Arrow River Valley.

Lake County Press, Issue 69, 27 September 1872, Page 3

The Arrow River Valley.

Sib,— You have a report of the meeting of the Arrow Valley Pi ogress Committee in your issue of last week, and for the benefit of your readers I request to be allowed to follow that report with one about the Valley ns it is, and the progress which has been made daring my residence in it, which covers a period of nearly ten years. First then,. f must til you what part of the course of the river is embraced in the term “ Arrow Valley.” It is generally understood to mean the lowlying terraces along its banks from its rise in the ranges between the righthand branch of the Sholover and the watershed of the Matatapn river, to its junction with Bush Creek at Arrowtown, where it p .sses into a country characterised as the Arrow Flats, on account of its level nature. The length of th • river from Arrowtown to its head I estimate to be fully 25 miles ; and I can assert, without danger of contradiction, that the country on both sides of the river f.>r all that distance is highly auriferous ; and if it was not occupying too much of your space 1 would like to speak in detail of the whole route. But I must stick to my task, and allude in this instance to the Arrow Valley, as understood by the Committee whose report I have already alluded to. The term, as used by them, means that portion of the river between Arrowtown and the 8 Mile or Coionet Creek ; and the impression made upon an observer by the appearance of this portion of the river is, that some volcanic action burst open the rocks, and the waters of the entire watershed rushed through and occupied the chasm, wearing the soft nek into channels with their currents—undermining large slides of rock and debris which, falling, blocked up the course of the stream and lorced it to cut another passage. This kind of war has evidently gone on for ages in this part of the river bed. and it has left the sides in all sorts and conditions of shapes except those favorable to transit But under those heavy landslips have been found deposits of auriferous wash which has been rich enough to pay 40 1 per man per week for only ordinary work. There has been a large population on this portion of the river in consequence, and it has yielded a large revenue to the Government. I do not think the revenue has been less, on an average, than LOOOJ per annum Some of the residents are married and have large families, and look as though they were settled for life in this vale of Arrow. Gold-digging is the sole occupation of the place, ami every article of consumption, either as food, do lies or medicine has to be paid for in cash. O ly just think what a quantity of that article will be required by a married eouphwith half- -lozen children— especially in a place where coal and firewood are sold by the pound ; not because they are scarce in the country, but because they must be packed on the backs of men and horses ere they can be got to their destination. Ten years ago this place was tenanted by Maori hens and kakas; now it is tenanted by over one hundred human beings, the able ones of whom are supporting all, and the country as well, by their persevering toil in a district too poor and steep to feed even sheep upon with safety. Quite a nun her of these wealth-produc-ing citizens have lived and toiled here for nearly ten years, and paid every impost which was called for, and still continue to do so. But what return have they got for their money ? If I am allowed to say so, I say they have got none. For two years they have

. .;::i7 r r been begging the Provincial Government to form a track to enable their ncglecied.qhildreu go to sc bool- by some saf»r meaiiA* than "wading a' river subject to-fl.ods at a'l turns of the year, at the ri.sk of tb ir lives, Few/ if any, of the townsfolk suppose when' thejr see those little hues emerging from the gorge to the town that they have been half a-dozen times through that river bef.re they got there; yet such is of necessity the case.O And that is not all. There are a number of children who cannot get to school at all on account of this state of things ; and amongst those who do go are some who have had narrow escapes of life from’ drowning in the river on their passage to school. To illustrate another great cause of dissatisfaction, I roust tell you a case which occurted here a day or two ago. A married couple, justly respected by all who know them, live at a point up the river about half a mile from here. The lady was taken ill, and attendance, medical and otherwise, needed. But the river was up/ and could not be passed without extreme danger. So, although there were plenty of other ladies anxious to serve their friend, only half-a mile away, the sufferer had to wait until the perseverence of some overcame the difficulty by climbing over a hill of roek about five him Ired feet above the river, and sliding down as best they could to the residence of their suffering friend below. Just imagine a hillside at an angle of twenty-five degrees, the surface made slippery by rain, and your sight rendered almost useless by *he cutting wind ; a few fool-holes cut in the rock for y,,ur feet at a height of 300 feet above the river, which looks nearly under you—and you have a pretty good idea of the track. Fancy your progress impeded by the flapping of petticoats at every step, and a child in arms 'to hinder you from using what little sight is left by the wind, and you have a true representation of what some of the good ladies of this place »erformed in order to assist a friend Do not think this an isolated case; *tis no such thing. I have known numbers of instances where distance and danger were greatly larger than in this case. I have known people obliged to take this track in blinding snow-storms at the dead hour of night in their endeavors to'find medical at’endance for their suffering triends. Others have crossed the swollen river by means of a rope ; others, unable to guide their horse through the snow, have been obliged to dismount, and be dragged, by holding on to the horse a tail, through all sorts of passages. But space warns me to close. I must say that I feel sure that a track would have been made here long ago if the Provincial Government only knew the truth of the matter. I will, with your permission, tell yon a little more about it next week, and remain—Yours, kc., Odsehveb. Big Beach, Sept. 25.