VICTORIA, (LATE PORT PHILIP.)

Lyttelton Times, Volume I, Issue 50, 20 December 1851, Page 2

VICTORIA, (LATE PORT PHILIP.)

Gold at Mount Ai,exa> tdeh. —Moke Extraordinary News. —The Daily JSfews says :— A Mr. Leete called at our office on Monday night, and kindly communicated that he had just arrived in town from "Mount Alexander, bringing with him 250 ounces of gold, which he and four others had obtained in the short space of one week. He had 61 U ounces with him, which, on inspection, we found to be precisely similar to that obtained at Ballarat, with this slight difference, that none of the particles were smaller than the head of a pin, and gradually ascending to nuggets of about the size of a Turkey bean. Mr. Crate was in the office at the time, and pronounced the sample to be equal in quality to the Ballarat, being obviously also an alluvial deposit, and not mixed with quartz, as has been generally supposed was the character of the gold obtained at this place. Mr. Leete also states that the gold is found in the bed of an almost dry creek, at the bottom of the Mount Macedon Ranges, which extends for several miles in the direction of Barker's Creek. He and three others had been engaged in gold hunting a fortnight without success, and it was not till Monday last that they happened to open a hole which encouraged them to proceed in their labours. The first spadeful of earth they dug out was found to contain gold, and they extended the excavation 12 by 8 feet, carefully washing the earth. They further deepened the hole next day, and the precious deposit was found more abundantly as they descended. On Tuesday night they had obtained about 15J< oz., and they entered into a book the produce of the subsequent days of the week, from which we were permitted to make the following extract: Wednesday . . . 64* ozs. Thursday .... 77* Friday . . . .613 Saturday . . . . 30i In all 234.j ounces, which, with the quantity formerly obtained, makes 250 ounces. It should also be observed, that this party left oIF work about 1 I o'clock on Saturday; Mr, Leete further states that he obtained one nugget, weighing li ounces, and that he saw three pounds of gold taken out in one tin dishful. The creek adjoining the bed in which the gold is found will be dry in about ten days or a fortnight) but Barker's Creek, containing a never-failing supply, is only distant about four miles, to which

~~ ' ~ "%. *' * — ■ — ~ —j i the earth might be removed and wasKed with y advantage. There are about 200 miners now I employed at these diggings, and he met about ■ 200 more proceeding thither, on his load to Melbourne. Spades are selling at 205., and picks at 30s. each ; Mi 1. Leete would therefore recommend intending miners to take these, and all other necessary supplies with them. Thti hole has only yet been excavated to the depth of three feet, and the further they go down, th. richer seems to be the auriferous deposit. s Gold has greatly fluctuated in price durinnthe past week. The lowest price given was 21. 175. 3d., but the last two days has witnessed a marked improvement; large quantities have been purchased at 2/. 195., and some goqc} clean samples at 60s. The price may be quoted now at 2/. 195., at which figure any quantity will meet with ready purchasers. The gold diggers are now scattered far and wide over the conntry. At the slate quarries twenty-six miles from Geelong, up the Moorabool, there have been parties at work for the last fortnight. Considerable numbers are now proceeding thither. At the crossing place of the Leigh, near Mount Mercer, forty miles from Geelong, there are four cradles at work, but we have not heard of the yield. The eastern source of the Wardlyallock is also being tried, the country between that and Ballarat being rich in gold. Mount Pleasant (near Buninyong) is spoken of as a very rich field, but there is no water now. Mount Mercer and the slate quarries are likely to be favourite summer diggings. The following extract from a letter addressed to the Cornwall Chronicle contains some very useful information respecting the Port Philip gold fields. The writer, after alluding to the discouraging prospects attending his arrival, and the conclusion he formed from those who were best informed, of the uncertain gain coupled with the certain discomfort and probable loss of health attending the search for gold at the diggings, continues :— " Subsequent information, from a great variety of sources, has quite confirmed the correctness of this conclusion. A thirty shilling license confers the privilege of digging for a month, in a hole eight feet square. The depth at which gold is found is uncertain, the deepest hole at the mines is said to be thirty feet, others are from twenty to twenty-two feet deep, and there are intermediate depths almost as numerous as the holes. The 8000 persons at Ballarat are said to keep between 1500 and 1800 cradles going; botli these estimates are probably beyond the mark; according to the depth of the hole, one or two persons are employed excavating and casting out the soil ; one of the party carries the earth, and another rocks the cradle at the edge of the creek. The currier is fortunate if his party possesses a barrow to wheel the soil to his comrade, a bucket or tin dish carried on the head is the general mode of conveyance. The washer has to keep the hard lumps of clay brought to him profusely saturated, as unless they are completely dissolved, the gold will not separate from the clay, and remain behind in the cradle ; the hands and arms of the washer ai'e therefore constantly in the water, and his feet are never dry. The water in the creek, from the incessant "cradling, is nearly of the colour and consistency of pea-soup, and those who want anything better must travel beyond the scene of operations, and draw from the upper stream. There is much reason to "fear that, in a few weeks, the supply of water will fail altogether, already the stream has much diminished, and the frequent use of the water is producing an amount of evaporation that will cause the stream to disappear long before its usual period. This apprehension exists so generally that no attempt is made to erect permanent buildings ; those who have stores or refreshment booths are content with the most wretched huts, and are prevented from erecting more attractive buildings, by the conviction that the want of water will soon lead to the abandonment of the mines. " The agitation of the water by cradling n»t only renders it turbid, but by dissolving tue aluminous and other soluble chemical matters in the clays and earth, imparts to it purgative and other disagreeable qualities. Two passengers returned'to Van Dieman's Land in tae same vessel with myself, who suffered severely from the unwholesomeness of the water. " The uncertainty of the pursuit, after all hardships have been encountered, is its most remarkable feature. The Cavenaghs took up an abandoned claim, and in a day or two procuiea

gold to the value of 16001. ; they were, it is said, offered 1000/., for the hole after their success, but they refused the offer, and never got a shilling's worth of gold out of the same spot, although they sunk it to the depth of twentyfour feet. The case of an individual, not ten ;ards from the same spot, was related to me, who sunk twenty-two feet and got no gold at t*\ No experience or skill will enable the iiiiner to predict the richness of any given spot. At the Bathurst diggings, it is said that the Burra Burra miners from Adelaide have been singularly unfortunate.

" Hardship is distasteful enough to mechanics and tradesmen used to home comforts—but uncertainty and disappointment is worse than all. A man may gamble with a little spare money, but he does not like to stake his toil and time, nor to rest his chance of food and clothing on a hazard where the odds are so much against him.

" The harassing uncertainty will always render the pursuits of gold digging a distasteful one to the English mechanic —it is the great safeguard at the present time to the agricultural and pastoral interests of Victoria. I believe that all operations connected with these pursuits are likely to go on unchecked by scarcity or dearness of labour. Shearing is proceeding as usual, at about 2s. per hundred over Van Diemen's Land prices. The wool is coming into Melbourne rapidly, and there will be as little want of labour for the harvest as for the shearing. The crops look well and there is an unusual breadth of land in wheat, so that with all her great staples of production in abundance, and gold in addition, the progress of Victoria must be rapid indeed. It is estimated that there are about 3,000 emigrants yet to arrive this season from England, and at least 2,000 will be over from Adelaide, so that there will be an abundance of labour as of everything else."