THE NEW RIVER AND LAKE ON THE WEST COAST.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XX, Issue 1152, 5 November 1863, Page 5

THE NEW RIVER AND LAKE ON THE WEST COAST.

CAPTAIN ALABASTER'S ACCOUNT. We take from the ' Otago Daily Times,' of Oct. 23, the following interesting particulars concerning the first discovery in June last, by Captain Alabaster, of the River and Lake referred to by Dr. Hector:— Dunedin, 19th August, 1863. Mr. Daniel Alabaster, about eleven years engaged in the coasting trade of South New Zealand, and long time mate of the Star, has called upon me and reported that he entered a river called the Wakatipu, about four miles south of the Awarau, on the West Coast, and the following is his information: We entered on June 12th last, on board the Aquilla. Found 12 feet on the bar at high water; rise and fall sor 6 feet. There was not a heavy surf but there are three rocks in the channel; but a craft of 40 or 50 tons can easily avoid these by keeping close to the spit. Went up the river six or seven miles by the bends, and entered a lake about fifteen miles in length and anchored at the head of the same. i The surrounding land is not mountainous till some distance from the margin of the Lake. Ground is covered with forest. Level land very fertile. Abundance of pigs. An island at the head of the Lake is full of pigs. There is also a Maori burying ground. Four natives live there; they are friendly, There is cleared land to the east of the dividing range. We ascended the dividing range, and from whence we saw Earnslaw, a very high mountain at the head of the Wakatip, and which appeared quite close, also, Mount Aspiring, and Black Peak. We had the Government maps of the province with us so could identify the positions ; besides lam a mariner accustomed to take bearings. If we had had food we could have easily fetched through. We cut our way up through the bush. The pass was not high, quite easily ascended, but we had to go back for want of provisions. We came upon the waters running to the eastward. We saw another lake to the north which we discovered from the mountains, and we took up our boat to the head of it. The lake is ten miles long, surrounded by bush with level land round the margin; we got traces of gold at the north end of this lake, also pieces of copper. I have got no specimens except of the stones, my Melbourne mates having taken them to 'Australia. I have" no doubt the specimens were copper, as our mate—a Frenchman—said he had worked at copper mines. A shipload of greenstone could be loaded here. We saw nothing of the moa, but lots of green birds and emus (kiwis ?). The lower lake has a fine site for a township, far superior to anything I saw in the sounds, all of which I visited. The pass, had we gone on, would have brought us out at the Wakatip Lake, at ten miles from its head on the western shore. We visited Milford Sound, but could not penetrate through the mountains, these being very precipitous. I nearly lost myself here. The precipices are dreadful. A steamer could easily go into the Wakatip river and to the head of the lake, and I think this is the best place to make a road from the Wakatip Lake to the West Coast. (Signed) D. Alabaster. As Mr. Daniel Alabaster is a gentleman well known to me, I have every confidence in the trustworthiness of his account, which is a most intelligent one, and of great geographical importance. I have no hesitation in forwarding it to Government. (Signed) J. F. Thomson, Chief Surveyor. Survey Office, 19th August, 1863.