KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7658, 8 June 1886, Page 6

KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELD.

FOR KIMBERLEY FROM NEW ZEA. LAND. For Kimberley we have still three vessels announced. The first to sail should be the brigantine Linda Weber, which is put down for Saturday next,' and, as she has a large portion of her cargo already engaged, her despatch should be prompt. She offers excellent accommodation for passengers. To follow the Linda Weber we have the steamship Hero and the barque Notero. Both vessels are to leave about the end of the present month. Notwithstanding the amount of talk there has been about the newgoldfield, there has not been any strong disposition yet manifested here to brave the dangers of Kimberley. Apparently, the largest exodus will take place from the South. The "Kimberley fe»er" seems to be most strongly felt on the West Coast, as is perhaps only natural. Late advices state that many are anxious to realise on their property to get away. A letter received in Waimate, Canterbury, a few days ago from the Kimberley gold digging states that 80oz of the precious metal were obtained by one man near Derby in two or three days. The intelligence is inspiring confidence in Waimate people that the new El Dorado is worthy of being visited. LEAVING FROM CAMBRIDGE. [BT telegraph.—own correspondent.] Cambridge, Monday evening. The excitement over the Kimberley goldfield has spread to Cambridge, and three well known residents have decided to leave here about the end of this month. The gentlemen in question are, Messrs. K. Morse, 'ames Meredith, and Johns. MEETING IN WELLINGTON. [BY. TELEGRAPH.— press ASSOCIATION.] Welling ton, Monday. The adjourned meeting of persons desirous of going to Kimberley was held to-night. Very little enthusiasm was shown, and it was decided that any 'of those wishing to go should pay down half the passage at once, and the balance in a day or two. It is not expected there will be any great response. Wellington, Monday. The t.s. Hauroto left at noon for Sydney. A large crowd assembled to see her off, feeling very enthusiastic, took a considerable number of passengers en route for Kimberley, amongst whom were 'JO diggers from the West Coast. The Union Co. were compelled to cease issuing tickets. The majority of those who left were able-bodied fellows, but a smaller proportion appeared to be physically unequal to the hardships which will have to be met.

THE CLIMATE AND COUNTRY. A Dunedin clergyman, the Rev. Mr. King, who is well acquainted with tho northern ■ettlements of Western Australia, and was stationed for tome time at Champion Bay, has given a Dunedin paper some particulars, from which we make the following extracts : —The heat is tremendous, and almost as great at night as in the day. During the coldest months of the year, say June and July, the heat is very great. from the beginning of January to about the middle of February there is always what is known aa the "hurricane season," and the meaning of that phrase can be well judged from the following anecdote:—"A new stone church had been erected at fioebourne, and tin its completion an old settler left the district for a few months. He returned home after the hurricane season, and his first words were: "You haven't had a blow, for the church is still standing." In and around Roebourne, and from there northwards to the Indian Ocean, there is no agricultural laud, because it is too hot for anything to grow. The water throughout the territory is brackish, and it is more than pobible that the golddigger en route to Kimberly will be without water for 60 miles at a time. Arouud Koebourne the blacks are quiet, but near Kimberley they are both numerous and treacherous, and unless very sharp watch was kept life would be none too safe. In all probability King's Sound, lSdeg. S., and Cambridge Gulf, in lat. lodeg. S., will be the nearest ports to Kimberley, and except during the hurricane season steamers go at intervals' from Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, round the coast. It may be said the climate of Kimberley is one of the worst in the continent of Australia, and men when they arrive on tho diggings will have to fight with heat, fever, thirst, and all the time be on their guard against the natives. Mr. King states that in bis opinion, as an old resident of the northern part of Western Australia, it would be utter madness for a man to attempt to reach the Kimberley unless he has £50 in his pocket when he lands in Western Australia. Another thing worth recording is that all the diggers, eipecially new arrivals, will have to guard against drinking, as no man can live in that climate who indulges in much alcoholic liquor.

THE PORT. The unanimity which is shown in all Western Australian telegrams as to Derby being the best route to the Kimberley diggings is highly amusing, and at the same suggestive. Reading between the lines, the conclusion forced on us is that that unanimity is due to the fact that if Derby be accepted as the route, the trade of the goldfields will be secured to Western Australia, whereas if Cambridge Gulf be adopted as the shortest and best road of reaching the desired haven, the trade will necessarily be divided between Queensland, Victoria, nnd New South Wales; hence the persistent manner in ■which Derby is puffed up and the other port condemned. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. A syndicate has been formed in Melbourne to purchase eligible blocks of land in Kimberley. Advices from Perth state :—Owing to the wet season having set in and also because of the shortness of provisions, the greater number of the men who bave been on the field have returned either to Derby or Cambridge Gulf. All of them have been successful in finding gold, though their operations have been confined to gully ecraping. The gold they have brought in with them is of good quality, and is all alluvial, and amongst it are a number of' nuggets, most of them varying from loz to 2£oz in weight. The Govern-, ment have ascertained definitely that IOOOoz have been brought into Derby, but they believe the find has been greatly beyond that quantity. The diggers are very reticent as to the amount of gold, but they ■peak of the field as both large and rich, and most of them are making arrangements to return at the earliest opportunity. That it is a great goldfield there can be no doubt, for the prospectors are speaking of country forty or fifty miles in extent. 'I hey state they found the colour of gold abounding, with quartz reefs of great promise everywhere visible. Some of them (and they are mostly old diggers) go so far as to declare that this will prove to be the greatest goldfield in the colonies. All these statements cannot be taken as reliable, but they indicate thatagoldfield worthy of attention has been discovered. At present it is believed that no more than thirty or forty prospectors are upon the field, and they are scattered over a large tract.

At an Executive Council it was decided to declare a goldfield at Kimberley, and to appoint as wardens Dr. Lovegrove, the resident at Derby, and Mr. C. D. Price, the resident at Cambridge Gulf. These gentlemen will issue licenses to diggers as they pass through their ports. The question as to which is the best route to the goldfields remains an open one, though the majority of people vote for that from Derby. Parties arriving at Derby have, of course, a chance of getting horses and rations there, while Wyndham, the new !>ort in Cambridge Gulf, has not even been aid out Mr. C. D. Price landed at Cambridge Gulf* fortnight ago with a party. Their first dnty will be to lay out a town site, and then the surveyors will move into th« interior. Easy anchorage is obtained In tbe Golf, and the country in the immediate neighbourhood of the future lines is very fertile. Should parties on their way to the digging* start, from, here, there is little doubt stores would quickly be established. Wyndham has the advantage of being considerably nearer Mount Barrett than Derby. Price's party at the Gulf found Mr. Leonard Elvey, a digger of 25 years' experience. lie had just come from the field with 330z, which he had found in the south on ground known to the diggers as the Black Elvire, which runs into the Panton river. He reports the route from View Hill, near Wyndham, to the South Elvire and Hall's Creek, both of which run Into the Panton as excellent, The distance

to Mount [Barrett he calculated to be 240 miles in a direct course, but by way of stations, where he had to procure supplies, he considers he had to travel over 300 miles, Parties, however, well supplied with stores, can take the direot route, which has been followed both by Mr. McFee and Mr. Elvey. When the latter left the Elvire, Messrs. Headly and Moore were in possession of 500oz of gold, and others were also doing well.