ON THE GOLDEN COAST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19092, 10 August 1925, Page 6

ON THE GOLDEN COAST.

MINERS AND THEIR METHODS

FROM CRADLES TO DREDGES,

SOCIAL LIFE IN THE SIXTIES.

BY BARNACLE.

No. 11. WcstLV'l! that land of gin-clear tumbling riv<ys; of rich flats and valleys arid then wild gorges and ravines of the Southern Alps; that land of illimitable forests, witfl what mixed feelings one revisits it. It speaks to one, to thoso who understand, of the days of its past glories; its mWes and miles of broken country strewn with lichen-covered boulders, torn to tovi million bits by that throng of restless, .burrowing driving goldseekers. Much of it is, of course, now smiling farm lands with dairy herds a-plenty but still often, quito unexpectedly, showing signs of thoso old lagging days—when one could bo '"stoney" in the morning And a comparatively rich man by nightfall. (Quoting !\&'. Harrop again, £2,140,946 worth of gold was won in 1866 alone.) Back in Iho hills and forests one will stumble on the remains of a headrace winding interminably in and out among the spurs and gullies and anon, crossing a ravine on a high flumiiif* —or what is left of it. At other places uno will conio oil Iho remains of a water-ivheel, huge and gaunt, choked and smotheivd in forest growth; or, most pathetic of ail, etumblo on what is left of a one-time prosperous village now nothing but a ruin or, rot and decay, hard even to find in tfte later forest growth. Wandering in this old digging country, lonco tho beaten track is left, one .has to Ibe careful} more than ono man proceeding (on his lawful occasions has vanished—ami that as completely as if he had dissolved in smoke, and within a few miles of the town, too; trapped no doubt in oimi of those hidden deep-sunk shafts with wltich i parts of the country are pitted.

Alluvial Mining. .Apart from tho great companies liko thy "Iluss United" working at deep levelty mining "as carried on, in digger's nomen-> eiattvre, by "Craig's" party, "Bill Biley's" party and so on, scattered in the various diggings known as Waimea, KanierV and tiie like, and again in localities oft(\i known by the characteristic digger 'terrif of "mile," thus, "Three Mile," "Nino MK'c," and so on, so suggestive of the times when Shank's pony (as opposed to tho motAT of to-day) was the usual veliiclo of conveyance. The first gitiu essential (as most people know) of this <\hiss of working is an abundant supply of water, tho principle being that the gold, owing to its high specific gravity, will sink and stay in tho boxes—"trapped" from eMd to end, of course—while all other master is rushed onward over the tip-head. Thus, when tho water supply was small, "cradling" woiu'd be employed, the dirt being shovelled into tho rocking machine; in other casas it would bo worked direct into tho swiftly-running race; then came sluicing, only possible whore many "heads" of water wero availably brought in, too, at a high level, tumbling down through great pipes, presently to emerge in a stream only a few inches tliicli. but at enormous pressure. Very low grade dirt paid handsome when treated by tho thousand tons, the stream of water rushing down the steep faces carrying everything with it through the bo.\\'\s. This tail-race was' often very long; it had to be if the find gold was to bo given timo to sink in tLo rushing torrent. It will bo easily understood that the second essential was a good tip-head; to provida this many rivers wero proclaimed legal shidge channels, to fiheir complete destruction as beauty spots. Again, at great cost, tho Government constructed boxed-in sludge channels.

But, oh dear! what .1 desolate countryside was thus pmduced—l>y this remorseless hunt for gold : to wash away in timo a hill like .Mount Eden was quite an ordinary matter. Look at Mount Albert. Multiply that by millions and you will have some idea of what an alluvial minis country, as is mosst of Westland, looks liko; for it is not only the destruction of the hills and forests; the tailings remain, huge sEag heaps of desolation. But that caino in later years. Tho miner of '65 and '66 worloed "placers" and "pockets," immensely rich deposits easily reached and. of course, in a few years cleaned out. Like a swarm of birds'tlicy descended 011 the country and, like them, having gotten tlseir fili, took wing for other countries. Only the home-making, home-loving miner, tho true West Coaster, remained. Tho Ball Dredger. In tlup 'eighties flu's dredger was introduced, vho intention being to work tho black s.und deposits on ' the beaches; phenomenally rich patches had been worked im tho early dayti. Tho lato Mr. E. Brooke-Smith, of Auckland, first introduced them. The principle of this dredge is similar to that of the pipo dredge employed in Auckland Harbour, Driven by steam power, it sucks up sand and water and pours the mixture over "tables" : fit ted with rills and traps. All up and down the Coiust the rusiing remains of these dredges might be seen, for they were a complete failure. For some reason or other, the heavy sand cut up the conveying pipes, so they say, at a faster rate than they could win gold to pay for them. Tho machinery was carried bv sea to opposite the chosen spot and thence raffed through the breakers. It was impossible to remove it tho same w;»y, so there if. had to stay and rust away, another pathetic reminder of digging days. The Social Side.

It may bo said llokitika was born at Christmas, 1864, when Mr. Bevell, warden and magistrate, laid off business bites or; tho sand and shingle bank of tho ocean bnach, Hovel I Street of the present daiy. Up and down this main (Urcot, friiwed by every kind of ramshackle buiWing possible (presently Hokitiku boasted of.owning one hundred "pubs") at intervals of leisure would saunter the miner of that day. Again quoting Mr. Harrop. " full dross consisted of a high slouch hat, (he front turned up sharp and the back turned down, a Crimean shirt with a knotted crimson silk scarf, a pah of moleskin trousers, . . . kept in , position by a crimson silk scarf, sometimes i carrying a leathern sheath with a knife, ■ "nugget" pattern boots and a crimson silk cord round the crown of the hat." With the passing of those fermenting times, all this altered; a town with wide streets was laid off, drained and formed, the Hokitika of to-day. But the town and district has always retained its first t characteristic, described by Mr. .Julian (Thomas (the "Vagabond") thus:—"! ;im among a grand people now—openhearted. hospitable, spontaneous." It's iVilation may have had a good deal to do h what one may call its unsophisticated way. Christchurch across tho Alps was* utterly different, controlled as it was by (J social code, hard, narrow and unlovely. Again, the " Const," as it isaffectionately called, really ends at tho Grey; there you have the coalminer—and ag.% in at. West port—a type so utterly different) from the goldminer. This environment holds and undoubtedly affects the sociaf type.

Hnkitika has always been a. joyous town, livinV: to tlio full every hour of the day—ami (qten, most of the night. Balls and dances ,were constant. Gallop ng in from outlying townships and gold centres would come i'he young bank agents as they wore calVd (often younger rrns of great English lV'milies), with dress suito strapped to the* saddle bow, ready and willing to dance the night tway; a:.d it. was a quick change by iho eariv mt.rn.rg light for them, aiyV a ; illop back to the post of duty in the sweet, sweet air of the old West Coast.