EARLIER DISCOVERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19701, 29 July 1927, Page 17

EARLIER DISCOVERY.

THE COROMANDEL FIELD.

GOLD FIRST FOUND IN 1852.

AN INTERRUPTED RECORD. SERIES OF REVIVALS. The jubilee of the Thames goldfield revives interest in the early history of a neighbouring field, that at Coromandel, the older of the two by a matter of 15 years. Jn the early fifties New Zealand was not. regarded as a gold-producing country. All eyes wore turned to Australia, which was drawing adventurous diggers from all parts of the world. Many of them came from California, whither they had gone in the famous rush of '49, and New Zealand sent a good quota. There had been vague rumours of goldbearing quartz in the Nelson district, but it was not until the Victorian rush had been in progress for some time that any prospecting was undertaken in the north of New Zealand. Men of experience were naturally lacking, as nearly everybody with knowledge of gold-win-ning had gone to the Australian fields. The first attempts were fruitless. Accordingly a number of Auckland citizens held meetings and set up a "reward committee," with Sir Frederick Whitaker as chairman, and a dozen leading men as members. A fund was raised, and a reward of £SOO was offered to the first person who should discover and make known to the committee a "valuable goldfield." Within a week the reward was claimed by Charles Ring, a New Zealand settler lately returned from California. Mr.

Ring declared that he and his brother Frederick had found gold at Driving Creek, Freece's Point, Cabbage Bay, and other places in the Coromandel district, in October, 1852. His story was that when he and his brother landed they encountered about 30 Maoris under a redoubtable chief named Taniwha —afterwards known to the settlers as "Old Hooknose," and a double-barrelled gun which they carried was demanded as "utu" for their intrusion upon "tapu" ground. After a parley Taniwha allowed them to retain the gun and to search the district for gold. Mr. Ring produced specimens showing small specks of what appeared to be gold, but as there was some.doubt whether it was not pyrites the committee sent a deputation to Coromandel to investigate. It returned with a report that there undoubtedly was gold in the neighbourhood. The reward was accordingly paid over. Payment of Royalties. A numher of prospecting parties were formed, and found gold in particles near the surface, with a few small nuggets. In November, 1852, the Government issued a proclamation requiring all prospectors to take out provisional licences, and prohibiting the working of gold until satisfactory arrangements had been made with the native owners of the land. A conference was held between Lieutenant Governor Wynyard, Bishop Selwyn and Chief Justice Martin, representing the Government, and the chiefs Taniwha and Hohepa Paraone, representing the natives. It was eventually agreed:—(l) That the whole district should be placed under the management of the Government for three years for the purpose of searching for and working gold; (2) that the Government should pay to the owners £1 a year for each square mile, but that if in any year more than 500 and not more than 1000 persons should be licensed by the Government to search for gold, the payment

should be £1 10s a square mile, with iv further 10s for every additional 500 persons licensed. The area brought in under this arrangement was 16 square miles, or 2000 acres. A further sum of 2s a month for each person licensed was afterwards guaranteed by the Government to the natives. Ups and Downs of Field. Work proceeded under this arrangement, and about the middle of November gold was found on the eastern side of the main range, at Arataonga, a small harbour facing Great Mercury Island, and also at Wairau, a creek on the eastern side of Coromandel Harbour. The finds, however, were not large. The first sale of gold was held in Auckland on December 11, 1852, when 6oz. of dust and about lOoz. of auriferous quartz brought £32 Is. Some better samples were sold a few days later Rt £4 an ounce. Before long about 3000 miners were working on the field, which had been extended by arrangement with the natives to cover the whole area between Cape Colville and Kauaerynga (afterwards Shortland, Thames). The consideration was a payment of up to £ISOO for the first 2000 licensees, with an additional 2s for every licence issued. The field suffered a slump in 1857, owing to the discovery of alluvial deposits at Collingwood, and later in the Buller district in 1859. In 1861, when the famous Gabriel's Gully rush occurred, Coromandel was practically deserted. Later in the same year it revived, and in June, 1862, it was proclaimed a mining district, with Mr. H. H. Turton as commissioner. There were then about 300 miners on the field, and gold continued to be won for a time in moderate quantities. However, when the Maori War broke out it was again almost deserted, and only after the declaration of peace did the miners gradually return. It was completely eclipsed for a time by the discoveries at Thames, but remained a gold-producing district for many years afterwards.