ALEXANDRA SOUTH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10423, 27 July 1895, Page 6

ALEXANDRA SOUTH.

By- 3. H. S. ■-■ A

..'..This, .the most'prosperous -township on the Ofragb^goiafields,is sitiialed on apiece of terrace ;labd overlooking the confluence of'the Molyneux and. Mauuberikia rivers. Although the country in' the.' immediate'neighbourhood of Alexandra is bleak* arid' stenle^lookicg,- and1 not at all suitable for 'agricultural; pursuits^ yet the resident') contrive tp ; 'reblwrn somei nice'garden plots'adjacent to' their, dweiling;houses, and a" yirifcij; of frnits and jaiagDiiiceiit .vegetables aye grown in abundance. l;be' many.very, K>mplete business establishments 'seem to^be'doing fibrwk trade in every lirnach"^ of business suitable to the requirements bf \a jai-gc aiicL constantly, mcreasing mining rwpnlation.!;/Tnere are;; threestores, three hotels', ivta blacksmith's sKopss-^ona of whiclij it'.'is.'.eaijj^is.rapeubr to any estiiblishment of tlie kind iv any "township iv Ckagbj; .'but more of this;anon :'.a' Jwatchnaalcijr'sand actiemisii's shopjabakery, bufchery, fancy goods .repository, tailor, bootmaker, &c. 'jCns population numbers about ;Soo"adults male and female, and all'depend.c.ngoldmining for a liyeiia'ood.^ There':is" not.' aiiotii^r,! township in Pjwgo having the nurnbsr of Workers with such' a' 'small; perberiiag'e of dependents as has!1 Alexandra. 'Ey'siyperepn. one . meets apfeara to' be' ; doipg 'BbmVthiiig or other in the 'direction; .of;" battering';himself;I;1 The young mcii snd' women/appear to be healthy; 'strong, |a^d energetic.. The; moral tone is' 'someWhat superior to' that pervading other. townships on the gbldfiel'ds; atid tiiere ia that; respectful and 'dignified air'pf independence about the inhabitants of Alexandra that one so often perceives amongst goldminiag" communities all over the world. .Thereare two/churchei—Presbyterian and " Ronisn /Catholic," the Rev! J. ' Lotiiian being .minister1 of ; the J former. end' ihe Rev. Father, Ijynch of the lattar.' The "public gchopl has'afaif'averkge' attendance,'and theteicher, Mr, Closs, Beems ttf. ijia ; a;u ''' esbecial favpurite ' with.'parihft;a'n3."cfiildc'ett alike. ' Mr MrMa:cdonald is the resident soiicitor, atfd "D't Hodges, late' of Port ;Chui.lmers, has taken up a'capital practice'here, and has succeeded in winning the esteem arid entire triist'b^ those] with Whom he has so' far been professionally connected. ' ;. ' ' Imprbyem9nta/si?ch as water Wpply and the other hundred -aad one things 'in connection with the present and future of the township, areentrußtisd to a borongh council, the present ;msyof being Mr J; Eii-ers: : ''•'' ';'■'■. ' :

Of course, /Alexandra ia depandenfc upon the many Jjdidfields in "its neighbourhood for its very/ existence;;; The rainy "dfedgeV on' the Molyneax between hiire and Clyde,' a diEtance ptabdutlO miles,:are the v<i-y backbone of its vitaHfcy:; ;Xhere 'ate 'some'eigSt dredges' continuailyat vfott,"and' some 60-men are constaatlv ethplo'yed'in coonec'tiou. with this method of gold mining: ■' The; weekly returns from this source'of mining alone amount to'an average of aboaS £100Q:; wbile Bald; Hill Flat, Conroy'a, Spripgyaiu, ' Manorburn, and the Old Man K^nge goldfidlds send jn thsir quota to makeup a tidy grand total.

! A brace'd1 of the Bank of New .Zealand, of which Mr (Jnißsfcobe is agent-, does the entire business ia' coonsction' with the purchase of gold, &i., from those'many flelda. Mr G?im-'st-ouVia a painstaking and efficient officer,' who appears to be a general favourite with the miners'."' Rfimour has it that an agency of the Colonial B«jk;'will". probably be established at Alexandra in the near futare. Of course it is always, desirable to induce business establishments of this kind into a district, but really this cut-throat metUod of baukiug is overdone on'the goldfields, and in many, places agencies could bs dispensed; with wishotit the1 public being in the leait incanyepiecced, , and very probably a saviug made'by institutions that csn ill afford a "drain, however small,' upon tlieir .finances." ' ; ■■-■■-•. ■ ■..'■.-"■

During the past 10 years '.' /. BALD HILI, FLAT. ' has kept; vp1 the gold returns from alluvial wita remarkable . continuity. Wheu WhtSesroef was shutdown and wcrktherem ceased the alluvial claims began to (.how ud weil, and splendid returns were being constantly obtained from ground that w» thoughb U> beiudrfferentlyauriferbus, but bot'i deeparid difficulu to; work. Miners, however, ibrnsd their attention to" a bstier system of mining than what hadobtained in 'the pwt, and by a small otitlay m necessary piping were able to utilise th« wier to every possible advantage. More ground was gone over with less labour than was necessary under the old method, and consequeafcly the gold returns were larger.- ;

TT 't i. SPKINGVAtE. ■-•■■•. ifir John Allan's claim—at present owned by Uarty and party—gave magnificent;' returns for years,, and..'still, continues to yield moss encouragtog returns to its owoere. Lately a party of practical miners from Matatauui took up a claim, at Sj>ring?&l e , and after ■considerable outlay in the way of purchasing" a water supply and suitable mining plant ibay have just made a start on their ckita, where most promising prospects axe procurable.

TUCKEB HILL, one ot the first auriferous alluvial deposits discovered in the ' neighbourhood of Alexandra, was always , looked upon an being patchy. Nevertheless, some patches ob-ta-wed from claims there were sufficient to ltsouce miners doing a deal of work aloug the entice slope of the hiO. Xho great drawback to taining ou Tucker Hill was the scarcity of water, and until recently it was considered ualifcely that sufficient gold existed there to warratrt- any great outlay in procuring and bringing on water to work the deposit. Kecently, however, a party of miners thought better of tha matter, and want to work and succeeded ia bringing in water from a distance of 20 miles, and lam happy to'be able to state that the vesture is a thorough suceees, the gold, obtained since the water was ftret brought on being quite up'to the party's most sanguine expectations.

To the east of Tucker Hill

THE MAXOE33O-KN CBBEK

empties into tha Manuberifeis, and from its source ia the Dismal Swamp its' eouisa ia through country that U more or less auriferous. "Very little prospecting hes been dona in the upper reacbeo of this creek. The country ia very much broken, and little or no deposit of any Mud ia to ha foood to exist in the precipilous steeps along the entire course of the creek until nsatiug...ita ooafluenca with the

Mnnnherikia river. There a quartz ■ drift underlies a shallow gohist; deposit, snd boa etrata are highly auriferous. ' . - -■•;''. About two years ago thQ.qiiarte' drift, on bsing prospected for the firstTti:M;(piwipus to this the drift, was supposed to be the bottom underlying the deposit of schistose shingle), was found to contain gold in highly payable quantities. A rush set in to the place, and some good returns were, and are now. b»ing obtained from claims upon this new field, known as the Manorbura or ; '~■

THE OTAGO CENTRAL COOI-GAEDIS GOLBECBtD. About 30 miners are worbiug ;oa this field at present, and as the, deposit is. apparently extensive it is probable the gold extends over a large area of country, and remunerative employment will be found here for some years to come. •. '■ '-' : ::-. "; ..•: :; : ~-) ...

On the east bank of the Molyneux, and quite near the .township of Alex«ndra; is therninrag property of '.' ,;■■ ..

THE MOLYNEDX HYDEAUHC SLXJICING ;'; ■■• ■"'■■.•■ .-.■■ /COMPANY. ■ '■;. :.! . .■■-,•-

This company was formed some five or six years ago for the purpose of testingthe auri.ferouß; drifts on the b*n!ffi of; the river.' A splendid water supply .was purehiisea qr/k'aaed from the Alexandra Borough Council, the mining plant.of the Commiasionera Flat Gold Mining Company was purchased at thestimei of that company going .into liquidation; ond a:starfc was made upon ground that was'thought to he fairly neb. This gronnc," however^"proved to be not quite as rich..an, it,was enp^bsed to be, and recently, acting' npdn r the suggestion of one of ths-, directors, tiio plast was shifted to another = part -:'of '-tTia claim, where, fortunately, very fair returns are now being obtained. Owing to the wash being much below the level of the river,' an<T not ou£ ficient pressure ,being obtainable to lift it with any great convenience, .the company have proposed putting on, a dredge to, work the dpeoer portions of the drift. Shares are being taken up rapidly in this new venture, as it ia kno.wa payable wash exists in. the; claim, and aehorfc time from now we may expect to hear of pay* able gold returns being obtained^ ' The business of all tnose emplojed: upon tha goldfields mentioDed is execated at Alexandra, snd that fact alone,will show what an iorocntanf; little place it must be. , ■ ■ ; . |'N Owingto Mr Kilmaa haying had ~ " -

:. ■'-. ; A POCNDRY ■■"' ■; ■': put up iacoanectionwith his blacksmith's shop, it is posrible to procure castiogs and all other fittings thati'miniog companies may require, without having to send to Dunedin for them,as formtrly, which transaction was always expensive and very often entailed a vast amount of delay and loiw of time. Mr.KilmEn's foundry is considered ono of the moit complete of its Mnd outsida Dane.din—planes, turning lathes^ steam hammer, rivet and iron cutter; in fact, everything in coniiEction with works of the sort, are to be seen working here; and I have only'to add that Mr Kilman's energy is assuredly /deserving of success. ' ... ."

Oa the opposite bank of theriver to the one on which the township i 6 situated an extensive piece of flat arable land stretches away to the base of the Old. Man Range, whose serried slopes are: now white- with the recent fall ef enow. All over this flat snug little farms and comfortable-looking homesteads are to be seen. It is here "'.-. ': :"'.■ :'"...'"'" '.''.■/

... .' .. THE FRUIT GAfiDENS, • ■ are situated. Piuit of all kinds.is growing fcere succeaofully, bat the peaches, and,plums are undoubtedly the most suecessfol; while strawberries are so plentiful duriDg the season that >

many tous of this deliciousfruic arb allowed to rot, as it »ill dot pay to gather them and send them to Dunedin owing to cartigerates being so very high.

That Alexandra has a promising futara is beyond all doubt. The present flourishing condition of the mining industry in.its neighbourhood will continue for many years to come. Its inhabitanta are both persevering and energetic, acd so loDg as they sire so success mnsfe be ensnredj their industries will flourish, and they will have earned for themssly«s tiie proud appellation of being hard-working and industrious colonists.

— A nsw naphtha foaat of remarkable yield has bsen gtrucfc'nfior Baku. The output, which is eTCctcj with uheoutroll»ble force, ia computed atabout 15,000 tons per day. All the available reFecvoirs ba\"e beea filled, and' the oil is now being run off ioro the Caspian Sea. So fer all attempts to batten down the outrush have been fruitltffis. The icicle iron stakes: used in these endssvours are shattered like matchwood.

jw—The origin of the "Red Handl" ia accounted for as follows:—In an ancient expedition to Ireland it was given out who ever fiisfc touched the shore should cossess the t»r>-ifcory •R-hie-h it touched. O'Neill seeing another boat Jikslyto outstrip his own, cus off his left hand and throw it on the coast. From this O'Neill the princes of Ulster were descended, the motto of the u'Neilis being to'ibis day the "Bed Hand of Erin."