JUBILEE OF GABRIEL'S GULLY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15098, 22 March 1911, Page 5

JUBILEE OF GABRIEL'S GULLY.

SOME PIONEERING EXPERIENCES.

MB, HUGH PATERSON. Mr Hush Faterson, Dundas street, Dimcdin, has supplied the following account of his told diggitg experience to tho J ubileo Committee:— I, # with my mates Josoph Oriiickshanks, David Rndlay, and John O'Neill, were all resident in Otap-o about 12 months prior to the Gabriel's Gully rush. (My dates are as nearly correct as pcssihlc, bit are subject to correction.) Joe and I wore employed in the lightering trado between Dunodin and Port Chalmers during the early part of 1861. and 1 might here mention that Joe had been on the. Victorian diggings for four or five years, and I had six months' experience there also. In March or April of the year 1861 a rush set in for tho Lindis, a district hard to get at except by way of Oamaru. I was anxious to get away with the crowd, but Joe, who llaid more experience in regard to rushes, said "No, wait until we hear of gold coming from there. We will then bo in plenty of time if the field is good. _ Joe's advice was good, for in a, short time, numbers came back with woeful talcs of their hardships and the absenou of payable gold. About the first or second Saturday in June it was rumoured in Port Chalmers that a man named G.ibricl Eead had' discovered a rich find <jf .gold in the Tuapeki district. I visited Dunedin that night, and found the inhabitants in a great state of excitement over the good news. the gold fever was contagious, I foil an easy victim. On the Monday morning following I .hired a horse from a Mr Ellis, who kept a livery stable at the north end of Great King street, at 15s per day. Tho journey on horseback took mo three daye to perform, andi imistico to the memories of tho deceased horse and owner I am franfc enough to admit it was not their fault that I took such a long time on the road. Tho first night I put up at the Taieri Ferry Hotel, kepi by a Mr Dwyer, and tho second I spent on' tho saddle of Mount Stuart. The- night was cold and frosty, and I had no rug or covering of any kind, and no shelter in the way of scrub. Pleasant, wasn't it? In the morning I saddJed up and made a start, and had not proceeded more than a mile when I sighted a tilted -waggon right, ahead, and on arrival was just in time to get a. warm cup of coffee, .etc. The party consisted of Mr Cnjlen and farm servants from tho East Taieri. bound for Gabriel's. I arrived at Gabriel's the same afternoon, and on the following n. f tcrncon a meeting was \ras held in the open air and I think that the late Mr J. L. Gillies was present, assisted by some of the old stock from Milton and the Taieri The object of the meeting was to form a Vigilance Commit; tee for the purpose of mutual protection, in tho anticipation of a rush of peonle from Australia. Tho general belief at that time was that the people from Australia had no respect for tho law of rheum and tuum; but the advent of the Australians on tho field soon exploded that belief, for a more ordorly crowd never visited any field, and I have seen a few, particularly on the West Coast of Now Zealand , . I spent two days in looking round and taking stock, and then I returned to Dunedin, taking two diivs on the way. On my arrival at Dunedin our party— whoso names are given above—was formed, and as tho stock of tents had run. short at tho tontmakers we had to make our ownnot a very difficult task for oM sailors. We got a sack of biscuits baked, and bought timber suitable for a California pump, a torn or cradlo. and alto canvas for the ipiirnp, and tho tools necessary for gold mminp. When on the visit to Gabriel's I noticed they had a lot of water to contend with, which necessitated continuous bailing with a bucket; hence my idea of the California pump. When wo were reade wo arranged with Sam Farrel to take our implements and stores to Tuapeka at the rate of £90 per ton. Our portv accompanied the dray containing our effects for this reason: 'i notioed when returning from Tuapeka that there wcro several drays bciggodi at Pcrocjg's Creek, -which necessitated their loading boing removed'by .hand to terra firma. On our arrival at tho bad place in tho road wo carried tho k)2d across, and evon then had a hard job to get the empty dray over to where it was reloaded. At' Milton I pointed out to Sam the advisability of halving his lead, as his team would not bo strong enough to take the full load right through to Gabriel's. My advice was taken, and rest assured that our miscellaneous lot was taken on, much to , the diegust ■ of_ those whoso goeds were left behind at Milton. I may eay that they had preceded us on foot, and were patiently awaiting our arrival; hence their disgust. On reaching the mouth of tho creek wo were unable to cross owing to the. flood.. . Wo camped there, and as the ground was 'eoaking wet we found the timber came. in usclful, when epread out under tho tent, by keeping our bodies clear of the damp jrround. \\hcn the fresh subsided Joe and I made our way up the flat to what was.since called Weathenstones, after the old man who was tho first to start digging there. We got a good prospect in a little side gnJly halfway up tho creek on the left hand side. I think it lay between what was known afterwards' as the Blue Spur and Post Office Hill. Uur method of saving tho gold was by means of a cradle, ami; our earnings were an ounce per man daily. There was not much ground to work, the creek being narrow, with the banks rising abruptly on both sides, especially the Brae Spur side. When worked out in the creek wo turned our attention to the back portion of the claim. Wo sunk a shaft and bottomed at 16ft, the washwirt from the bottom of tho shaft yielding ono pound weight of sold. Wo then erected a winch, and I claim, without fear of contradiction, that it was the first winch erected on >.he Tuapeka goldfields. The time was about the middle of, August, file washdirt was of a comenty nature, and m order to get tho gold out it had to to puddled. I mado a journey to Gabriel's, and succeeded in purchasing the half of a beer hogshead; and let me tell you it was w> oeey. matter to get it over the hill to AVeatherstones. I had to carry it on my head a la the "Merry Widow" hat, or, rather, the "Beehive" type. In driving underground we .had to be careful, as tho load wes no width. After working to our boundary wo tried cross-cutting, but did not succeed in getting payabkwashdirt. We then started sinking a shaft on tho crown of the spur—which I think was afterwards named Post Office Hill— and tc sunk to the depth of 30ft and then abandoned it. 1 hoard afterwards that someono bottomed our shaft, but what degree of success they met with I am iinahh to say, as our party left the (riillv for Dunedin about the middle of September. ii 7 i Ivcrc no rtores m Ollr t'mo at VUtherstonos. Mr M'Gill, floiirmillcr. of j Milton, occasionally made a tour of the different goldficlds with his bullock-drawn waggons, and the price of tho flour was £10 per sack of 2001b. At intervals a shepherd from the local run would drive round the various fields with a mob of 40 or 50 sheep, rho price per head was £1, and. understand, ycu had to be spry in catching your sheep. No waiting, or he would call the dogs off, saving, "I can't wait here ali day." _ At other times, if the larder wanted replenishing, we would start p'g-hunting--generally on Sunday—in a locality four or five miles distant in the direction of Upper \Yaitahuna.

lho weather during cur t.imo was vor.v severe, bot.h frost and snow." About the middle of July there was a very heavy fall of snow, necessitating the use "of a diovel to relievo the wciprht on our tents i;cvcni.i times during the day, and towards morning the ridge ]>ole showed siens of collapsing. When it dawned on us that some cno should get up and stave off the inevitable, the question was, "Who?" After a little argument it was decided that the man who was cook for the week should get up, and ias it was a case of three to one you can imagine who won. Ho did not. have a pleasant job, lot nio tell you, as lie had to tramp Itneo-deop in the snow to an adjacent clump of tot-nra to get a forked stick to support the ridgepole. A few nights inter the cook was reminded that as it was freezing hard ho had belter get in -his morning, water. Ho took a bucket and wended his way to the ereolc a short distance from (ho tout. The water hole was about two foot deep, with a bank on one side about one or two foct in lieight, and it was there we usually jcanr-d over and filled the bucket at one dip. (Mr cook was not long (rone when we heard an exclamation. "Oh!" and as lie noared the tent we heard loud muttering? r and I niav tell you it was not tho fiord's Pravcr ho was repeating, although I will admit that seme of tho words ho used may be met with in the Bible. On arrival i'nsido I.ho tent there wns no need lo ask what woe the mater, for our friend was holding his wet pants to provont t.hoir coining info contact with his skin. During the time ho was getting out of his wet clothing he was making irreverent remarks nbout the person w.hi made- New Zealand, and most uncomplimentary statements about tho unfinished condition of the same. In his calmer moments he informed us that when loaning over to fill the bucket ho sli'iipcd into thfl water hole. In t.ho foro part of these notes I stated, i that it took mo throu days on horseback to j reach Twapoka via, Milton. Later on I! >V{Ukod froiix Weihezstoiicfi fa Du&ediii. ui*.

Maungatua, a distance of S3 mites, 0:1 two separate occasions, in one day.

MR W. BIRSS.

Mr W. Birss, of Appleby, near Inveroargill, relates his experiences as follows:— . _ I arrived in Dimedin 'by the Storm Cloud in l£6o, and after a few months came u> Inverea-rfrill. Hearing of tho rush to Gabriel's Gully in 1861, a party of us set out to try our luck there, carrying swacs weighing 401b. We took four days to reach the place, as acme of the party wero Highlanders and striclty observed the Sunday iis a day of rest, and we spent it resting at the Molyneux. Wo reacted Tuapeka and staked out our claim at Gabriel's Gully, but found it too wet, ajid determined to try Munro's Gully, choosing a spot at the mouth of a small gully called "Holy Joe's." Thore were five of us, and our claim turned out a good one, and had wo been more experienced minors we could have made more out of it. We stayed three months, and our mining operations were carried out in a somewhat, cructa fashion. There were stores where wo usually obtained provisions, and onoo a week we bought a sheep from Mr Munrp, and as those of us who, were Highlanders could talk tho Gaelic with him, wo usually obtained a, fine specimen. It was boiled in an old oil dram, and served for breakfast, dinner, and tea for a week. Wo encountered a flour famine, awl- could not get any for lovo or money. However, one dby I ran across an old shipmate driving in with a load, and he said that every bag with tho exception of one was already bought and paid for, and though, that one was promised, if I paid and carried it off nothing would- be said. The money, £5, was at once forthcoming, and with tho help of my mates the unwioldly bag of 2001h was carried up the steep hill—one of tho heaviest lifts wo had,—and that night we rejoiced in fresh damper for tea.

Returning from tho diggings we had a fortunate escape, for we passed Garratt and his party setting up their tents. We were allowed to pass, biit tho next party woro stuck up and robbed of their hard-earned gold. Reaching Invercargill, I found work awaiting me, and thus ended my digging experiences at Tuapeka,