GABRIEL'S GULLY. JUBILEE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15101, 25 March 1911, Page 14

GABRIEL'S GULLY. JUBILEE.

SOME FURTHER REMINISCENCES.

Exoept in tho case of thceo who kept diaries, the reminiscences of persons who took part in the rush to Gabriel's Gully and other goldfields are somewhat scrappy, and' after tne lapse of 50 years it is difficult. to write them. \ye give this week extracts from some of tho narratives forwarded to bho secretary of tho Jubilee Committee.

HENRY NOT. Mr H. Noy, of Lees street, Dunedin, writes:— I was ono of a pairty of six who came down from Ohristchurch in the steamer Airedale. I think tho fare waa £2. The passengers were olaocd in the hold on a kind' of half-deck, and at the bottom of the helkl was a team of bullocks and a lot of shoep, the sinell from which was so strong tihat I preferred to shay on deck all night, although it rained continuously -fill the way from Lyttelton _to Port Chalmers. The steam chest beinß tho wannest placo I oould find, I remained there till daylight. On our arrival at Port Chalmers another treat lay m storb for us. We got over the side of the Airedale into a little boat, of which I do not remember the name, to come up to Dunedin. It was about the middle of August, 1861, and the snow was lying on tho hills all around. When about halfway up, ono of the steam pipes pave way, and there we were stuck for about three hours out'in the harbour. It was a, clear, moonlight night, and freezing as hard as rooks. However, the engineer (his head was on deck when he was in the engine room) at last succceded in fixing his steampipe, and we got up to Dunedin all right, but perishing with cold and' hunger. I don't think wo had anything to eat' from the time wo left Lyttelton. We • stayed in Diinodin three days, andi purchased flour, bacon, sugar, and tea, and' materials for t. California pump, which wo never used. We sent them up by bullock dray, at the rate of £95 per ton, via Maungatua.

We reached tie' Gully after a tramp of Dearly three- days, oarrying our swags. It was a mild evening when wo entered Gabriel's, and after setting up tibe tent on some sticks such as were used there for firewood, fold getting some fern to lie on, we turned in, to find whon we awoke in the morning the tent bonne down nearly on top of us by the weight of snow that had fallen during the night. A thaw set in, and much against my inclination; wc shifted in tilie mud and slush: up to nearly opposito the Blue Spur. We started to put down a bit of paddock, at the uppsr part of the Gully, but too much water compelled us to give it up. I remember seeing a small shatt, neatly slabbed, not far from where wo started,, but no ono was working at it. We afterwards worked a little balow the reef that ran nearly aoross the Gully ("we" being my father and brother and myself), and I mind one evening after ceasing work there was a thunderstorm away on the hills at the head'of the Gully, which must have been accompanied by a waterspout or cloudburst. A perfect river of water nan down the Gully, levelling the claims and washing away sluice-boxes, tubs, and such things that were used in the claims. We used a long-tom all the time we were there Wo paid 30s for two boards and' the making of it to'a pair of sawyers right up at (■•he head of the Gully. • I omitted to say that wo went up by way of Tokomairiro, and after a stay of about nino months came down to Dunedin by the Waipori road. We did fairly well, but I knew very little about mining, although I come from a mining county, for I was born'and lived for 22 years in Penzanoe, Cornwall. Wo eventually went back_ to Christchuroh, and went to work again in the same shop that wo had left. - In 1865 I went to the West- Coast, remaining there till 1898, and bringing up a family of three sons and threo daughters. Fortune is. said to knock once at every man's door—it did not knocik very 'hard at mine; but I am content, for I have lived long enough to know that that is the best way after all. I was 73 years of age in August. In concluding, I wiali to pay. a tribute of respeot to tihose who are gone and those who are left of the old worthies of the Gabriel's Gully miners A finer body of , men never pioneered any country, and. but for the' work dono bv tho early miners' of' Gabriel's and' other goldfields, Now Zealand might not have been in the advanoed position it is in today. THOMAS HONEYGHTTRCH.

Mi; Thomas Honeydhureh, Arrow, in the course of his narrative, writes:— I came to New Zealand in the sailing vessel Alice Vanhard (Captain O'Brienj, with 300 or so , miners from Melbourne, landing at Port Chalmers in October, 186 L Wo walked to Dunedin, carrying our swags, and stayed there a couple of days. Then, carrying our swags all the way, we walked to Gabriel's, going through Waitahilna, where I bought one of the first loaves of the . first batch that was baked there, paying 4s 6d for it Provisions wero scarce and very dear. Meat was Is a pound, and we lived 1 mostly on black tea, with damper baked in the ashes. Our party, consisting of a mate, John Goran, myself, and _ some others, started to work at the junction of Gabriel's and Wetherstonc's Creek. We bad no luck there, and shifted farther up Gabriel's Gully,' but wero not more fortunate there, so camo back towards Wetherstones, and started a "claim about where the railway station is now, where we made small wages. 'Alien we left Tuapeka for a few weeks, going to the Dunstan Rush, always walking and ewagging. I returned to Tuapeka, whero I stayed till 1880, and left there for Dunedin, afterwards coming to Arrow, whore I brought my wife aiid family, and where we have resided ever since. The method of working the claims was by tin dish panning, and afterwards j cradling and sluicing. J. R, KEMP.

Mr J. R. Kemp, of Dunedin, left Melbourne for Otago with over 300 other passengers on January 2, 1862—the second day of the first match against English cricketers that played in Australia. The ship Nor'-western arrived at the Port about tho middle of January, and the passengers were shipped into a small steamer for Dunedin, and landed at a jetty near where the premises of Moritzson and Co. and R. Wilson and Go. are now, at the corner of Bond street. Mr Kemn proceeds:—l was greatly taken with the trip up the harbour—there wero 60 many small bays and inlets to be seen, and tho various hills on both sides o[ the harbour were so nicely clotihcd with vegetation, such a contrast to most parts of Victoria that I had seen. I and several others camped that night somewhere about tho site of the prer sent Southern Cemetery. At that time thero was a sort of 6mall dairy near by. Tho next morning several of us, havin? heard a dray was up to Gabriel's, made a bargain for the man to take up oar swags, we walking alongside or behind the drav. I forget where wo camped the firet night, but wo got into Gabriel's Township about tho middle of an afternoon. The dray drew up in front of a. new stable, seemingly just finished; and as it came on to rain, most of us rushed for our 6wags and went into the stablo. It rained all the afternoon, and in tho evening someone wanted lis to leave; but we refused to tarn out. Then we wero told; that we would have to pay 2s each, which we cheerfully dids and soon spread our blankets •• in the different 6talls on nice clean straw. I never' had a better night's sleep than that night. A lot of us had a look round Gabriel s Gully, which soomed to be gettintr abandoned, owing to the rush at WaitahuHo, and I soon m;ido tracks for there. About this time it rained far several week-: —so different from Victoria,—and as a oonsequonce of tho wet and the change of water dysentery was very prevalent, many of the dippers dying. I was very nearly one of tli© dead ones. My tent neighbours gavo me up, I was so weak and bad; and there wore no comforts or suitable food to be had. However. I got batter somehow or other. I worked at Waitahuna and its neighbourhood and towards Waipori, with varying sucoes6. A few of us wcukl go pig-feinting at times. Then came tlw news of Hartley and Reilly's discovery at or near tho Dunstan, and thero was grtat excitement amongst the diggers, especially thoso who ware not very sucotesful in their then claims. Some parties all left their claims, in other cases one or two would leave, tho rest working until they heard news from their mates as to the prospects of the new rush. The bank at Waitahima was every day and lata into tho night with diggers, somo loaving bags of gold for safe keeping, others soilin their gold for cash to take with them. Thero was a great run on the stores for provisions, especially floor, tea, aid sugar,

and also new billies, prospecting dishes, and other tools. I and two mateis started, currying about 601b weight each. We passed through Waipori, nod dinner there' at eomo restaurant, and crossed tho Lammerlaw Ranges. It was splendid frosty, dry, sunny weather. Had it been otherwise hundreds mrust (have perished on the Lamme'rlaws. When near the top, on looking back ono oould seo kindreds toiling up tho mountains, tho weather beine so clear and the diggers' new dishes and billies (lashing under tho effect of the sun ahininfc on them. On the Dunston side, when near tho top, we oould seo perhaps hundreds in front for miles below, the flashing of the dishes and billies showing them travelling. After travelling about & mild down the mountain, when it was near evening, we eaw a. nice sheltered rook, and as we preferred; it to erectine our tents, we boiled our billy, had supper, and turned in. Next monrrng we started ' early, and when we had gone about an« or two miles the Taieri River, which had to be crossed, lay in front of us. We had to take off ail onr lower garments and wadfl it, tho water being- above our knees. ■ 1 shall never forget how cold the water was! It was early morning, the month of August, and snow-water at that, melted only a fow miles away. About noon we had to oross the Taieri again, but it was not 60 cold this time, as it was later in the dav. and the water farther from the snow. Wo reached the Dunstan eaiely, but I need not hers enter on our further experiences.