THE LURE OF GOLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19218, 8 July 1924, Page 4

THE LURE OF GOLD.

STORY 01'' EARBY DIGGING DAYS. To Hargreaves, a gold-se-ekcr who, shortly Ix-lore had leturncd from the Caliionijati fluids, tho honour bolong’s of being the 'first, prison to demonstrate practically t lio existonco of extrusive goldfields in Australia (says the Melbourne Age) His claim was ccki owiodgcci by tho Legislature of l.ht; then colony in a. reward of £IO,OOO. But long before this discovery the old South Sea. whalers, who used to refit at Sydney, (old many a yarn about gold (hey had bartered fre-m tho convicts. It. is stated that the <onvicts in culling- a road over the Bine Mountains in 1814 found gold, but one of thorn who had invented (i story to that effect received 100 strokes of tho eat probably tho others kept their stories to themselves.

In tho 10 years prior to 1850 tho gold fever Ixcga-n to develop. Small nuggets wero frequently brought into the towns, but the first, indication of a regular supply was whom an old shepherd named Slacgregor was noticed to bring into Sydney periodically small parcels of gold, which ho sold to the jewellers." He was watched, but ho was cautious in his movements, and gave no clue as lo the whereabouts of his secret treasure. Eventually it was found that tho, gold was taken from Mitchell’s Creak, where the sheep run was. On AX a .v o, 1850, it was reported in Sydney that

several ounces of gold had been found on the Swmmorhill Creek, in tho Bathurst region. A few days later it was announced that a nugget eight ounces in weight had been found by the same party. A rush set in, and within a week over 400 jioojde wore at work, each with a. tin dish, and with rare exceptions they obtained one or two, ounces a day. The claims of various discoverers wero discussed, but eventually the reward money was paid to Hargreaves. The gold fever then broke out in full force. Soon almost tho entire working population cf tho colony was on its way to Iho diggings, and every incoming vessel brought, scores of gold seekers, particularly from the Californian fielda Remarkable stories of fresh discoveries were circulated. One of the genuine stories related to the) find made by a. native shepherd who had been educated at one of (ho church missions. Ho astonished his employer (Dr Kerr), by reporting that ho hud found a block of gold. He said that on tlwi sheep; run he had found something shining just above the surface, and, clearing away the rock with his tomahawk, bad unearthed a big piece cf yellow metaj. Concealing he started immediately for home. Dr Kerr saddler) his noise and was quickly on the spot. The, native had not exaggerated his find. There lay before him blocks of quart-/ containing at least a hundred-weight of gold. It was a truly magnificent find, f-ir hevond anything libherlo known. AA'it'n tile help of his native. Dr Kerr was able to retry away auriferous reel: worth £SOOO, Although Dr Kerr was the main benefactor, he gave to the native what-was belter for him tlia.n gold—a flock of sheep, a horse, a tc>m of bullocks, and sufficient land for a fino farm. Dr Kerr's good fortune naturally aroused genuine excitement Within th ree months of tho discovery of gold in Now South Wales a miner named Esmonds, who, like Hargreaves, had beer, in California,, discovered gold at Climes, in Victoria. Here again there were rival claimants (o tho reward for discovery. A souetter named Campbell declared that ho knew of the existence of gold in the colony 12 months before Esmonds arrived, hut that, fearing tho disturbing effect of the announcement, he kept it to himself. Other strualters -pressed claims, but the Colonial Secretary found tint (he Government had no money with which to reward anybody, and all tho claims were abandoned. Although there was no reward, those discoveries proved to bn of extraordinary richness. Tho first find at Olunes was a piece of gold weighing 21 h. his was obtained from quartz, end as this class of mining involved great, labour the prospectors searched the neighbouring country, and n s a result Ballarat was discovered, Within a month Ballarat was a mining (own, with streets of canvas tents end crowds coming into it; at the rate of 500 a day. The authorities had to meet an extremely trying situation. There was wholly insufficient shelter for tho new arrivals, and little food, while sanitation was not considered. No power existed to enforce the law or regulate the conditions of life in the new settlement. But what cared the miners? Gold was being washed out at the rale of ]ooz a day to each minor. For a time it was impossible to find anyone who was prepared to follow any other pursuit. Male servants and minor Government officials threw up their positions and turned to gold seeking Even the higher officials lieco.’np dissatisfied, for it was easier to pick up £3O io £4O a day on the diggings than to res! content with £lO or even £2O a week in the (owns. Frantic letters were written to the Colonial Office for instructions as to how to deal with the situation.

So rich was the soil at Ballarat, especially. that few' qf the work ins? miners failed to get, a share of the gold yield. At length llic necessity for establishing Crown rights at the diggings led to the appointment of a Commissioner, a police system, and a gold escort. It was at first decreed that a minor should pay a fee of 30s a month for a. license to dig. After further consideration this fee was raised to £3 a month, l ho outcry, however, became so groat that (he fee was quickly reduced to the former sum. This action only 'partly allayed the discontent, end the collection of the license money became a work of great difficulty, hhis discontent was increased by' tho folly of the (Government, in sending out, armed police to collect tlie revenue. Diggers were hunted down, shots were exchanged, and so exasperated was the population of Ballarat that an open revolt occurred, under the leadership of Pel-er Lnlor, and the Eureka Stockade affair became known m history as Australia’s first blow 1 for liberty. The entrenched miners wore defeated, and 30 were killed, but their cause wa s won. Pci or Lalor and other ringleaders were brought to trial, hut the revelations at that trial of th« brutality to which the miners had been subjected led to their triumphant acquittal, and (he Homo Government was glad to let the matter rest. Peter Lalor lost an arm in the fighting, .and a price had boon set on bis head, but tho colonists rewarded him with a scat in Parliament, and the Parliamentarians appointed him t.licir Speaker, a post ho filled with a dignity and capacity that have never been surpassed. Most of the (rouble on the gold fields was duo to the folly of tho authorities in placing in authority a set of young, insolent, and imperious men, who, ' having control of (he police, ordered the collection of tho license money to he made quite regardless of the personal feelings of the (axed? There was a coarse brutality in their work had a maddening effect, on the minors. Men were dragged off to the Government camp and were fined if their licenses were not instantly produced. If they remonstrated they were handcuffed and often fastened to trees for the night. One police inspector, who originally was a blacksmith, a large athletic fellow, was allowed practically lo work his will at the diggings. His riding whip, which was famous all over •ho country, had a brass knob on the end as big as a good-sized apple. He called it Ids “green apple, 7 ’ and wilb it be knocked down, without the slightest ceremony. anyone who ventured to resist him. On one occasion when tho notice under him refused to (ire a t°nt in which were several children as'oep the inspector leapt from his horse, seized a flaming brand from a fire near by, and set fire to the tent. The owner of the tent, a woman, contrived to snatch up her baby, and with the other children managed to scramble out. of the burning tent. Por two years this monster’s car-' °r continued, but eventually he was dismissed from the service. Subsequently be admitted that cut of blackmail he had cleared £15.000. For such causes ns these the name Kureka came to bo written in Australian history.

There were some remarkable finds of gold at Ballarat, Out of one hole a party of twelve took £35.000 worth, another party of eleven get, 4?II> of sold each, and a third party cf eight cleared £30,000. One mine)- who had been o il cf luck came upon a 231 h nugget. Intensely excited, lie disposed of it at once. Buying a horse, ho redo in every direction where he eould get a, drink, shouting out all the I line that he was the miner who had found tho great nugget. It was not, surprising that lie should have ended the clay by riding full tilt into a tree and dashing nut his brains. The alluvia! dirt that produced the greater wortion of the gold found at that time at Bidhirnt was the principal feature that distinguished the diggings there from the uuartz-hearing nvk at Bendigo. It. lay in a rich bottom of eons idem bio extent, wiih an almost pre, initials hill risimr to He right, at the base of which was a creek. On its banks for more than half a mile the cradling or w ashing for gold was carried on. '('ben came Ihe Dish to the Ovens, and n 11 hough the vi-hl at firs I was about £30.0C-0 a week' (he great bulk of ihe diggers made little money, for there were on Ihe field. At the close of I RSI there was a rush lo Mount Ale'-imler. The report was spread that, bags of (fold were liierall v shovelled up and fortunes made in a week. No doubt there were many remarkable finds, gold being taken up with penknives a few inches below tho surface.

and in tolerable profusion. One miner had the luck to fill a quart pot with nuggets during the course of a day’s work. In a month’s time there were three tons of gold in the Commissioner’s possession awaiting tho arrival of the gold escort. But the veins wore soon exhausted, and new fields wore sought for. Forty thousand people gathered at Forest Creek (now known as Oastlomaino), but a year later the diggings were almost deserted.

In those gold-hunting days Bendigo soon became the principal field in Victoria, being more productive than Ballarat or Mount Alexander, and affording scope for a greater number of diggers. Tho appearance of the place was more like that of a mining population.. The people took to minim* with an air of determinations to stick to it whether they were immediately -successful or net. They built huts, dug shafts, and formed themselves into business-like, divi-dend-paying companies, recognising fully the value of co-operation. The result in about 12 months’ time was that valley beyond valley was perforated, and gold extracted from the auriferous earth, while the hills in the neighbourhood were bored withshaits 40ft anil 60ft deep, .and undermined in quest of gold. The borings in the while quartz hills yielded as much as £IOOO a man. Now and again nuggets were dug up like potatoes at only a foot deep, but tho general character of the field was that there were no groat prizes and few blanks. On, this account the population was quieter and bettor, and more settled than at the older fields. It was not surprising, therefore, that Bendigo soon became a household word in England, particularly among tho Cornish miners.

The result of the gold fever was that in six months in 1852 nearly £4,000,000 in gold was sent from the various diggings. Tho average was about £250,000 a week. Bait it was the result of the work of 70,000 diggers, so that what each earned was small. Simultaneously there was a land fever, and soon fortunes wore made out of the sale and resale of land in tho towns, the buyers being mainly successful diggers. And so were drawn to Australia the hardy pioneers who opened up tho country’s vast resources and laid the foundations of a ration, which in little more than half a century earned the respect and admiration of tho entire world.