THE BOOM OVER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21829, 16 December 1932, Page 10

THE BOOM OVER

GRANITES GOLD FIELD MANY PROSPECTORS STRANDED, (From Our Own Correspondent;) SYDNEY, November 24. ' The boom associated with the Granites goldfield in Central Australia is over—definitely over—and several of the more influential syndicates interested in expensive options have withdrawn. Independent geologists have published reports that are distinctly unfavourable, and when the history of the boom comes to be written it will involve the linking together of a sad story of scores of disillusioned prospectors who lost all they possessed and wore ruined in health. Then again, speculative losses on the Stock Exchange probably run into £300,000. The Granites market was controlled mainly from Melbourne and Adelaide, and there were some spectacular rises in the shares of companies reputed to have the best options. In all the public subscribed £112,160 to these undertakings. At one time most of the shares were at a substantial premium. Granites Gold, a Melbourne company, enjoyed the most spectacular market. Prom a comparatively small premium at £l2 in September, they rose to £45 in a few days and continued their rise to £BS on September 30. They arc now changing hands round about £5.

Pitiful stories are reaching civilisation ef the plight of the misguided men who went to the Granites. Men who have travelled all oeer the world agree that the 375 miles from the railhead at Alice Springs to the field is the worst trip it is possible to imagine. There is a serious shortage of water, and that which is obtainable Is infected, and those who drink it without taking many precautions suffer terribly, notably from dysentery. The heat at this time of the year is more than the average man can bear, and the millions of flics constitute an aggravating menace. There are various other animal pests to be contended with, and only the stoutest constitution can be expected to survive the privations. Unfortunately there has been no check on the constitution of the men who were anxious to try their luck, and they went into this dangerous country ill-equipped and unprepared, and are suffering accordingly.

Following on the circulation of reports that various companies would operate on a large scale a number of men were attracted to Alice Springs in the hope that they would find employment at the Granites. Now hundreds of them arc stranded, and an appeal is being made to the Federal Government to come to their aid. Scores of men arc camped close to Alice Springs, a town which can barely support its own meagre population, and the suffering of these men is growing more serious every day. It can not be long before the Government takes some action and arranges for their return to Adelaide. In certain quarters the Government has been severely criticised for not placing some check on the men who wore anxious to try their luck at the Granites. Some men who will not listen to the advice of, experts are still pushing on to the Granites, and this has led Mr C. M. Yeomans, a mining engineer with world wide experience, to issue a grave warning. “Unless something happens,” ho said the other day, “the Granites will be the scone of a great desert tragedy before Christmas. The track from Alice Springs will be strewn with the bones of foolhardy men if they persist in making this journey. The field is like the famous Death Valley of California. In a shade temperature that hovers between 115 and 120 degrees during the day typhoid fever stares these men in the face. Men without oven camel transport, with just the clothes they wear, ami neither money nor a week’s food are pushing on towards the Granites. These men are walking into a land of horror. They will not listen to reason, so they should be stopped by law. Not only will they throw away their own lives, but the lives of others who will have to go out and search for them.”

Mr C. T. Madigan, lecturer in geology at the Adelaide University, who had just returned from the Granites field, tells a vivid story of the privations of the miners, half of whom are laid up with illness. Because of lack of equipment and capable miners development work was at a standstill. It was unfortunate that the boom should have occurred at this time of the year, for conditions would become worse ns the summer advanced. Vegetables and fresh meat were unknown. Beer was 4s Gd a bottle and everything else was proportionately dear. Somewhat belatedly the Federal Government announced on Monday that an inquiry would be hold into the plight of the men stranded at Alice Springs and at the Granites. It is expected that, as a result, definite action will be taken to control the traffic out of Alice Springs so as to avoid the unnecessary risk of life.