THE GRACE CASE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23831, 10 June 1939, Page 25

THE GRACE CASE

FAMOUS CLAIM RECALLED SHOTOVER MINERS' DISPUTE MR JOHN COLLINS'S RECOLLECTIONS Vivid recollections of one of the most famous events in the goldmining history of Central Otago—the Grace Case—are retained by Mr John Collins, of Queenstown, who was the second white child born in the Shotover Valley, and whose father was one of the early partners on the claim that was the cause of a lengthv and expensive court case and ci considerable interest in New Zealand and overseas.

It was just 70 years ago that a party of men pegged off a claim on Pleasant Valley Terrace in the Shotover Valley. Included in the party were Mr Collins's father, a i «.r named Grace, and J. Quinn, who were ex-policemen from Wood's Point in Victoria. Grace was the leader of the party and it was his name that was later to become famous. On a neighbouring claim was another party of miners including the Englishmen, H. Eager. H. and J. Moore, and John Elliott. All went well for a time but Grace's party was soon to experience trouble for it dawned on Collins and Quinn that the party was driving on to the neighbouring claim and they refused to have anythinr to do with such an undertaking. Consequently, the partnership was dissolved and the two men left the claim. They returned later however, and worked for wages, which, of course, put them on a different ff -ting trom the legal point of view. Grace's party continued to operate 0:1 the neighbouring claim with highly gratifying results, but the fact that rich returns were being obtained was kept a guarded secret. Suspicions Aroused The secret was well kept for some time and the party's gold hoard grew. Then Grace bought a racehorse, a purchase that aroused some suspicion in Eager's camp for the neighbouring miners were not thought to be having much success. Grace bought a second racehorse, which was a charger in the 42nd Regiment that was engaged in the Maori War. It was stated to be a good hurdler and it must have cost a considerable sum to buy it and bring it all the ' ay south. This heightened the suspicion in Eager's camp and then followed an event that help-d -to bring matters to a head. Grace took his new racehorse to a race meeting at Stoney Creek Terrace uid tried to get someone to ride him in a steeplechase. No one would take on the job and so Grace made a wager of £SOO that he would ride the horse over the jumps himself and win. It came as a surprise to most people there that he was able to put down a large proportion of the money. Just to show how confident he was at riding his horse to victory he went to the starting point smoking a Meerschaum pipe. At the cry "They're off!" Grace went away to a flying start and did weh until he came to the first hurdle where the charger baulked and Grace went sailin* on. Spectators ran to assist him and when they arrive he told them that he had swallowed his pipe. A search was made and no pipe could be found so that h'.s story was never disproved. It is interesting to note that on this course a Chinese jockey, Jimmy Yip, rode a horse named Spoontr for a storekeeper called Bordeaux, and also rode a horse for another storekeeper, G. Miller, of Packer's Point. This was the only occasion on which a Chinese jockey rode at a race meeting in the district.

This eventful race caused Eager's party to take action and so they applied to the court for a right to have Grace's workings surveyed. They were granted an injunction by the court but Grace retaliated by building a strong double gate at the entrance to the tunnel. This gate was strongly padlocked and no one was allowed to enter it to survey and inspect it. Over-ground surveys of the shaft were made and these convinced Eager and his colleagues that their neighbours were trespassing on their ground. After a short discussion they decided to take action.

A Midnight Investigation

Choosing a dark night, Eager ana the two Moore brothers broke open the gates of the tunnel and followed the shaft a long distance in. Suddenly they saw the flicker of a light in the distance and turned about to race back. No one pursued them and they returned to their camp

without being discovered. They decided afterwards that the light was nothing more than wildfire rising from the damp ground at the end of the tunnel.

Brief though' the visit was, however, the three men were convinced then that Grace's party was working a considerable area of their ground, and so they took the matter to court. Grace and his partners were in a position by that time to spend large sums on defending Eager's action, and he brought the best legal men of the day from Dunedin. Grace alone had a banking account of £BOOO, and he and his colleagues were prepared to spend hundreds of pounds fighting the case. They appealed, upset surveys, and did everything money nould do to retard the progress of Eager's claim. Meanwhile, Grace employed a large number of sawyers cutting timber in the neighbouring bush, and engaged three teams of packhorses dragging the timber to the claim. Wages men were rushed on to the claim, so that Grace's party could win as much gold as possible before the case was decided. They ceased to sell much gold and began to devise ways of hoarding it. A man named McHardy, who had a store at Packer's Point, held in trust a considerable amount of gold, but he became afraid of keeping such large quantities in his possession and refused to take any more. Hoard Under Hen Roost Grace then suggested that they should give the gold-to one of the partners to hide, and it is here that Mr Collins's connection with the case commences. A man named M. Dwan was the one selected to take the gold, and he buried £ 1350 worth of gold in his henhouse. One day John Collins was playing with the young nephew of Dwan near the fowlhouse. "We won't go near the fowlhouse, John," said the lad. "Uncle planted a lot of gold there the other morning." Neither lad thought anything more about it, and this is the first time in all probability that the information has been made public. The gold remained under the henroost for three months, after which it was removed to a safer hidingplace. Dwan took it to the branches at the head of the Shotover and gave it to his brother-in-law, who kept it until the law case was settled. Other lots of gold were sold privately whenever possible. After months of expensive litigation, the famous Grace case was settled out of court, and Grace and party agreed to pay the English miners £4OOO. The claim was later nut on the market and a company was floated by Grace and party with a large capital. Grace and his partners sold all their shares and a new company operated the claim. Mr F. Evans, who was afterwards manager of the Bullendale mine, was appointed manager, and he introduced new methods for working the area. He enlarged the tunnel considerably and used horses to pull trucks of wash to the boxes. This is the only time, Mr Collins believes, that horses were used underground in gold mines in the Shotover—probably in New ZealandSpending the Fortunes Mr Collins followed with interest the activities of the partners after the settlement of the case. Eager and his colleagues dissolved partnership and scattered to different parts of the country. Mr Collins recalled that H. Moore took his brother's share of the £4OOO as well as his own and went to Dunedin where he rented a flat and bought some game cocks. He had a memorable few days during which he gambled away all his brother's and his own money. He then returned to the Shotover Valley with the hope of making another fortune.

Grace and his partners embarked in various ventures after the settling of the claim. Dwan took on sheepfarming, and in the severe winter of 1878 lost all his money. Grace, with racehorsing and unsuccessful farming, also lost his fortune. Another partner, McGurk, took up land at Garston and was considerably more successful. Another, D. L. Leyden, bought house property in Dunedin and managed to retain most of his money, but his brother lost almost everything he had in hotel and storekeeping. D. L. Leyden died in Dunedin a few years ago in his ninetieth year. Another partner sought his native Tipperary, where he spent the rest of his life in peace and plenty. But fortune did not smile very brightly on the partners in the famous case after they had wrested great riches from the Pleasant Creek terrace.