EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26915, 29 October 1948, Page 4

EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

,• . . FROM THE FILES OF THE ©tago ©atl£ {Tunes DUNEDIN, OCTOBER 29, 1863. “The ship Bengal has made a wonderfully fortunate passage from Welshpool, though out 17 days and detained by easterly weather for eight days consecutively. She brings a very large freight of cattle, sheep and horses without the loss of a single head. Her sheep are all fat and out of 200 head of cattle on board, 50 are fat, forming a very opportune sup- ' ply, the market being at present quite bare of fat stock. There was no other vessel at Welshpool while she was loading, and the barque, Kate Waters, had not arrived up to the time of her t departure.”

“The scheme of opening up the navigation of the Molyneux, or the grand entry of communication to the interior, will be considerably ad- ■ ( vanced by the opening of stores at j the junctions of the Pomahaka and ‘ Tuapeka and this has now been undertaken at both these places., Goods ■r' will also soon be forwarded to the i - different diggings by this route at a . ■ cost which is likely to demonstrate plainly its advantages in cheapness and saving of time. The steamer . , -Tuapeka continues to make her trips V-J. regularly, and arrangements have lately been made for the construction of jetties and other conveni..'ences with all necessary speed.”

‘ “We continue to receive numerous flattering accounts concerning the new goldfield at the Taieri. A man who ' returned from the field yesterday, and ■■ ’ who, while on the ground had ample • 'opportunities of ascertaining the ' • general feeling of the miners m- «■’ 'Torms us that, with the exception of that class of diggers known in'mining parlance as ‘duffers,’ the miners were • 'all doing well, some' obtaining fair wages, and many securing rich returns. Our informant states that he witnessed a washing from one cradle yield 18oz in five hours; this was at a claim not far from that of the prospectors. The owners • assserted that from one hole about two feet deep they had obtained several pounds ' weight. In other claims similar good results had been obtained, while in •'others only a few ounces -had been found. A new rush to a place about 20 miles from the prospectors’ gully had taken place on Monday, but the precise locality was not known. The general impression of the experienced miners on the ground is that V. if the gold can be traced into the hills, the district will prove one of the -V' richest goldfields in the world, as the country for miles round presents similar appearances.”