THE NEW RIVER AND LAKE ON THE WEST COAST.

Otago Witness, Issue 621, 24 October 1863, Page 4

THE NEW RIVER AND LAKE ON THE WEST COAST.

CAPTAIN ALABASTER'S ACCOUNT.

"We^ have been furnished with the following iateresting particulars concerning the fin-t discovery in June labt, by Captain Alabister, o: the River "aud Lake referred to by Dr Hector : —

Dunediu, 19th August, 183}. Mr Daniel Alabaster, about eleveu years engaged in the coasting trade of South New Zealaud, and long time mate of tbe Star, has ca'led upon me and reported that he entered a river called the Wakatipu, about four miles south of the Awarau, on tin West Coast, and the fol'owing is his information : We entu-ed on June 12th last, on boaid the Aquilla Found 12 feet on the bar nt high water; rine aud fall sor 6 feet. There was not a heavy surf, but there are three rocks in the channel ; but a craft of 40 or 50 tons can easiiy avoid these by keeping close to the spit. WeLt up the river srix or seven rnifes by the bends, and entered a lake about fifteen miles in length aud anchored at the head of the same.

The surrounding land is not mountainous till some distance from margin of the Lake. Ground is covered with forest. Level lan 1 very fertile. Abundance ot pigs. An island at the hfad of ths I ako is full of pigs. There h also a M aori burying grouud Four uative3 live there ; they are friendly. There is cleared land to the east of the dividing range. We ascended the dividing range, and from wheiue we saw Eirnslaw, a very high mountain at the head of the Wakatip, aud which, appeared quite close, also, Mount Aspiring, and Black Peak.

We had the Government maps of the province with us so could identify tiie positions ; besL'es lam a mariner accustomed to take heaiing3. If we had ha«! food we could h ive easily ft tched through. We cut our way up through the uu=h Tl»e pass was not high, quite easily ascer.de 1. bub hai to go back for want of provisions. "We cine upon the waters running to to the eaitwar.l. W.?aw another lake to the north, which we di<coveivd from the mountains, and we took up our boat, to the head of it. This lake is ten miles long, surrounded by bush with level land round tbe margin, we git truces of gold at the north end of this lake, also pieces of copper. I have gob no specimens except of the stones, my Melbourne mates having taken them L> Australia. I h»ve no doubt the sppciraem v<-era copper, as our mate- a Frenchman— sail he lial worked at copper raine3. A shipload of greenstone could be loaded here. We raw nothing of the mra but lots of green birds and e>nus (qy ki?,is). The lower lake has a fine site for a towuship, far superior to am tiring I saw in the sounds, all of which I visited. The pas 3. had we goue on, wald have brought us out at the Wnkatip Lrko, at ten miles from its head on tho western shore. We visited Miltord Sound, but could not penetrate through the mountains, these being very precipitous. I nearly lost myself here. The precipices are drealful. A steamer could easily po into the "Wakatip river and to the head of the lake, a id I think this is the best place to make a road from the Wakatip Lake to the West Coast.

(Signed) D. Alabaster,

As Mr Daniel Alabaster is a gentleman well known to me, I have every confidence in the trustworthiness of his account, which is a most intelligent one, aud of great geographical importance. I have no hesitation in forwarding it to Government. (Signed) J. F. Thomson, Chief Surveyor. Survey Office, 19th 'August, 1833.