OVER THE SKIPPERS TRACK TO THE PHOENIX MINE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1805, 25 June 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

OVER THE SKIPPERS TRACK TO THE PHOENIX MINE.

——. I By Onn Special Reporter.

Thursday afternoon found us. again in the saddle and following the tortuous windings of the Skippers Creek en route to the dynamo machines. Before leaving the battery, however, we had an opportunity of witnessing a practical demonstration of the transmission of power by electricity. In the batteryhouse, mounted on a strong wooden platform, svas one of the Anglo American Brush Company's Victori a dy namos, w hich had been fitt ed up as a motor. Standing by this, machine, awaiting the starting of the generators situ-, ated at a waterfall two miles away, we wer<» speculating on the wonders of electricity, when, suddenly, as if by magic, the wheels of the motor began to move and then to buzz round with marvellous rapidity. The current had been switched on, the electric transmission of power at the Phoenix mine was an accomplished fact, and we were among the first to witness the success of what was perhaps the first experi ment of the kind on a practical scale made in the Southern Hemisphere. A minute scientific description of the motor would be, rather out of place in an article like this but an idea of the manner in which ie, is worked may be given in a few words. As already stated, the electric generators are situated at a distance of two miles from tho battery, and tho current is conveyed over a hill 800 feet high by means of a No. $, copper wire. The current having arrived at the motor, passes through its magnets and the armature coils by way of the brushes and commutator, and then back along another wire lo the generators. The field magnets oi the motor are made highly magnetic by the electricity, and so also are the ooils of the armature, which consist, of about three miles of wire. A mutual attraction is thus set up between the two, with the icsnlt that the armature is pulled round towards the maguets On the coils of the armature arriving at the point opposite the magnets, the direction of the current in them becomes reversed, so that the coil opposite and the magnet 4 repel one another. Each coil in the armntwo wheel thus receives a pull when approaching one of the magnets and n push when leaving it. The result is that they wheel is sent flying round with considerable velocity, and 850 revolutions in the minute aie easily attainable. The amount of electricity passing through the motor can bo regulated by means of a switch, or turned, off altogether at a moment's notice. In the latter case the electricity is sent into a number of coils of common iron wire, and the current which a second before worked' the motor will then be expended in heating the wire coils. A little distance from the. battery-house are two little dynamos, driven by small pelton wheels and used for generating the current for lighting purposes. The generators are situated about five miles by traok in what is called the left-hand branch, but more correctly speaking the right branch, of the stream which has now been appropriately christened Dynamo creek. It is a wonderfully pretty little stream, its waters beautifully clear, aad the surrounding scenery of the most romantic character, reminding one

somewhat of the rugged slopes of Earnslaw. [Here and there clumps of birch trees nestle dn the steep glcas o* cluster under the shelter of some rocky promontory wh ere they are comiparatively safe from the winter storms. The 'slopes of the valley are very steep, and in •most places there is just room enough for the ever winding creek. The best view is obtained from an eminence not far from the generators. On the right the slopes are covered with a fine forest of birch with here and there a jagged pinnacle of rock rising above the treetops. On the left the slopes are treeless but of bold formation, and right in the foreground there is a fine waterfall embowered in the greenery of the forest; while away in the distance, high above all the surrounding peaks, rises the snow-cap-ped summit of Mount Aurum — a fitting background to so romantic a scene. A sharp canter over the terrace brings us to the dynamo-house, and we at once proceed to make an inspection of the wonderful machinery, but before entering the building we take the precaution of leaving our watches outside. It is not that we are afraid of pickpockets, or we would not leave them unprotected in a wheelbarrow ; but the fact of the matter is that the electric machines play the very mischief with ■watches. Inside the building we met Mr Fletcher, and found him in possession of the latest news from Dunedin and Queenstown, he having just heard by telephone of the recovery of Mr Prince, the electrician, and the ,6afe return of Mr Dewar, the missing postsnaster, to Queenstown. There was general rejoicing over both items of intelligence. •We spent an hour or so in a very interesting way, watching the machinery and noting a few general facts in connection with it. The two large Brush dynamo machines were at work generating the electric current which •was travelling over the intervening hill to the motor in the battery-house, Mr Fletcher having just that day comjploted his momentous undertaking. His task was by no means an easy one, for some of the parts had been damaged in transit over the Skippers track from Oueenstown, and the workmanship of others did not reflect much credit on the Home Ciakers. In addition to all this, difficulties that were never dreamt of cropped up, but pc by one they disappeared under Mr jp'letcher's indomitable perseverance and •Jkill, and the work which has at last been brought to a satisfactory issue may now be regarded as one of the triumphs of modern engineering. The dynamos are situated in an iron building at the foot of a perpendicular cliff about 200 feet high. An open ground race about half a mile in length brings the water from the creek to the top of the cliff, and it is then conveyed to the ipelton wheels which drive the generators in fa couple of wrought iron pipes 22in in diameter at the top, and tapering down to 6in at jthe bottom. An almost perpendicular fall fof 180 ft is obtained, and the four or fire jh«ads of water coming down the pipes send jthe pelton wheels round with great velocity. jThese pelton wheels are of simple construction, and Mr Evans' great faith in their efficacy seems not to have been misplaced. LA. two and a-half inch nozzle throws the (water into the buckets of the wheels, •sending them round at the rate of 370 turns to the minute. Each wheel is capable of exerting 50 horse-power, though at the present time they are working at much less Chan that. The power is conveyed to the generators by means of a new kind of belting known as the link belting. It is a very lingenious invention, consisting of small pieces of leather an inch and a-half long, five-eighths wide, and a quarter of an inch in thickness joined together by means of (wire rods, the width of the belt, passing through their ends. There are about 550 of •bese little leather links in a square foot of jtbe belting which possesses many advantages fever the ordinary kinds of belting. But to return to the generators : they are the wellknown Brush dynamos of a large size, and Wre capable of being driven at a speed of from 700 to 800 revolutions per minute. If /used as lighting machines, they would genepate enough electricity to maintain 80 powerta\ arc lights. In other words, they would be Sufficient for the lighting of the city of Dune3in, or for the parpose of driving the who^e of the city and surburban trams. Their gKmer of magnetising was illustrated in fear presence by Mr Fletcher, who took lop a common bar of iron four feet lonp and by holding it at a distance of two yards from the machine it was so magnetised that ft sustained a heavy iron spanner of nearly a poaad weight. The two generators are jooupled together so that each delivers its parrent into the same circuit. The current ,khen passes to a switch board by means o* Hvlrieh the machines may be connected to or Sisconoected from the circuit in a few pecondß. There is aiso an instrument which Bhow6 the quantity of electricity being 'generated by the machines, so that the machines can be regulated until the desired of current is obtained. The pelton are also thoroughly under control end can be worked together or independently jof each other. The machine-house is about 8000 ft above sea level, so it may be judged phat it wasamatter of nosmalldifficultyto get fcbe heavier parts of the machinery to their fcestination. The greatest skill is required in driving the little trollies over some of the ■fceepest gradients of the Skippers track, and jno matter what amount of care is taken it is impossible to prevent accidents. One of the fcrellies, carrying a piece of iron of nearly a kon weight, fell over the track for a distance iof 50 or 60 feet, dragging the four horses attached to it down the embankment jPorsfiS, trolly, and driver were nearly precipitated into the Shotover, and it i« a wonder that there was no loss of life. Another beavy piece of machinery sunk in the gravel [b Skippers Creek and remained there over ii flood. Mr Evans was occupied a whole lay with six men digging it out and get tingIt oo the trolly again. Tho diffinulHer of bansit, however, are not nearly so great now ftfi they were a few years ago, when anly three horses could be yoked on the Kgiag and from 10 to 20 men with levers M»d screwjacks were required to move n pr»Uy 200 yards in the course of a day. But Rven at the present time considerable pß#fffst is attached to the work, and the

drivers standing ori the trollies guiding their teams round some of the sharp diclevities, with only a few inches between them and agiddy precipice, must frequently have their hearts in their mouths. Some of bhe fly-wheels weighed as much as 35cwt, and at one point in the road they had to be taken off the trollies, rolled over a suspension bridge, and then put on trollies again on the other side. On our way back we saw several of the teams at work, and now and again a packman driving half-a-dozen packhorses before him was encountered These packhorses have very trying work to do, but thovigh sometimes carrying very heavy and awkward loads they may be seen toiling along over the steep slopes without showing any great sign of distress Altogether there are upwards of 30 horses at work in connection with the mine When that portion of the road round the zigzag is finished the journey will be made much easier, but there will still be some places where the greatest cave will have to be taken. The great difficulty all along has been the want of a road, but it appears that of late years the Government have begun to recognise that it is a necessary thing to have roads leading to the inland quartz mines. A great deal, however, mighty still be done by way of encouraging the mining industry, and a little judicious expenditure on road works in Central Otago and on the West Coast might be the means of opening up mines that would prove a source of considerable wealth to the colony. But instead of this judiciouß expenditure the industry has been hampered to a great extent by taxes and duties of one kind or another, so that one of the most important of our resources is almost neglected for want of a little encouragement. The absurd ideas of the Protectionist party are fully apparent to the miner who has to pay a tax on nearly everything requisite used in connection with his calling. The Protectionist, no doubt, would say that by imposing these duties he is encouraging the manufacture of goods in the colony, but the miner can reply that he is raising up factories in the large town! at the expense of the more legitimate industries in the interior. Fuse, powder, steel, candles, and all the little odds and ends used by the miner are taxed, and in addition to this there are license fees, county rates, water rates, miners' rights, and propertytaxes to pay. For full 17 years Mr Bullen struggled with the Phoenix mine, and after spending £50,000 in its development he is now called upon to contribute £800 to the County revenue and pay a property tax on the full value of the mine, set down at £50,000. This, with the addition of the gold duty and the various other taxes/was enough to make any man give up all hope of success. But Mr Bullen struggled bravery against all adversity, and under the able management of Mr Evans he is now about to reap the reward of his labours. Regarding the future success of the mine there can be little doubt. Up to the 31st March last the total quantity of gold produced since Mr Evans took charge in 1867 was 14,9340z. During the lastyear the yield had increased considerably, and for the thirteen months previous to our visit the crushings had produced 69000z. Since the electric machinery has been set in motion the yield has been daily on the increase, and when the erection of the air compressors is completed and the lower levels of the mine tapped, the returns will be larger than ever. The electric machinery has proved an unexampled success; and though the cost of erection has been between £4000 and £5000, owing to the unexpected difficulties that had to bo met and the defective construction of the machinery, the success that has already attended the undertaking has proved that the manager was fully justified in giving it a trial. There can now be no question of the utility of the electric principle, and so far there seems every likelihood of a saving of between £3000 and £4000 per year being effected as the result of its introduction at the Phoenix mine. There can be no doubt that electricity will, before many years, play a very important part in the development of the quartz reefs in the Wakatipu district. Reefs abound, and in many case? gold can be seen in the stone with the naked eye. Power in the shape of numerous never-failing streams ip daily running to waste, and the only question seems to be the formation of suitable roads or tracks so that machinery can bo i-aken to the reefs at a minimum cost. Now that the problem has been solved at the Phcenix mine, other companies will no doubt soon follow in the footsteps of Mr Bullen and his able manager, Mr Fred. Evans, and tho result cannot be other than beneficial to the district and the colony at large It was with feelings of genuine regret that we shook hands and parted with our genial host at the junction of the Dynamo and Skippers Creeks and pursued our journey once more in the direction of Skipper= Point. Mr Fergus addressed a meeting in the Athenfeum in the evening, and next day we visited the claims worked by Mr R. Johnstone and Mr Aspinall. The former is noted for its fine supply of water and the latter for the enterprise and skill that has been brought to bear in its working by the energetic proprietor. Early in the afternoon we turned our backs on* Skippers, Mr Johnstone and Harry Evans accompanying us for part of the way. My horse had broker down with the severe work, and so outprogress was slow for several miles, but or reaching Messrs Davis and Co.'s camp 1 wa= provided with a new steed nnrl wo reached Eichardt's with splendid appetitesin time for a capital though somewhat late dinner. Our trip all through had been a most delightful one; the novelty of the -cencs and the situations into which we were thrown, combined with the unbounded 'lo^pitality acoorderl us on all hands, having'nado the wppk «lip pa=t all '.oo quickly Vest morning our party was complotolv broken up. Mr Fergus started for GromwH); Mr Ptodrtart made preparations to nuvsnp hi 1 * vaiidi'iings in Mainland; arul 1 ifrer saying trood-bye ton number of Quoonsiown friomls, boarded tho steamer at tho wlmrf, reflecting' on thp incidents of one of f he tno-t delightful trips I nad pvci enjoyed, that our ride over the Skippertrack, our wanderings in the mine, and the visit to the wonderful machinery and

romantic scenery of Dynamo creek were all memories of the past.