THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF OTAGO

Otago Witness, Issue 1932, 30 November 1888, Page 15

THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF OTAGO-

1.-GORETO WAK4TIPU. The subject; matter of this and the subsequent articles was obtained In the course of a journey from Gore to Dunedin -not by the orthodox and certainly more comfortablo medium of a railway carriage along the main line of railway, but by the circuitous route by Queenstown anl thence down the valley of those rivers, the Kawarau and Molyneux, whoie basin includes the most important goldflelds of Otago. In the palmy days of 1862-3, when those goldfielda were discovered, there was no Gore to start from. Where it now stands was only Known as a favourite plaoe at which to cross the Mafcaura river, whence the original name, " Longford.". When the township assumed definite shape, having been surveyed by Mr (now the If on,) G. F. Riohardson, respect to the Governor, one of whose names it was, outweighed euphony, and the name "Gore" was the result. This name has furnished endless jokes, founded Upon It 3 sanguinary flavour ; and seeing that a neighbouring township, Lumsden, or the Ivlbow, waß connected with it by means of the Waimea Flainß railway, the subject of much litigation and legislation, the opportunity of hauling in ; references to "Gore to the Elbow" was Very frequently too good to be lost. The adjacent and rival township of Gordon was formerly called East Gore, but as that appellation savoured too much of dependence upon Gore— a dependence which the inhabitants strenuously resent— the opportunity of elevating it into a town district was taken to alter it to Gordon, not after the hero of Khartoum, but to commemorate a relative of one of the earliest residents. The natural barrier interposed between the two towns— namely, the Mataura river— has only been partially obviated by the planking of the railway bridge, a temporary method of adaptation frequently adopted, which permits but does not in any way facilitate traffic. But to reaoh Gore all the settlers of the lower part of the fertile and populous districts of Ohatton, Waibaka, and Pinnacle must pass through Gordon. The post and telegraph offices, the railway station, the banks, of which there are three— namely, the New Zealand, Colonial, and Australasia— are in Gore, so that a traffic bridge must before long become an absolute necessity. An attempt was made some little time since to take advantage of the acts of 1886 empowering loans for such special works, but the movement collapsed before the initial difficulty of defining a district to bear the necessary rate. Unlike the majority of inland towns, Gore has benefited by the construction of the railway, and it undoubtedly owes its prosperity largely to the fact that it is at the junction of the Waimea and main lines, and so has become a centre for the collection of produce nnd the distribution of its equivalent in merchandise. It has not yet assumed the home-like appearance already becoming common to our inland towns, because the settlers were too busy— making money probably— to plant trees, but those who came later set a good example, now being generally followed. Gore has among its industries a thriving dairy factory, built to treat 2000 gallons of milk per day. Substantially built of brick, it attraots the eye of the traveller, and it is under the charge of Mr Bobbins, a Cheddar expert from Canada, and a highly successful exponent of the art of dairying by the factory system. Two newspapers are supported— one of them, the Standard, established nearly a year nud a-half ; and the other, the Mataura Ensign, ton and a-half yearß of age. The route to Wnkacipu from Gore is by the road BkirtiDg the base of the Croydon Hills. The eastern slopes of them which overlook the town are all under cultivation, and those who are already settled on the skirts of the bush which clothes or clothed the eastern base of the hills are agitating lo have the denuded portions declared open for settlement. Notwithstanding that many yearß ago a caw-mill deprived the bush of all the more valuable timber, such as black pine and kowhai, which was easily accessible, the white pine and other less valuable kinds was left. To work up this timber Mr Dryden has recently erected another saw-mill, and expects, no doubt with good reason, to find a market for it locally. Doubtless he will do so, as white pine is now extensively used for internal building work, and the other "nearest point at which it can be obtained is Long Bush, 31 miles away by railway, while Oroydon is only about four, but by road. Between the road and the Mataura river all the flat land is likewise in cultivation, much of it in grass. Farmers in this district are becoming alive to the advantages which they possess in their climate and soil for grass producing, and they are encouraged in this by the greater amount of attention now given to dairy products. They have been frequently reproaohed by the press for not bestowing more attention to this branch of agriculture, but their monitors did not take into account the length of time which ifc takes to subjugate virgin soil to grass bearing. It is said by experts that the roots of the native pasture are so wnat.might be termed "refractory," that much tilling and much exposure are necessary before the soil can carry permanent pasture, and that, when the necessary cultivation has been imposed, there will exißt in thiß country, as in Britain, pastures which will be practically everlasting. In many parts of this district— particularly in Chatton, now seen extending to the right— agriculture is diversified by mining. Most of the gullies contain in their bottoms an auriferous wash consisting of water-worn quartz drift. Permission is usually accorded to miners, under certain conditions, to work theße, the price charged being half a crown per week per man. Quite a number of Chinese have taken advantage of these terms, and the consequence is that a small Chinese settlement has been planted, nnd some of them are said to be earning as much as £1 a week. Bight miles from Gore we arrive at Stony Creek, or more properly Otama Bridge, bo called from the fact that the Otama settlers are provided with access to the railway by means of a bridge erected under the supervision of the Southland County Council, a proportion of the funds having been provided by the General Government. There also has been established a dairy factory, a proprietary concern, the property of Messrs Wayte Bros, and King. It has now commenced its second season's operations. The cheese already turned out took a high position in the London market. There iiave been slight difficulties between the proprietors aud the milk suppliers regarding the adjustment of the price of millc, but these have been disposed of for this season, at all events. Hitches of this kind are inevitable where the suppliers and manufacturers have not exactly identical interests. In raauy places in Canada the farmer takes all the risk. The factory proprietor submits a statement of cheeße made and sold, deducts a fixed price for hiß trouble, whioh price is the return he gets for capital invested, and the surplus is divided pro rata. The rich flats of Otama are pre-eminently suited for pasture, having been a swamp before the advent of the settlers in 1878, when these blocks were thrown open. The next point of interest is Mandeville, a using village od the Otamete stream. The stream "bounds with trout, and is by far the moßt prolific iv Southland. The greater portion of it runs through the property of Mr G. M. Bell, but that gentleman offers no objection to fishing there by oona fide anglers. No doubt the Otamete, whose tinny inhabitants afford capital sport, will during tlio eoaaou be largely visited by sportsmen from a distance. There is good accommodation to be found at Mr Roche's hotel, which, having been burnt down, has been entirely rebuilt. Good accommodation can also be found at Ojbama Bridge, two miles away, where genial Host Carroll combines the occupation of landlord and farmer. From Mandeville— where, by the way, there are some rich corners of alluvial land giving phenomenal yields of root crops —to Riveradale the road leads out more into the middle of the plain. At the Pyramid, a few miles to the right, is another bridge over the Mataura, and 't h a substantial structure, almost new. At this point the soil of the plain is very "patchy," the underlying shingle bed in many places rising quite to the surface. Towards Riversdale the land becomes much better, and the foothills of the range ou the left are very productive indeed. Farmers appear to have gained renewed hopes from the prospect of a rise in cereals, for larger quantities than usual have been sown, and they have "brairded" handsomely. Riversdale is one of the most thriving townships of its size in the district. Not only is it the point at which branches off the road to Waikaia, put ifc is the Beat of the administrative operations of fc ne N Z.A. Company. The railway to Waikaia is at a standstill, having met the fate of many other innocents last session. All the money which was passed for it was a small sum to meet existing liabilities. Meanwhile the section of two mile 3 already made Jies useless, a congenial burrowing ground for rabbits, nnd the completion of the line lies in the womb of futurity. On the eastern side of the river are the Mocks of laud recently thrown open under the newest Land Act, where upwards of ■ a thousand would-be settlers wanted some 60 or 70 sections, and t'leir claims, instead of being feverishly BUbnntted to auction, as of old, were deoided by ballot.

The WalkaJa goldfleld, access to which by coach Js ' obtained from southward by Hiveredale, has lately, been worked with renewed activity and good results. Prospecting has been vigorously prosecuted in the upper part of the valley, while upwards of 200 Chinese find a livelihood apipng the old workings. Waikaia can also be readied by road from Tapanui, where in former days the timber for mining and building waß procured, and— to the upper part of it —from the Teviofc or Roxburgh. There is now a good road from Waikaia to the Upper Waikaia and Whitecombej constructed at great expense through the Waikaia Bush. Resuming the direct road after this digression, the first object of interest deen is the Waimea station, the chief one of the group which constitutes the property of the company. Here resides Mr Valentine, M.H.H., general manager; and also Mr Donald, station manager. The grounds possess great beauty, all of it artificially created. After ascending the terrace 1 , at whose toot lies Wainlea Mouse, the torigridge Bain openfl dut m view. Settlement has gone on apace here, and the township of Balfour, about the middle ot the plain, bears evideade of th 6 vigodr df the surrounding settlers; Nature has done much for the district, but the impartial dame has also interposed some obstacles. Underlying the apparently rich soil is in iriany places what is known as a " pan," which is imper^ meable, and must be well drained. Balfour io the " port," as it were, of a large number of settlers not only of the plain proper, Dut of the Ardlussa'and Cattle Flats along the Mataura, some five miles to the right hand. The next townihip is Lumsden, once thought to be destined td be quickly a populous inland town. These hopes have not been verified, for it has made little or no progress of late year 3, notwithstanding that the land round about is of good quality. But all the eggs are in one basket here. Those who have depended on oropping for the last five years have not made any headway. At Lumsden the 1 Mararoa line branches off from the main iine, and has been opened afl far as Mossburn, whither a train runs— on Saturdays 1 Much of the land which surrounds Lumsden is in large estates, and perhaps that fact has something to do with the tardy progress of the town. Seven miles beyond Lumsden is Lowther, which presents the appearance, almost unique in the colony, of a decayed township. Some years ago tlie railway traffib warranted the residence of a stationmaßcer, and the population that of a resident policeman. Now a solitary hotel graces the scene, and ministers to the wants of the passers by. The next break in the journey is at Parrawa, where there is a wayside station, and a hotel recently very much enlarged by the proprietor, Mr Gibson. At this point, or at the next station, Athol, a divergence may be made if it is desired to visit the Nokomai goldfield. Nokomai was discovered among the earliest of the gold&elds, and has been worked more or Ibbs ever since. In the early days the precious metal waß In some cases found in crevices in the bare rock, and dug out with a knife. Afterwards water was brought in, and the lower part of the spurs worked. Several good leads of gold have been traced into the gully which contains the bed of the Nokomai, but it has been found impossible hitherto to reach the bottom because of the water. Three attempts have been recently made with the assistance of machinery to do so, but to no purpose, and the bleaching timbers now bear witness to tbe futility of the efforts successively made by the Pioneer, the Premier, and the Triumph Companies. Near the first-named claim Messrs Hymers and Miller have recently sunk a shaft, and have reached fair indications of gold. About two miles farther up the gully Messrs France, Simon, and Beveridge have just sunk a shaft on the edge of the flat and bottomed on the dip of the reef, wnich consists of blue slate. They had been able to keep the water down by means of a water wheel and pump, but whether they can do so when the " gutter "is reached by driving remains to be seen. A few parties are at work in Paddy's Alley. Probably about 30 European miners and 50 Chinese constitute the population of the Nokomai goldfield. The only place of business there is Mr Sangster's hotel and store, to which must be added the blacksmith's shop. Nokomai can be reached from Waikaia, 25 mileß distant, where the nearest warden's court sits, but the Mataura river must be negotiated no less than 26 times on the journey. Even from Parrawa, only seven miles, the same river must be forded five times. From Nokomai a pack track leads to the Nevis goldfield, where the. miners are said to be doing well, having always plenty of water. Again resuming the main Lake road, the valley of the Mataura is seen to become more and more narrow, till finally it is closed in altogether by the moraine which lies at the lower extremity of the lake, and having threaded the defiles of this the blue waters of Wakatipu lie sparkling before the view.