BALD HILL FLAT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2215, 13 August 1896, Page 25

BALD HILL FLAT.

August* 10. —The roads about here are simply frightful, the main road beiue worse than I hava seen it for years. How the coachdriver on this stage manages to brine his coach aud mails up to time iB a puzzle. He certainly deserves the thanks of the public for his promptitude under such tr> ing circumstance?. > Football.— The Matakanui Football .Club played the Limerick team on the local ground on the afternoon of Saturday last, the result being a win for the home team by 3 points— a try to nothing. The game was played on quite 21b of soft snow, and some amusing Bpills were witnessed during the play. The Limericks, who had the advantage of the slight dowa «rade m "the ground, had all the best of it in the firit spell, keeping the visitors on the defensive the whole of the spell. On the change of ends the position was reversed, the local team having their work cutout to defend their goaL This they managed to dojuccessf ully, howover, and prevented their opponents scoring. The best of feeling prevailed throughout the game; and the visitors were entertained at a supper in the evening in the Cape Broom Hotel. Mr J. C. Smith carried the whistle, and Messrs G. Taylor and R. M*Neish acted as line umpires.

The weather we have had for some -time past has kept mining at a standstill, and from present appearances it will be the end of the month before work will be resumed. Bo far the boom has not made itself felt here further than perhaps the securing of likely specs for flotation, *o. Nearly everything in the shape of quartz is receiving a lot of attention, »nd some promiainjt ventures of this tslass have lately been taken in hand. A new reef has been unearthed somewhere near the Aldinga Creek, and is being prospected as the weather permits. Mr Hugh Orossan.-of Beaumont, and formerly of -the Excelsior claim here, *as in hand a reef formerly worked under the ■cognomen of the Butcher's Reef." 1 Although <work\wat carried on under great difficulties, some splendid stone- was raised and sent to Dnnedin to ba crushed. This was some thirty yean ago, Biaot

that time a second pirty took the thing In hand, but being short' of capital, and heavy pumping machinery being necessary for the successful working of the roncoro, practically nothing was ions tp prove the value of the reef, and the thing haß Ism for a g-jod many years untouched. As there J3 abundance' of 4<m st'me in the reef, it should prove with the improved facilities for working claim* of this kind one of the best quart/ claims in this dutrict. , Crushing.? are being taken out of White s and theExceUo- reefs, negotiations being about closed for the natation ot the latter on the Home market.