LARAMEA (W.C.) AS A GOLD CENTRE. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 24

LARAMEA (W.C.) AS A GOLD CENTRE. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

i April 16.— 1n the early sixties fine gold wa3 * discovered on the sea beach' between Little ", Wanganui River, to the southward, along the - coast, up to the mouth of the Kara'mea River, and on to the nortli as f ai. as the Kilii ' Kihi Bluffs, some nine or ten miles'. The sialwar.t miners of that day reaped a rich golden harvest.-' The fine gold was, in numerous instances, - strewn dn the b'eacli after" the fide had recoiled, something similar to a bag of oaten chafr being _ tossed out in the surf and deposited afc high • water mark. The difficulty at the time was to get provisions and other necessaries on to this treasure trove. This, however, was soon accomplished- by the sturdy miners, who , flocked into Westport for some 40 to 50 miles I along the coast line, over rocks, rivers, bluffs, and other almost insurmountable- obstacles. | They chartered schooners for 1 ; the purpose of i conveying necessities to their , different abodes, ! seeking a temporary harbour in the Otmnahanu, ' Stream, and thence southward, as the Mud Flat at high-water mark was fairly navigable for light craft, and the prevailing storms could not disturb -theii equanimity when once inside. About once in every three or four months the Karamea sboys, as they were euphoniously termed, made descents on Westporfc, where their arrival was hailed with intense delight by the owners and employees in the dancing saloons, • publicans, and all others, as they certainly made the town ring during theii stay. Cash. 1 waß almos as plentiful as the sands upon the sea shore. This continued for many years, . but at piesent the gold supplies from seaward ; seems to be getting exhausted, and mostly all ; the old sch*ool of miners have made their exit i to pastures new, whilst many of those gsodj hearted powerful men nave passed over >the ■ Great Divide, from the terrestrial to the ceies--; tial Jide, to where we are historically told there ' are streets of shining gold. •" • I have been up tc the present describing the richness; of the coast line, but the vast source" ■oi sujjply I have not yet tapped. It'comprises- ; all tho mountainous country, lying inland, as,' ; far as* the Golden ' Downs; whose summit' is for I ,ever clad in snow. The whole oithe downs or; : plateau- is highly auriferous, and many pile : claims have been wrought as circumstances |l permitted. Taking advantage" of the season* was no easy matter, as the place 'may be de* scribed as rosdless. All the streams from the plateau, as they flow in a westerly direction, carry with them detached pieces o£ quartz, highly impregnated with gold., through tho3e vast chasms along the mountain side, into the Karamea River, where the immense gorge : shoots it out into the river's different reaches, there at last to find a resting place where Karamea Valley proper. The Land of Promise shelter exists, and, awaits the advent of up-to-date dredging machinery to fish "it from its submerged home, from pre-liistoric ages in the ness, if it were only brought to and the Promised Land contains more latent wealth than would pay this colony's indebtedness, if it were only once on the terra firma the light of day. .Will not Sir George ; Grey's unborn millions reap a rich har- - vest . from those latent treasures at piesent submerged? My opinion, is that the whole of the Karamea, Valley is auriferous, even to the settlers'homesteads. It seems to have been one monster basin surrounded by mountains in the background, and the Tasman Sea in the foreground, " so that all the immense quantities of auriferous drifts which came tumbling down the rock bound river were here deposited by the action of the surf,- probably millions 'of years ago. As I presume many of your readers are well a&> qiiainted with, that portion of the Shotover River above Arthur's Point towards Maori Point, I may say that the country I have been trying to describe is almost an exact, counterpart, with the . one solitary exception that Karamea's froeground is ihe coast line, insteado£ Mount Remarkable as, in.. the latter case; 1 bxit as our Karamea is eventually gcooped out by, dredges, etc.,' the inexhaustible supplies -will for ages takes the place of that" which has just been excavated, thereby securing its intrinsic value as an investment for the fortunate speculatoi or syndicate.

As 1 was initiated into the mysteries of <*oia mining* nearly 40^y.ears ago, when Hart^' and 1 Riley made taeic esfcraordiiiaary find known, "" - V-

on -the Molyneux Hiver, I *caai scarcely be looked upon as a new chum. .1 have .passed aai apprenticeship of "half a .lifetime, having an~d"elibly left my jnark or, some of the "West Coast alpine torrents, -»und T. write a brief outline of what I have "been eye witness to, .without _j&aggeration.

"The Haramea Settlement is in a prosperous condition, notwithstanding the many vicissi--,tudes it has "been - subjected to. Tie settlers are a "most persevering class of people, and 'kindly to an -extreme degree.^ The original settlers were mostly Shetlanders, and as fine and industrious a lot of people as I ever met ,-with in any part of the world. They have established beautiful homes in a most fertile region; their families, their flocks, and their iherds have increased to that extent that it is "like being transported 'into many of the older districts of New Zealand. There is no occasion for State-aided immigration to our spiendid country, as if I do not very much misfake me there is one representative 1 of this numerous family in Dunedin who is the proud possessor of a progeny of nearly 20 all told, and is .still young and vigorous.