GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!!

Otago Witness, Issue 2983, 17 May 1911, Page 72

GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!!

THE EARLIEST DISCOVERIES IN OTAGO. THE MINOR KEY BEFORE THE MAJOR CHORD. THE MEN BEFORE GABRIEL READ. . OFFER OF £SOO REWARD. THE FIRST CLAIMANTS. A HISTORY OF THE FINDS OF GOLD IN OTAGO BETWEEN 1850 AND 1860. ,- Compiled by H. Beat-tie.

Ctago never, never shall forget The men who gave to her the golden year? That spurred her on; we all still owe a debt To those brave- hearts—4he Golden Pioneers —Bracken. From the very earliest times gold has played a most important part in the destinies of man. Search, the Bible, and see the numerous references to it from the Book of Genesis onward. Look up the records of States and nations that have flourished within the last-3000 years, and see how the mighty god Gold has been worshipped by countless devotees. Consider the search for El Dorado, the fabled city of gold, and how it lured the adventurers of Europe into the tropical forests, the miasmatic jungle, and pestilential swamps of Central and South America. Think of the feverish " rushes " of the nineteenth century, within living memory, and yet numbered with " yesterday's 7000 years " ; such rushes as those to California, Australia, New Zealand, and Klondike. But it is with Otago we would concern ourselves at this present time, now that our thoughts are turned to Gabriel's Gullywards. Many people believe that Gabriel Read was the first man to discover gold in Otago, and that such a thing as the existence of the precious mineral had not been dreamt of prior to his advent. Such is an utterly fallacious belief, and it is with the intention of dissipating that idea that the present article is penned. TOO BUSY TO LOOK FOR GOLD.

Who,' then, knew of the existence of gold in Otago before Gabriel Read came, and what were the circumstances? The answer to this query gives us the Avhole history of the search for the yellow metal in this southern portion of New Zealand The settlement of Otago was founded in 1848, in which year Dunedin and the surrounding districts were settled bv a band of hardy Scots people. For a time these settlers were too busy subduing the primeval wilderness to bother their heads about what minerals existed in the ground under their feet, or in the banks and beds of the streams and rivers that flowed oast their doors. * Apparently no thought of gold being in Otago soil entered their heads ; but some of the more adventurous spirits thought of going elsewhere for it. In the Otago. News of Januaory 5, 1850, w<j find the schooner Amazon, 130 tons, Captain Howell, advertised to sail for California, the " Land of Gold," if 30 passengers could be found at £2O each. As far as the present writer knows this pro. posed expedition did not come to fruition, and the Amazon (a whaling ship) was afterwards wrecked at the Bluff on August 8, 1852. MOLYNEUX EXPEDITIONS. * What was. in all probability the first sea.reh for gold in Otago is described in the Otago Settlement Jubilee Suo~dementary Number of the Witness by Mr James Crane, of Waihola, who writes: "In the yea,r 1851, while I was at Henley, some Natives came there from. Molyneux. All the talk at that time was about the finding of gold in Australia. As we were talking about it one of the Natives, by name Rakiraki, told us that when towing his canoe up the Matau (Clutha), near Te Houka Beach, he picked up a stone the colour of a pakeha sovereign. He carried it in his hand for a while, and then threw it in the canoe to the children. That story loused us somewhat ; fo we made up our minds to go and look for themselves. William Palmer. James Whybrow, John Bennett, Teraki, Tuera (two Natives), and myself went to the Molyneux, and got Mr Redpath's boat, and went as far as ths Pomahaka Palls, whei'e the Natives were eeling, but came back Avithout doing anvthing." In March. 1852, a partv. consisting: of Messrs Thomas and Andrew Archibald, John Bennett. James Crane, and an ex-dieger from America, known as California Sam, went up the Molyneux to prospect, but owing to various oauees they accomplished nothing, as they never set to work, and the Maori's information remained unverified. THE FIRST REPORTED FIND. The first reported discovery of gold in Otago seems to have been recorded in the following letter to Captain Oargill, the Superintendent of the province:

Goodwood, October 27, 1851. Sir,—Under the impression that the prompt communication of the discovery of auriferous quartz in this neighbourhood will be of importance to the Otago settlement, we beg to enclose you specimens which we have found in various localities in order that you may give all the publicity which you may think proper to the 'fact that "gold exists m the Southern Island. Most of the specimens sent you were picked up on the property of Charles Suisted, Esq., or Goodwood. The specimen of gold dust is from his estate. We hope to have the pleasure of seeing you before we return to Wellington. In the meantime we remain, yours, etc., C. J. Pharazynt. C. J. Nairn. This discovery was referred to. in the Witness of November 1 of that year, when the editor .advised the people to keep on the even tenor of their way, and finished up by telling them that flour was more necessary than gold. Messrs Pharazyn and Nairn seem to have been "birds of passage" by their movements. In or about December, 1851, they spent nine days examining the country between the Clutba and Tuturau, and early in '52 Mr Nairn and a Mr Stephens were the first white men to reach Lake Te Aniau. In their letter they speak about returning to Wellington. Were they employed as prospectors by some organisation, or were they runholders in search of country, as is sometimes stated? A QUIET PERIOD. Except for the expedition already noticed, there do'&s not seem to have been anything done in the gold-seeking line during 1852, but during the succeeding years mention of such quests become more and more frequent, culminating at last in- the great upheaval of 1861. If 1852 is almost a blank, 1855 is only slightlv better, for instead of one case' of goldsearching we have two. The first case is the discovery of a small quantity of fine scaly gold which was obtained at " The Fortifications," near what is now Hindon. The second case is recorded in a letter received by the present -writer from the late Mr Nathaniel Chalmers, in which occurs this sentence: "In 1853 Alex. Archibald .showed me gold in small quartz specimens, and be told me that they had been got out of the ranges between the Waitahuna and Tuapeka Creeks " 'A DISCOVERY IN 1854. The next mention of gold that has come under the -writer's notice is to be found in a letter he recently received from Mr John Sinclair, of Qmwia* ' The date of the discovery is not determined with exactitude, but it is most probably 1854. Mr Sinclair writes : " You were rightly informed about one, John Sinclair, finding gold at Tuapeka before Gabriel Read found it, but it was not me, but my father, known at that time as Alexander M'Donald. At that time he had a station on the Taieri called " Breiadalbane," and he had also Waipori as a run.

" The way he found the gold was that Mr Valpy and he were looking for some lost cattle, and they camped on the banks of the Tuapeka River. In the morning Mr Valpy was washing his face in the river, and he noticed a speck of gold in the bed of the stream, and he thought it was mica. He showed it to my father,, who told him it was not mica, but gold. They duly found the lost cattle and took them home. " Some months afterwards my father thought he would have a better look at the river"; £0 he started off by himself, and found the place where Mr Valpv and he had camped that night. He had no tools to dig, although he had a tin dish with him • so he sharpened a manuka stick, and poked the bank of the creek where the water washed it away to the rock. He washed what he had loosened* and saw lots of gold in the stuff. He had worked like this for two hours, when he saw the weather begin to look threatening : so he put alb the stuff he had washed into his handkerchief, and took it home with him At his leisure he cleaned it P™P > Jjnxi found that he had over So* of gold Thxs was long before Black Peter started digE old to Dunedin and showed it to Captaan Oaraill, and Messrs- Macandrew and M'Glashan and they- were quite alarmed at the discoverv. TheVbegged my father to keep it dark, as there was no food in the country nor £a£v to make roads. My father oro. iKI to keep it secret on the conditio a EVa pSable goldfield was discovered there he would set some reward, which, needless to say. he never sect _ This is the first mention that we have of Bold beincr found in the River 6 ln?eeven Wr S prior to Gabriel Read's epoch-making discovery. OTAGO AWAKENING.

There does not seem to have been many discoveriES of gold during 1855 or if there were they were not reported, apparently. In that year Mr J. J. Bennetts Settled at Seaward Bush, and during the same year, he found ldwt of gold m the Mataura River. He afterwards wrote to the Colonist newspaper suggesting the offering of a reward foT the discovery of a payable goldfield. ~„, Leaving 1855 we come to 1856, a year during which more public interest was awakened in the miestion than during any previous yenr. Mr W.H. S -Roberta arrived in Southland on June 17. 1856, and in his diary he says :—" It was reported that marble had been found on Mr M'Nab's run, coal in several places, and plumbago near the Oteramika Bush. Specks of gold had been found in the sand of the Mataura River, near TutuTau." In a letter to the writer, the late Mr N. Chalmers wrote :—" In 1856 I rode up with young Twemlow and prospected the Waikaka, and eventually got to the falls "on the Mataura. There I cleaned out one of the potholes on the top of the falls, and at the bottom of it got a few specks of gold, but I did not carry my investigations any further,"

This letter shows that the minds of the two men had been influenced.by the know, ledge that there was gold in Otago, although their' brief search was unsuccessful. MR LIGAR'S LETTER. And now we come to the first official intimation of the existence of gold in the province as contained in the following letter to the Superintendent of Otago from the Surveyor-general of the colony : "December 1, 1856. Sir, —As I deem it the duty of everyone in the community to increase the stock of information relative to the resources of this our adopted country, I hasten to inform your Honor that in my recent visit to the south part of the province of Otago I found gold/ Very generally distributed in the gravel And sand of the Mataura River, at Tuturau, and that, from the geological character of the district I am of opinion that a remunerative goldfield exists in the neighbourhood.—l have, etc., Charles Ligab,." Needless to say this letter brought the question into greater prominence than it had yet assumed, and rendered it increasingly difficult for the leaders of* the settlement to continue to follow the course of studious indifference. The letter also created some discussion as to whether its premises were oorroot, and we will now consider the arguments of on© such debater, the late T. B. Gillies, to wit. MR GILLIES'S ACCOUNT. Mr Gillies paid a visit to the south at the end of 1856, and soon, after he contributed a very readable series of descriptive articles to the Otago Witness. He says:—"That there is gold very generally distributed amongst the sand and gravel of the Mataura River, as stated by Mr Ligar, there cannot now be the shadow of a doubt. We had heard men calling themselves experienced Australian gold-diggers ridiculing the idea of that being a gold ooi:ntry, and flatly denying the truth of Mr lagar's statement; and we -therefore determined, if possible, to ascertain for ourselves the true state of the case. . . .

Having stirred the sand and gravel with a grub hoe, we filled the dish, and carefully washed out the contents till but a email residuum was left. Anxiously we examined this to see if we could detect a speck of gold, but could see none. 'Let me look,' said our companion, and immediately exclaimed 1 , ' Why, there's one, and there another, and another'; and on following the direction of his finger, sure enough there were several specks of gold, and of no very minute dimensions either. . . . Having washed other three or four dishfuls of sand-and gravel, we found more or less gold in each ; in all we obtained, as we afterwards found, about v eight grains of gold. ... But, whilst the fact of the existence of gold in considerable abundance is undoubted, the principal point still remains undetermined—namely, Is it in sufficient quantity to pay for the working of it? Hitherto there has been no regularly organised party at work, so as to determine this point, and the opinions of diggers whom we have consulted are as various as their temperaments. . . . The reports of finds, too, are as various as the opinions. One individual with 6oz, another with a nugget which in one day increased from ounces to pounds in weight, are specimens of the romancing cculeur do rose reports; whilst on the other hand we hear of a party starting to try their fortune, losing their way, and returning without even seeing the Mataura, but with the chilling report that after five days' work they got nothing." A FORECAST. Mr Gillies continues: "it is very surprising that no proper attempt has yet been made to ascertain whether the gold can be profitably worked; and we would strongly urge on our Government that it is high time for them, in default of private enterprise, to take steps for determining what are the gold resources of the co'ony. Let there be a handsome reward.offered to any party who shall. produce, satisfactory evidence of the existence of a remunerative goldfield in the colony; or, if this should fail- to stimulate private enterprise, let a qualified commission be appointed by the Government to determine, the point. 'Tis no matter. for dreaming over, for if it be a profitable go-dfield, it will give the colony an impetus that 50 years' toil would fail to give. We have no sympathy with those timid spirits ,who fear the effects of 'diggin's' on the colony. Some inconvenience, some evils, even some suffering they might cause; in the first • instance; but these would be speedily surmounted, whilst the ultimate beneficial, effects are as-certain as they are incalculable." This is a mest interesting forecast of the probabilities presented by the supposition that payable goldfields would be discovered, and Mr Gillies's prophecy was amply justified, some four years later. Mr Gillies mentions that some people derided the idea of gold, being found in the Mataura, and here is a letter from one such derider to the editor ; of the Otago Witness. , ,„, ~.„, an opinion Against. "January 3, 1857.—Sir, —I observe in a recent copy of your journal a letter from Mr Ligar, Surveyor-general, implying:, from the geological appearances of the country about the Mataura River, tl- - of a remunerative goldfield in that locality. I beg most distinctly to state, aa a practical gold-miner, that such is not the case, having endeavoured in vain to discover a single speck; although I must confess that certain glittering specks of mica may have misled the would-be discoverer. Had the gentleman above alluded to made known for public information the existence of a coal field in that quarter, it would have reflected more to his credit than an announcement so boldly made of an Otago Dora-do, tending very probably to lead many an unfortunate on a wild goose chase. Trusting that this may prove to be a salutary check upon such rash assertions, —I remain, etc., Australian." It was just such opinions

as these that put a damper on would-be searchers, and delayed the quest so long. MR J. T. THOMSON'S REMARKS. Mr J. T. Thomson, F.R.G.S., Chief Surveyor of Otago, during the year 1857 made a great reconnaissance survey of Southland and of Central Otago, In his reports he makes mention of gold in slight quantities having been unearthed. _ Here is an extract from his diary, which he quoted in an address he delivered to the Southland Institute, July 5, 1880. The quotation runs : —" Pooni Creek, Waiopai, January 15, 1857.—Drummond brought me some gold scales, mixed with iron sand, which had been washed out of the sands of the Mataura; the former I tested by aqua regia. Various parties have been digging in different parts of the Waiopai Plains, and found earth giving indications of gold." [ln passing it may be noted that this was four years before Gabriel Read's great discovery.] In a letter written in April, 1857, to Captain CargiJl, Mr Thomson says:—"On every opportunity I examined the geological features, and as far as useful minerals are concerned, I may state that we were unsuccessful hi washing the sands of the various rivers for gold; at the same time, it must be added that we had not the proper apparatus. The channels of the Waiau< and Mataura would indicate the existence of the precious metal, but we only obtained one speck in the Waiau. The small samples of gold that have been found near Tuturau, in the hands of various individuals, I have not seen to exceed a few pennyweights, nor am I aware if any person has had such success as to encourage him to continue searching."

HIS OFFICIAL REPORTS. ' In hie official report Mr Thomson says : "The existence of gold is undoubted; a fact first brought to light by Mr Ligar, Surveyor-general of N.Z. The "principal specimens yet found have been obtained in the Mataura River, near Tuturau; but I am credibly ■ informed that indications are everywhere met with in the Waibpai and Mataura Plains."

Mr Thomson's other comments on the question are too lengthy to be inserted here.

In Mr Thomson's report on the "Northern and Interior Districts of Otago" there is no allusion to gold whatever, although coal is mentioned as being found in Shag Valley. Seeing that the subject is not mentioned, we are not told whether they tried the various streams to see if perchance their sands covered the yellow metal, but presumably they did, for Mr Vincent Pyke makes the statement that Mr Thomson discovered gold in the Lindis River in 1858. [The survey lasted from .October, '57, to January, 1858.] . RUMOURED FINDS.

But through following Mr J.'T. Thomson's remarks we have got ahead of the subject, so must hark back to the beginning of 1857. In March of that year gold obtained from the sands of the Mataura was exhibited in Dunedin, and needless to add created great interest; in fact, it seems to have dazzled men's imaginations, for the Otago Witness records that during April there were continual rumours of the finding of gold, the localities favoured being the Bluff, Invercargill, and N.E. Valley. Here is one such item—a local in the issue of April 11, 1857: "■Gold. —We have no further intelligence from the south relating to gold discoveries, but upwards of a dozen persons have left Dunedin with the avowed intention of trying the merits of the field." What happened to the dozen is not .recorded, unless they are the party mentioned by Mr Gillies as losing their way and returning home. NEWSPAPER COMMENT.

Bene is another local dated September 19, 1857 :—"Gold. —Several specimens of gold, we believe, have been lately brought to town; one from the Mataura, consistin?; of scaly gold, and another of gold in quartz; but from whence the latter cam© we do not know. As some anxious inquiries have been made as to whether the Government intend to offer a reward for the discovery i of a goldfield, we are inclined to suppose that some prospecting has alread-- taken place.'' In the next issue of the Witness (September 96) ..there fa a short article entitled "Bow and Where Gold is Found," which deals with California, and is evidently inserted a.s apropos to current talk in Otago at that time. In the leading article in the same issue reference is made to the existence of cold in Auckland ?nd NeWm, the latter field having produced 9OOOOZ, and it had also served to decrease "OtasD's alreadv deficient supply of labour." The .concluding sentence of the" article runs:—"Money must be. found for public work;, and unless we are to fall behind in the race, it appears to us that there will be ho alternative but for the Government to offer a reward for the discovery, cf an available goldfield within our own province." A PUBLIC MEETING. These items seem to have had the effect of stirring up the community, for a number of gentlemen called a meeting to consider the Question. The meeting was duly held in the Mechanics" Institute, Dunedin, on October 19, 1857. and was wellattended. . The following resolutions were unanimously passed:—-"That the discovery of a remunerative goldfield in this province would conduce greatlv to its prosperity and progress: and having in view the proximity of the Nelson goldfields, and the arrival of a large number of assisted immigrants, it becomes a matter of the utmost and immediate importance to prevent the abstraction already commenced of our present population, and the farther, abstraction of our assisted immigrants, by providing, if possible, a counter attraction, in the form of > a remunerative local goldfield. That the existence of gold in certain districts of this province is a well-ascer-tained fact, and it therefore behoves the Provincial Government to take active and immediate steps for ascertaining the localities where itis working would be re-

munerative; and this meeting therefore resolves that a petiton to his Honor the Superintendent, and to tine Provincial Council be drawn up, and signatures be obtained thereto; and that a committee be appointed to carry out the object, and to dio anything further they may consider necessary." The passing of these two resolutions and the setting-up of .a committee did not see the cessation of active operations,, as on November 4, 1857, Mr Stevenson, the member for East Taieri, presented to the Otago Provincial Council "a- numerouslysigned petition from certain settlers in favour of immediate steps being taken to discover a remunerative goldfield." The House was in a compliant mood, and agreed to the sum of £SOO being placed on the Estimates as a " bonus for the discovery of a remunerative goldfield."

And to think that bonus went three and a-half years unallotted! The proclamaiton of the bonus was as follows:

£SOO REWARD. The Provincial Council having voted the sum of £SOO for the discovery of a remunerative goldfield within the. province of Otago, notice is hereby given that the above reward will be paid to any person ox persons who may discover a remunerative goldfield, end give information of such discovery to his Honour the Superintendent. One moiety of the above reward will be paid when a quantity of gold exceeding 100 ounces —the bona fid© produce of such goldfield—shall have been brought to Dunedin or exported from the province within any one yenjr, undor a certificate of the Collector of Customs at Invercargill or Dunedin; and the balance of thra reward will be paid when 500 ounces shall have been brought to Dunedin or exported from the province within any one year, under a certificate from the Collector of Customs at Invercargill or Dunedin. lu the event of more than on© claim being made for the above reward, the Government will be at liberty to make such a distribution of the reward as may appear to them just and equitable. By his Honour's corn!mand, John, Logan, Clerk to Superintendent.

This proclamation is so explicit in its terms that no more need be said about it. The marvellous thing, ho.wever, is that it went unawairded so- long.

A SURVEYOR'S FIND. In the Otago Witness, March 13, 1858, there is .a local worded in the following ..manner :--" Gold. —Mr Garvie, who is engaged in surveying the Upper Taieri and part of the Glutha River, paid a flying visit to Dunedin during the week. He brought with him some specimens of gold which he obtained in the neighbourhood of the Dunstan Ranges. The gold was much of the same character as that which was procured at the Waiopa, and was mixed with iron sand and oxide of tin. Mr Garvie, who was accompanied by an experienced digger, reports that they "found gold in every dishful of earth they washed; but as they had only, a pannikin to work with, and spent no time over the operation, the value of the field could not be ascertained. But his companion states it as his opinion that the prospecting would, even in Australia, be considered successful, and would justify the working of the field. Its distance, however, from town will probably prevent anything from being attempted whilst nearer places remain untested'." This gold was discovered more than four years previous to the great Dunstan rush initiated by Messrs Hartley and Reilly. The experienced Australian digger was an assistant on the survey gang, and his name was Mr John Buchanan. He resided in Dunedin for years after, and through his botanical researches received the well-merited honour of having the letters " F.L.S. " attached to his name. In regard to the names " Waiopa" and " Waiopai," it may be mentioned that these aire old-fashioned renderings of the name "Waihopai.." FOSTERING PUBLIC INTEREST. We now (following events in chronological rotation) come to an item of more pronounced significance than most of the preceding ones. It is given a prominent position in the Otago Witness of April 3, 1858, and after the brief but forcible heading "Gold," it proceeds: "The apathy of our public upon the subject of gold is very surprising. . . . From the General Government Gazette we observe that £40,443 worth of gold has been exported from New Zealand during the nine months from April to December, 1857. This must have been from Nelson. This presents a strong contrast to the state of matters in Otago. Gold has undoubtedly been discovered in several placet pf Otago—viz., in the Mataura, in the Waiopai, in the Clutha, at the. Dunstan Ranges, and now in the Ttrapeka, and yet not one single person has made the least attempt to test the value of any of these fields, extending over many hundreds oi miles. The offer of the reward - of £5U€ has not bad the slightest eff-rt in stimulating exertion. Will the foP-owing letter from Mr Garvie induce anvone to lose s week in the hope of proving the work ability of the field?— Te Houka,, Clutha River, March 23, 1858. To J. T. Thomson Esq., Chief Surveyor. Sir, —I have the honour to inform you thai while engaged in the survey of the Tuapekf country one of the men belonging to xnj party discovered gold to be pretty plentifully distributed even among the surface grave near the mouth of t'hat stream. Having n< sinking tools, we did not examine any fur ther, but there are indications of its pos eibly turning out « workable goldfield; ajir as I liaaxd at Mr Maitland's station tWt i is known by other parties, I thought it besto take the first opportunity of sending yoi notice. The place is so accessible that t dray could take a. ton at least from th< Waihola Lake; plenty of scrub for firewood and .a considerable extent of excellent agri cultural la.nd in the neighbourhood.—l hav< the honour to he, sir. your obedient servant (Signed) Alex. Oabvie, Assistant Surveyor. It is rather singular that two of the discoveries have been made by the sur veyors who are engaged in other work and cannot spend much time on the search, and yet their accounts are sc favourable that, were any person wit! more leisure to attend the subject, th<

? success would in ail probability be much greater." It is interesting to note how the editor of the Witness tried to work up public enthusiasm over the matter of finding a payable goldfield. It is more interesting j to note how fiat his excellent intentions j fell. Mr Garvie's discovery was the third ; made near Tuapeka, although the first publicly intimated of that district. | Mr GARVIE'S OFFICIAL REPORT. ] Before leaving the question of Mr Gar- | vie's connection with the unheeded demon - ' st ration that gold was widely distributed . throughout Otago, some extracts may be ■ given from the comprehensive report he sent in on July 15, 1858: Traces of gold were found in the gravel of several of the streams and rivers. , , . The gold found was in every case small and scaly, varying from the smallest specks to about the roughness of bran. It was found in the Ciutha River, above the junction of tne Manuherikia, and in the Tuapeka Stream, in sufficient quantities to make | it probable that it would pay to work ! if set about in a proper manner, with some wholesale system of washing, such >.. as sluicing. Specks were also found in the Manuherikia, Pomahaka, and Waitahuna, and it will probably be found also in some of the tributaries of the Mataura. In an addendum to the assistant surveyor's report the chief surveyor wrote: '' The best sample of gold yet brought into town was found in the south branch of the Tokomairiro River. This sample indicates a workable goldfield." In regard to this last item Mr Pyke says that Mr Thomson had informed him that it was "Black Peter" who had shown him tin's sample of gold, and that it came from the Woolshed Creek, afterwards a prosperous digging centre in the sixties and seventies. | STILL NO' FURTHER FORWARD. I Mr Vincent Pyke, in his valuable writings on the Otago goldfields, says:. "In 1858 the chief surveyor himself discovered gold in the Lindis River, a circumstance i to which he referred in a public lecture I subsequently delivered in Dunedin. Some 1 small finds were also made about this time in the sands of the Kuri, a small stream which flows into the sea near Hampden." The lecture referred to bv Mr Pyke was given on July 27, 4858, "by Mr J. T. Thomson (chief surveyor) before a "large audience in the .Dunedin schoolroom." The subject of the lecture was " The Province of Otago: Its P-scription, Resources, and Capabilities," and in the course of a lengthy discourse the lecturer referred to gold in two sentences. In enumerating the minerals, he says: "Gold has been detected in the Mataura and very generally on the Waiopai Plains, also on the Tuapeka and Lindis, but its existence in remunerative quantities has not yet been made apparent." In summing-up his facts, he says: "Our underground resources have been too little examined to of much _ certain speculation. That we have considerable and easily-available coal fields is undoubted ; and gold may be a valuable part of our exports." Just that and nothing more. Mr Thomson was evi- . dently neither a prophet nor the son of one, or his tone would have been a more positive one. Be would know of the existence of gold in the Tuapika (Tuapeka) River from the letter sent to him by MiGar vie. j A TRUE PROPHECY. : Before. leaving the year 1858 it may be mentioned that a public dinner was given to the retiring emigration agent, Mr James Adam, on October 6, 1858. At this function Mr Macandrew nroposed '' The Prosperity of the Neighbouring Provinces," Mr Elliot.- one of the proprietors of the Nelson Examiner, responding. ; In his remarks Mr Elliot said: " He believed that instead of being a sixth or third rate, Otago would at no i very distant period rank about a firstrate province. From what he knew of Nelson and her goldfields, he was sure there j would be goldfields in Otago; and she would some early day be the most prosperous province in New Zealand, in which prosperity he hoped they might all particii pate." I While this item may not have much to do with the discovery of gold in Otasro, it is inserted here because of the strikingly true prediction it contained. After this prophecy a period of nearly a year elapses before we hear of Otago gold again, and then we find a claim made for the reward. I THE FIRST CLAIM FOR THE ,| - REWARD was made in August, 1859, and the Witmess says: " The search for an available goldfield in Otago has for some time past been allowed to sleep. . . ,'. We have, however, received such information as , will, we have no, doubt, lead to something being done in earnest. . It appears that information was given to the Waste Land Board of the discovery of gold in a different locality from hitherto men-" tioned, and the person making the dis- ' covery gave notice of his intention to claim the reward of £SOO offered by the Government. The claim was made by Mr Alexander M'Niel, on behalf of Edward Peters, a native of Bengal, who has for 80XO3. months past been prospecting : and ' a sample of gold was produced weighing ranges, near Roxburgh, the residence of Mr W. Miller, about five miles north- ! west of Meadowbank, Tokomairiro. j The short distance from a tbickly- ■ inhabited district will, in all probability, i lead to the value of the field being ' generally tested. . . . In this instance, however, we understand that the gold was obtained by dry-digging, and with the aid merely of a dish. The Government have considered the discovery to be of sufficient importance to warrant the withholding from sale the land in tW neighbourhood until a report by competent authorities can be obtained." Whatever was done in the matter one I thing is certain, and that is " Black Peter" was not awarded the reward. That

was reserved for Gabriel Read nearly two years laiter. The very next week another claim was made for the reward, this time by a Mr Lee, who found traces of gold on his land in the Tomahawk Valley, near Anderson's Bay. Nothing further was found, so tins claim was not substantiated. A RUSH IN 1360. Here is a local in the Witness of June 30, 1860: "We understand that another claim has been made for the reward of £SOO for the discovery of an available goldfiold. The assumed field is this time in the south, in the neighbourhood of Invercargill. The precise locality is not stated. We have had so many unfounded claims for this reward, aaid so many reports, that we are rather sceptical on the point; nevertheless it may turn out an available goldfield." This is the first notice we have in the press of the " rush to Titturau " in 1860. It appears that Messrs James Blacklock and Roebuck had been prospecting the Mataura, and with ontfy the aid of a knife and a tin dish obtained a fine sample of gold, which they took to Invercargill. The place was in a ferment at once, and a public meeting was called, and at it a party was selected to give the reported locality a trial. There were 10 in the party, the two leaders being Messrs Wffl, M'Kinney and liCslie Cheyne. Other members were Messrs Jabs-z Hay. Wm. Robertson, Lawson, Holmes, and Alex. M'Queen. The repo-H signed by the two leaders (July 20, 1860) states that they found gold in paying quantities, and that " for a sluice Off torn the prospect would yield from 25s to 309 per man per day." In consequence of this report several parties went to Tuturau and started- work, but the weather continued extremely unfavourable for two months. Mr Jno. M'Queen, who was there savs : "We bad to work between the squalls. The gold was shotty, and in one patch we got £2 8s tier man for one day. We were there six weeks or two months, and had continual bad weather throughout. Per' sonally, I thought the report of the firsti party was iustifiod." Mr L. Cheyne's narrative was taken down in 1898,* and in the course of his remarks he said: "We found that Tuturau was not a payable workinsr, although a considerable quantity of gold was obtained in the river. At one spot we got 3oz 17dwit from a small dishful we washed out in the evenine. The gold was beautiful, but in the getting of it we were impeded by the constant flooding. As- a result of our labours we obtained 16«» of gold. This was the first saleable gold got in the province of Otaeo, and we sold it to Mr Watson (the bank manager) in September, 1860." The Witness records that the price pa*d per ounce was £3 16s, and that the gold was of good auality. It also says that it was understood that 40 or 5-0 men were at "the diggings," but th»it onlv one party had nrooer apoliances. With the exception of Mr Chevne's party we have no record of what the other di (Titers accomplished in the wav of cold-getting, but we knew that the field did not come up to expectations, and that- shortly afterwards it was abandoned. In M.arch, 1861, gold was discovered at the Lindis, and a rash of seme 300 men resulted, and then in June of that vpswr occurred the historic stampede to GabripVs Gully, the fiftieth anniversary of the dis-covr-rv of which we are on the eve of celelvatin<r. This is not within tb Q s.T>hwe of this article: so the writer will rmaclude by ouc/.incr. sorrw verses of "The Mataura Diggings." Tltev were written at the time by a local poet, whose breast, Ave will say, was inspired b* visions of what Otago should have been <hr* clirl not become until the famous Gabriel Read appeared) :—- Tho wild p<rrk hung in the diggers' .den-, Around the fire flat enm-looking men; Thov smoked their pipes and laughed with glee— The .land of gold is the land for me. The gold pannikin was placed on the floor. Not empty as once in times of yore; But cut of their bags thsy poured the tin Into what they called the gold pannikin. The five pennyweights were in days of old, —■ This is the day for pounds of gold; The south' the south! is the land for me— The land of gold and liberty.