The Coolgardie Goldfields

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6769, 5 September 1893, Page 4

The Coolgardie Goldfields

A Melbourne correspondent says :— A number of official reports on the Yilgarn goldfield, which includes Coolgardie, have been made by the warden of the field, Mr J. M. Finnerty. Writing on July lb the warden stated that the principal alluvial workings were the Roaring (iimlet and Hannan's rush. The former was about seventy miles north from Coolgardie township, but owing to the difficulty of getting rations this was almost deserted. Those who had brought paokhorses from York or Southern Cross were able to keep on, and were doing very well. Hannan's rush is about ninety miles east of Coolgardie, and there were then over a thousand men on the field, the majority of whom were making good wages, and the rest varying from bare wages to nothing at all. While there is no water to wash the dirt, it is yet so damp that it has to be dried with large fires before it can be dry-blown. The prospectors Han nun and his mate showed the warden 150oz of nuggety gold they had got in under three weeks. All the alluvial ■workings so far are surface workings, and at Lake Lefroy a number of small patches were got, but thp«e were soon worked out. So far the reefing appears to be a continuation southward of that on which Bayley Reward claim ia situated. On this claim there is an open cutting about 60ft in length and 10ft deep, from which gold to the value of L 40.000 has been taken out. About the centre of the Reward claim a Bhaft is being put down, and the intention is to crosscut at 100 ft to prove the country to the west. On the results of this crosscut, the warden believes, depends the immediate success of the field. In all forty-nine leases and thirty-four reefing claims have been applied for. At present (.he outlook is satisfactory as far as can be

seen, but in almost all cases tho shows so far are merely surface ones, no work having been done in th» way of development, except on Bayluy's Reward claim. The population of the wlmlo Coolgardie goldfield tho warden estimates at 1,700, and on his way hiiok to Southern Cross he passed about 100 nun on their way to the field, many of wlvun were in » state of semi-starvation not for want of money — but simply because there was nothing in the shape of flour, rice, or oatmeal to bo bought. Flour, where obtainable, reached as high as Is (id per lb. Just before he left teams loaded partly with flour arrived, hut about a'ton per day was required, and the supply was very short. Should the number of arrivals continue to be as large as at present there would be serious danger of starvation.

An observer lias taken 1000 notes of the conversations of passing young women. Out of that number 7SO began with either, " And I said to him," or " He said to me, or "She told mo that he said;" l">0 referred to dresses or hats that were either " perfectly lovely" or " just splendid ;" and the remainder were pretty evenly divided between comments on other girls, who were "horrid" of "atuck-up and hateful, new novels, studies, the summer holidays, and the latest scientific discoveries. When the Queen dies her mortal remains will re»t in the cray granite sarcophagus with the lato lamented Prince's Albert ashes. Underneath the arms of the Queen and Prince Albert on the monument is inscribed : " Will rest with thee— with fchee in Christ. Farewell, well beloved. Here at last I will rise attain." The white marble recumbent statue of the Prince Consort is in the uniform of a field marshal, wearing the mantle of the Order of the Garter— this is on the right. The left side of the lid and the unoccupied space is where the Queen's body will be laid. Bronze angels with out-

stretched wings and flowing robea are at each corner of the tomb. — ' London Society.' Many readers will be surprised to learn that wool is as cheap in America as in England, and some classes of American wool are so low in price that the holders can afford to ship it to England for manufacture. This is quite a novel and by no means pleasing feature in the history of the wool trade.