GOLD IN WEST AUSTRALIA.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12817, 17 July 1912, Page 2

GOLD IN WEST AUSTRALIA.

: Kir. ; M«tx von- Bertiewitz} &' New Zeaian.dei' who has be^iv engaged m West ■Australia; as a -ihetaUm'giftb and.' mining journalist,. *and_^vho' is JJpfi'his way to iiiwton^bn-the 1 pYfesent arfd'-futurei:>of the .^fsfc Ay^t^i^W 1 j|p|dfißld^ ; ftnxl tji|B country? i'genMaalyv; ,'^mv ydn -'.B.er'newitz prdfiesinon oh the Thames febianelffs. ; >' . • ; ; v itifaW^eneVaJlisrj^tie said' tllp> end fof the ihdiistiiy appeared, to him to be" m sight. t^s&a^di<Fw£i£ Jalidv^en iat ; Kalwheif©. tHere it&s! a^population of over'-oliObOv, the" lbde's were not- carrying what was ejcpected'of them,.flltHdvigli a depth ,pf 2000fir,had been sunk. Atißurbank, -one of -the new^er fields, someifiv^ miles from Coolgai'die, there was a fair s'Howr"An «ri6rriiouß amoitrtt of British and colonial capital had been suijk m these West Australian fields, thei? productivity of Avhic'hi was lessenings year by year. The shareholders had done rejnaf'kably, well. m. l( tjve,. past, biit^ they jb^ye no>% Mr^vbnv B<Brnfi\vitz feared, to face some shrinkage' in' the .returns, on. their investments. Jtyom. , £2,150,797 of dividends paid m 1904 there was a shrinkage to. £1,359,115 m 1909, arid a still further induction -to- £822,070 for 1911, the .yalues of gold won yearVby year had • dropped from £8,770,719 m 1904 to £5,823,075 for last year. v j .The latest m a Q n i ner y plant for the , purpose, wqre employed in,', the great mines, but the faofc .was^ patent that the ■gold.-was no Jong£v thei^e, not withstandipg ijie. depth? The b^st nijiners m th^ wpi'ld wer« employed, aiid> paid .13,8 4d..<a dia^^ and, were w;brth it.' Mr von Bei'new*t(s took a rather sdmbye yjiew of , the future of goldbeavlng tpoun-r ' ,t?y .where the yayious fields were a^l exploited to their fuljest extent. Agriculture would not follow oh mining, fpr the almfile r^ason^t4&.thalthpugh the soil was jmi&e^dingiy ricli^ tljo; jraliifall >yas] altogether inadequate for agriculture. Other minerals tHan gold ! 6i' rather thejbaser metals, did not count for much. There were silver, iron, tin, lead, copper, zinc,, and i mica .m - the country,,, biiteras .-> .they .had been worked m a smalls way for i years, . arid nothing remarkable had so far come from them 1 ) Mr von Bernewit?! ■•' did) „np.tft think -iljh ere v wias • a igreat before them. ' ' V-' '