GOLD HUNT IN GREECE

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1929, Page 11

GOLD HUNT IN GREECE

LOCATING AN OLD FIND. ' VIENNESE OFFICER’S STORY-. ;.-The' newspapers in Vienna recently gave the story of a Viennese officer, formerly a military geologist of the Austro-Hungarian army,' who was sent by request of the Turkish Government In 1890 to supervise geological surveys in Macedonia. In the course of these Wladislaw Kaswinski unearthed, near • the village, of Arret Gissar, a quantity "of ore, which was found by him to be rich in gold. The rumour of this gold find spread rapidly, and in a short time orders were given by the Sultan Abdul Hamed for Kaswinski’s arrest. When brought before the Sultan he expressed his willingness to give full details of the location of the gold mine in return for his freedom. Before the trusting Turks had time to realise that the information given was false he was safely over the border. . Then came the war, and the collapse of Austria-Hungary, Kaswinski, like thousands of others, lost his .position, and found himself without means of livelihood. Ho returned, therefore, to Salonica and tried unsuccessfully to locate the gold area. In 1919 he is said to have obtained help, first ' through Venizelos, and later through tho agency of King Constantine, to both of whom he made appeals. But despite some outlay of money, and considerable digging, no .’gold was found. Kaswinski then left for Greece, and •tried to enlist financial support abroad. An English firm is said to have advanced generous funds for excavation, and, under Kaswinski’s guidance, to have found tho gold vein. Rumour has it that many large nuggets of gold are at Intervals handed in to the Greek National Hank, but tho greatest secrecy is •Jcept about the actual output.