THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOLDFIELDS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVI, Issue 7796, 16 April 1894, Page 2

THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOLDFIELDS.

Melbourne, March 28. The recent rains in Western Australia have directed fresh at'ention to the gold« fitfds. Many' >ho feared to risk a visit on account of the water faskie are now making up thiir minds to be off, and Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Zeehan, Newcastle, and Broken Hill are all losing the flower of their population, Claims are now being floated daily on the Melbourne and Adelaide markets, and though as yet there are only two reefing companies actually paying dividends hope is the watehword. At Coolsardia itself an immense amount of baildfog is going on, and land is rapidly rising in value. The celebrated Bayley's Eeward claim there is keeping up its show of gold, and several of the other claims look excellent.

At Kurnalpie, the latest rush, Arthur Baker, a new arrival, has found a 140oz . riaggeij. . . ' . Some very interesting particulars con« cerning the field, which are mainly alluvial, are given in the " Argus" by a well-known Melbourne and Sydney man,. Mr H. W. Mills, who has just returned, He gives the following interesting notes: I. LTJCRY NUGMT-FINDEBS.

The largest piece of gold discovered up to the time I left was72ozs in weight, and was oxtained by one Charles Woods on the Social Fiat, The next largest was • 520z, got by Lionel Middleton in the " slug paddock." The slug paddock was first exploited by George Davis, one of our party, who specked pr picked up on the surface a piece of gold weighing 22ozs, This was before Kurnalpie was known to the public. He sieved there for some time, but finding qo&ing further concluded he was wastiirji his time, and returned to a more, as he thought, profitable,, place. When fch® rush set in, a digger', one Frank Oolreavy, a resident of Parramatta, New South Wales, hearing of the piece that was got by Davis, resolved to try his luck there, and commenced to sieve. He isievid away for two whole days, but without result. On the third day he was Huccessful in obtaining a 360z piece and ,two pieces over 20oz in each, or some 84oz in all. Young Middleton, who had been trying his luck further away, came up to where Oolreavy was working, snd arrived just as ho obtained one of the slugs. He marked out a claim at once near him, and commenced to work, and it was not long before |he unearthed a 540z piece. He got another one weighing 36oz> and then sold his claim for Boz more. Strange to say the man who bought it did not even get a cowar. Oolreavy for some time continued to un» earth nuggets, and it is estimated that 200 or 3600z of gold was his reward for about a week's work. Numberless other \ claitpa were markfld oat, but with.one ' exception no one else ever got a colour.. ■The exception was A. Oouri, who got a 2os - piece. Some splendid gold was being sot, when I,left, in the gully running , dbvra from the Camp Hill. Wharton ? White, member of Parliament for the ; Light, in South Australia, came to the fields with Mr'Thring more for the purpose of looking about him than anything else,'when he took,up a .claim in the gully, and had been raking gold in to . the tune of from 15oz to 450z per diem. Reidy, one of the original , finders, is ; credited with having obtained llOOoz of gold, and that without putting a pick in the ground. He specked the lot-that is, picked it up-lying loose oil the surface with the aid of a number of blacks, to whom he supplied food, , THE WATRR DIFFICiILTY. "V ~

Most painful scenes !may_ be witne«B«d on the arrival of a cart with water. I [have seen a procession of' 150 men fol-' lowing a cart containing 18 gallons of. water. Those who arrive first get served first; but all is orderly and quiet; no jostling, no confusion. Those who can*. not gat served accept the inevitable, and with a muttered "better luck next time," the arrival of the next cart. This business is, of course, fatal to any sys« tematic work. The whole tinw of some of the men is taken rip looking after , water. Some idea may--be got of it# value at 2s a gallon wbsfousavr at the. • condensers one William Diwis water five horses he had brought with him from Coolgardie; for this he paid (only oie. drink each)'£9 4s. A horse's capacity for water, by a strange natural law, varies with the price. For instance a horse that drinks one gallon of water when water is Is, per gallon will dnnk two when it is 2s, and so one. The water consumed by Davis's team going to-fpa field and returning to Coolgardie cost within a few shillings of £80. You must be prepared not only nover to get anything washed here, but iievor to pet a vrasli yourself. Your snirfe you will wear till you can wear it no longer,; and then discard it for another., Wasn* _ ing yourself is not to be thought of, u you have to buy water. You will not got enough for drinking purposes. 1 am speaking, of course, at the front. _ If you have a condenser you will think it ft" shame, as I did, to waste water in wash* ing when bo many were nearly perishing for a drink. The men at Kurnalpie looked more like a' tribe of Red Indians than civilised white men. Apvopos 1 ot washing, I saw a curious sight _ while hero—a digger, quite nude, standing in , bis tent doo*, and, with the utmoit grayity, Hnisliiug hiinself all over with a clothes brush as if he had on a full suit. , _ : X ;