The Hauraki Gold fields.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXIX, Issue 8692, 23 March 1897, Page 4

The Hauraki Gold fields.

- •- • INTERVIEW AT HOME WITH ME H.-J. GEEENSLADE. . . (Continued.) ' y " You have referred more, parti- ' cularly to the Thames. What is the -"''! • eize of tho Hauraki Goldiiekls ?" • . ' " They are about 100 miles in length, and 15 miles across. ,t The total area is 1800 to 2010 square miles, and the ' whole of this has,.generally speaking;, • been" proved. 1 auriferous or argentiferous, The Coromandel district, in the'. famous" Hauraki "liiine • ' »"'situated - has, proved oxe'eed- / ingly rich. 1 ' , and ■" die , ''surrounding 'districts' promise to yield even bolter results ia the future. . Karangahake and Waioron- ' gomai nro being* systematically det <\ yeloped by British capital. The Waihi „ '- Company s raino when I last visited it in September was looking as well as ever. It is a niaguificent propeity, • and ,f rom 1890 to October last had produced £461,160 worth of bullion, while it promises, to. yield equally well, for very many years' to coino v 'I hen I have r.'|a'<big opinion" of the 'fuliiro of ' tho Waitekauri district. Several of the mines should in the near future give excellent returns, though', of course, so .('ifar the principal mine" is 1 (hat owned by the Waitekauri Company. The v '; Komata section of this property yielded ■when owned by the Komata Gold r~~ Mining Company £28,lC0<froa 5,210 tone of ore. , while several lodos have been opened up .by < tho prosent, com- ' ' pahy'with such excellent results that • tho directors consider it'may be desirable at' an oarlydato to work and adminster the Komata portion of tho an indopoudont concern. ~,. .'J he Golden Cross section has, however, . claimed most attention up to the present. Hero ilio lode—l have insppetod it many a" lime—runs from about Bft to 30ft wide in Corbet I , s level, and it is all highly profitable ore. Tho now 80 stamper battery is now in full operation—making 90 stamps in all— and I am certain the mine will soon i rank as one of the best in Now Zealand. I believe it-is a second "' Waihi." 1 ' " Then you entertain a high opinion of tho vnhio of the llauraki gold.fioldß?

"- -' '"I do. If tho capital ilmt'is gradually being iulrodnccd is judiciously expended in tho dovolopniont of tho mines, and the erection of efficiout reduction works, and not frittered away in '• the management espeusos, tho results will unquestionably prove eatisfactovy and fully repay investors, '- i. -Eogular paying rotunib ;.uj'ay bo considered a certaiuty, auJ grldniiuing in New Zei.laud, at auy rate,; will bo lifted to a marked extent put of its speculative chamber, and becomo as legitimate an investment for capital as a-jy oil.er industry. That is what v.'o fll.o have a large stake in the colony would like to see." "The facilities for uiiuiug are exoollenl, nre thoynot?" - "Yes, the' facilities for -cheap mining are simply unrivalled There is ' an abuudanco of water for battery purposes and motive power, tho ranges avo covered with splendid forest, and . -the country is mountainous, bo that in most instances mining.-can bo prosecuted by means of adits In souie - m arts, of course, Binking is nosv necesearj', and, so far, the lower levels have giron maivollously rich results. But -with the exception of the Kapauga at Coromandpl, m> mining of any consequence has boon carried on at a greator ' depththnn 500ft."-7 ■•■'•; i' Is much of the land occupied ?" "Well, iu Mnidi,'lß9s, there were J, 591 ncies held ui der mining leases,, and a year later JOOO acres, whiie there nre now, I should fav, nearly 100,000 ncTes in occupation." "': "Hnvo all the. mines be<m dovolopod?" •'■-■■ ~v;; , •' jiy no meaim., My opinion is that many'of the areas taken up for puiely speculative purposes, and iavpetoM naturally require to oxeereise jjood deul of cautjpji, We kve. aj ' '7.■■■-. 7; .' ('.•'• -

goldfield'of truly, immense resources, and hundreds of rninos thaj will amply repay the judicious investment.of capital. But. investors must discriminate between a gold mine and—well, ft ' grazing run. . The latter can, I havo no doubt, be acquired upon almost any terms; but a genuine auriforous nron, containing lodes of proved value, will always naturally command a dooont price. And my exporioueo is that it is better to pay a respectable %uro for a gold mine thau to take what I Jiavo termed a ( grazing run' or a ' wild cat , as a gift."

'I don't want to weary you, Mr Gre'enslado; but' would you mind briefly reviewing the history of the Thames Goldfield?'

"Well," replied Mr Greenslade, ".that in a big order,, since it must cover a period of thirty years. Howhere Mr Qreenslade rose from his chair.and stood with hisback to the fire—" if it will interest your readers, I will briefly allude to some of the most wonderful gold producers of the past. Butbefore doing so, I might romark that prior to its proclamation as a goldfield, there had been rumour.? of the discovery of alluvial gold at the Thamos. Thon increased interest was aroused, by the reported 'find' of alluvial gold in the vicinity of. the ICaraka .Creek, and a little later tho discovery made by Hunt and party in a leader outcropping near the ' waterfall, in the Kuranui Crook, to which they were directed by a native. "At first persons were sceptical as to whether the whitish-looking metal was really gold, but-all doubts were* removed when a test of 6 cwts. treated in Auckland gave the splendid return of 58 qzs gold. This was exhibited in Auckland for some time, and was the cause of great excitement,'the reeult being that.a 'rush'immediatelytook place./

"The Thames goldfield was proi claimed open for occupation on July 28th, 1867,-and soon'afterwards payable' gold v was obtained by various parties/! It was then' that some of those claims whicawore'to' play such a prominent : parViu the*;history of the field were pegged out, a amongst them being the Caledonian,' Manukau, and' Golden' Crown. The Manukau, how-, ever, was abandoned -after : a littlo , work had. been done with different re; suits, but it was again taken up by Mr R. Schofiold and others, who wore the first to strike the rich run of gold which was ; afterwards met with in tho Caledonian and Golden Crown mines, and made them famous. In order to point out the uncertainty of gold mining, I may mention that this gentle-'man-sold a half share in this mine for £24, but upon the rich patch of ( gold being come across, the fortunate purchaser again sold it for £B,ooo— verily, a handsome profit on the outlay !» ;. .'. •

"Yes, that, was rather a decent profit," I remarked. And Mr Gre'enelade proceeded: "But the first-- gold^of any consequence that was struck on the field was that in Hunt's claim (known as tho , Shotover), tho imujonso -yiolds of gold from which placed tlio lucky proprietors iu possossidu of an independent fortune. Each is suid to havo netted £oo,oflo. The fact of such rich gold being struck .in this claim had the effect of giving a great impotus to mining, and the population soon reached 15,000, mostly minoi's,wl:o were engaged in prospecting in every direction imaginable. But tirab will not allow me to individualise tho various clnims which obtained satisfactory returns, so I must confine myself to the more important events After the excitement regarding Hunt's I rich fiud hud subsided, good returns of gold were obtained from several of tho miues, but nothing, of a startling liafcui o. Some agitatiou for a series of tramways for tho conveyance of quartz from the mines to tho battories had boon cairied on, and tho Moanat»iari tramway was constructed by the Aucklaud Provincial Government, and opened for traffic on Juno 17th, 1869. The advantages and cheapness of tho tramway system wore soon discovered by, tho minors, and the construction of the Tararu and Waiotahi tramways soon followed; tho cost of theso tlireo Hues'."being"estimatod at £34,000. They were worked by tho 'Government—, ho Tararu until. July 6th, 1870, nnd the Wniotahi until April 21th, 1871, when they were leased, which was found to enable their being raoro advantageously forked thnn under tho old system." " And aro they still used?" , "No," answered Mr Greenslado, ■Htlioro js now no trace left of the ; Tararu and Waiotahi Hues. But tho Moanataiari is still largely used. It is : owned by the Thames County Council." • JW* Continued.)