THE AUCKLAND GOLDFIELDS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 119, 30 September 1868, Page 2

THE AUCKLAND GOLDFIELDS.

." , - — ~* — — ■ . ; (Concluded from bur last.) . At the southern and western corner of the township, where the Kaueranga flows .into open -s-ater, here is a wharf in course of erection, and several of the steamers and. sailing craft,' coming up r.t high tide discharge cargo, one or two of the larger steamers having steam tenders to ply hetweeu Grahnra's town and here. Near this wharf the Post office, Court House, Police Station, and var.ous other Government offices j\re located, and from the front of such buildings, Pollen, the mail? stre t, runs in a direct line to Graham's town ; in this street all the various bank* are represented, each with their smelting houses, &0., and in consequence of these combined advantages, this part of the future city has become the main point of attraction, and is more bustling than any other, especially on a Saturday, when all hands take half holiday, and the streets and places of business are thronged by thousands. In fact, the neiuh- | liourhood of the Government buildings is made a sort of open exchange, and a large amount of business is transacted. The streets in this part, as indeed in several others, are till but impassable to vehicles, but I believe they are speedily to be rectified; tits Government are {jetting lots of money, but the Maoris are doing equally well by the i influx of traders, and might probably be in-, duced to contribute something, seeing that by so doing they are rendering the remainder of their property more valuable. The remarks about the style and permanency of the erection in Graham's town apply equally to shortland, solid and lasting as wood and nails can well make them ; no canvas, exctipt a few tenta in outskirts for temporary shelter, but allotments in leading thoroughfares futon f almlous rates, and all for : cash iv advance, so that here again, indeed throughout, nothing is to be done without money, scarcely rhcli a thing as renting a building; and "f perchance it does occur, the terms are forbidding, as for instance, for a very small but neat office in Pollen street, the sum of 50s won fixed, and, of course, a quarter in advance wo'tU be looked for. A large influx of busiiu-?< nen and others is continuously pouring in from the West Coast and. other diggings,, and «{l seem struck with the suitabilu; of ihe site, but can scarcely understand the expensive character of the erections at the &;.fciiiuin«, as compared with other places, sumtt even imagining that in such respect ii is not warranted, especially as they do not >cc that amount of excitement and money changing hands which they have been used 10 on alluvial diggings, and consider that a large portion of the trade will decamp whe> other fields are opened higher up the wmntry. Such comparative quietude is accounted forby the fact that many of the miners previously on this field ar<3 from .'Auckland and other portions of the .East Coast ; they are of a more quiet and settled turn, and many of them having commenced with bare meuns hare had to hang on for want of capital and machinery, which will be further explained when we come to th« mining part of our Buhject. Be this as ie may, many m-n <>f business are making good headway, especially ihe hotel and restaurant l:eppe."s, who nre making fortunes, and cannot provide sufficient shelter. Thwp is cne monster Temperance Hotel in fourae <•'' erection, said to be intended to make up from 300 to 400 beds, nn-J numerous other large places of accommodation am neariy ready. Th>re nre four churclief, ylz., Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Weslejun, and Roman, bul no schools us yet that am aware of, but I observe f]i t lenders are advertised for one at Graham's Town. They are certainly much needed, for children are numerous, some hundreds of families being already sett'eJ here, occupying vr<"<i the aristocratic verandah cottage in its owjj neatly laid-out grounds to the tworoomed cottage and whare. Home, of course, lire still under canvas, but general contt^tment seems to prevail ; though, a< in evtrry community, occasional exceptions will be found. However, on the whole it may safely be asserted that never before waa a digging community so orde r ly and well conducted, as evidenced by the impunity with whh:h respectably females and children '.an traverse the place. Miners wanting what they term a spree, will generally avail themselves of. the rc.'i'iy transit and visit Auckland. Of course, like all other diggings, single men of various ages will visit places of amusement provided by hotel-keepers, but even these are more than usually orderly, and out of the way of family circles. i bus, taken on the whole, including the favourable nature of the site, nffording as it does a ready and consequently oliesp supply of provisions, including fresh fish (at one-fourth the cost of it Canterbury), the general salubrity of climate (although lately rather wet), the facility for enjoying spells amidst the settled community of A uckland (of which more hereafter), with other advantages, render thin as a goldfield almost unparalleled for family men.

As to the extent of >usin«B* now transacted, It is difficult for me to depict, but some idea may be, gathered from the, fciet that in 6ne tide I count id twenty-eight sail of cargo-bearing craft take their respective berths on the beach, while six or eight steamers trade between Auckland and the various diggings, including Tapu, about 14 mile? hence, along the Gulf of Hauraki, four plying to and fro daily with passenger*, and generally crowded hither wards, c Messrs Yoiing and Son run a coach between the wharf and Graham's town several times each, week day, being prepared to extend their operations in any direction a* the country opeus for them. Butchers are a' ready beentning numerous, and bakers augmenting their numbers, and I know of one who employs nine bands and is about erecting an extra oven. The fresh meat is killed in Auckland, and much knocked about on the steamers amidst passengers, luggage, and goods, and cannot be so done in summer ; some preparations are however being made to supply live stock, which is most desirable to accomplish. There are but few branches of business unrepresented, and it is very difficult for me to advise those friends who relied upon me for a report, which has induced me to adopt this course of particularizing at leDgth bo as to have something to refer them to in general rather than attempt the task individually, and for fear of inducing one to come who might lay disappointment to my charge, I would say, " look for yourf elves." Travelling is costly, but when here if three or four club together in providing shelter, plum living can be managed at 10s to 12s per man per week, while hotel and restaurant charges are very moderate, and various openings occur in such communities. There if, however, one branch of the business community which I have purposely omitted to mention until now, and which ia to me quite puzzling to describe, that of share-broking, and general agency ; the crop of whom has sprung up like mushrooms and are the most prolific ever witnessed already numbering about 60 on the field, besides a goodly number in Auckland. Of course there are some substantial men amongst them, and mtny deserving ones, but there can scarcely be enough for all, as many miners sell their -own claims: and purchases are often similarly made without the inter vention of a third party (£IO.OOO of Victorian capital has during the past three or four days been so invested.) yet as tiie various claims now idle are brought to bear and the diggings extend there will he more to do in this way and some will remove to the new fields without the necessity of leaving the country. It is however possible that some practise in this line more as means of possessing, themselves of information for the j urpose of trading or investment. This, however (and not before time) brings me to the all important part of our subject, the prospects of permanency to warrant the expenditure epoken of, in other words the payable nature and permanency of the mines, which I might almost Rum up in a very few sentences, since capitalists of various grade are already visiting the place from several distant places aud apt edily beeom? so satisfied as to lose no time in making investments. I know of one ship-master who when casually here invested nearly £3,000 nn-l proceeded to Australia to give up his ship in order to return here and bring a quantity of fine machinery with him, the « hole of his cruw intending to accompany him. There are, however, points on which my friends wish for more explanation, and therefore I shall attempt to give it, although it must necessarily be imperfect, and fail to be satisfactory to all. There is some want of success apparent in th<midst of all the goo<l, »nd so it must ever he with everything connected withnwnkiiiil ; hut some croakers attribute this to a paucity of gold, and reason that the totn.l quantity obtained amounts to a very limited portion for each person on the diggings ; f-irfcett-ing that it is only recently the majority of the claims now yielding were in a (xisi'tiun to abstract it ; forgetting that many of the claim-holder* are merely holding on. either for the want of machinery or the means to get out the joeml bearii g stone ; not taking into account the amount of broken time enforced by wet ■weather, wad lost by the recent holidays, nor dreaming of reasons which may iudure bankers and others, who lave tin- power, to withhold from f uhlici'y the (»tal yield ; in fact, to Bum up this portion of the subject, they fail to cousider that the whole affair \* but in its veriest infancy, and mat but fe» really practical men sire engaged on it, hs shown by the fact that some now immensely rich claims have been given up by three or four parties in success on, before b ing properly tested, and some of ilie former holders have returned to their homes at a distance, deprecating the field. It is ntfdless n>r me to att<-mj>t t» parti cularise the various mines or, us they art called, claints. The country sit the bock of this township for miles in various directions, is somewhat mouitnincus and much broken, with spurs, gullies, and lavines. abounding j n timber, and a fair supply of wuter for mining purposes. It is from the front claims, adjoining the settlement, that us yet the gold has been mainly obtained, which, according to the best information, and my humble belief, is not ou account of superior richness, but rather of the expense <.-r removing tin stone from the back claims to thepesent batteries, and the fancied difficulties of getting machinery to the mints. To enable the mines to turn out tl.eii golden stores, machines must be g< t to them wherever they are, and despite the exclamations of short-sighted, or non-thinking individuals, that the difficulties in this respect will finally debar any extensive workings beyond the front of the hills, I make bold to declare such ideas as unworthy ol experienced or thinking men. lam personally convinced that no insurmountable difficulty exists, while what there is need not fall (much further than the finding of suitable tackle) upon the capitalist finding machinery, as a number oi

claimholdera combining, for the purpose would sboir rouse the vnriotis parts over the : very peak jof .the , highest mountain. -There. ,is abundance of timber for making rallies or trucks, far the convey iince of the several parts of machinery, and where bullock teams could not travel, a good block and tackle with crab winch, or even windlass, would remove the whole for miles in three or four days. Imagine, for instance, 60 to 100 stalwart fellows, with good tools and bright prospects, properly guided, setting about sucli a paltry task in good will on their own account. But, to do this, combination is needed in every respect, and also submission to a guiding mind. The various portions of such machinery are moved about and taken, at perpendicular purchase, out of the hold of vessels — even some tolerably small one3 — and surely up an incline, and on wheels, would ba easier work. I am told there are hundreds of claimholders about the hills and gullies for several miles back, and that many claims will exceed in - richness any of those now crushing. Some of these men are so positive, that waiting for capital to follow them they haye been for weeks living on bread and coffee alone, and some on more humble fare, Fancy those men comparatively isolated in mountain fastnesses, with hearts beating for their families afc a distance in need of assistance which they cannot render while they are in reach oE what would make them comfortable for life, but cannot render it available for want of machinery,, the supply of which they would make as profitable to the capitalist us to themselves. But gold is there (and even still richer country is not unlikely to be opened), therefore capital is sure to follow; Rnd it is only a question of ability to hold on. It ia even likely that some of that already got may be brought to bear in unfolding more, and so become reproductive, even several times over. The ground is rrener.illy taken up by parties of six or eight, and called so many men's ground, according to the number ; sometimes much larger parties are formed, but occasionally a small slice is found between two rich claims, and taken up by two or three. Of course each miner must have a miner's right, and so every person holding even a portion of a share. When taken up they must be regularly worked, or the party may get their claim registered for a time in order to get tools, or even the party together. If any claimholder neglects to work his claim daily, either personally or by substitute, he is liable to have his claim jumped ; but if for want of machinery or other legitimate cause satisfactory to the warden, time is necessary, the warden causes it to be registered for such time as "the party may satisfy that officer is reasonably required. However, I Cannot, in the limits of one report, and especially with such a brief period for observation, convey nn adequate idea of the working of the regulations, which, like all other human lav 73, are subject to slight variations to meet unforeseen emergencies ; neither could enything I might explain on this score further the ends of any who iiitend coining, however much they may desire to know ; for the reality of a thing generally differs from what men of various minds depict when at a di?tance.