Mount Zeehan

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7163, 14 May 1891, Page 3

Mount Zeehan

PEOSPECTS OP THE SILVER FIELD. The Southland, Times sayß :— Among the passengers by the Manapouri from Melbourne yesterday was Mr W. { Smith, contractor, who baa returned after a j en weeks' sojourn on the Taamanian silver i field. Mr Smith, who has had three years' J experience of the famous Broken Hill mines, j had every facility for thoroughly testing the j Zeehan field, and returned with a very j favourable impreßßion of its prospects. He , states that nearly 200 companies have j already been floated, that about 60 claims j have been taken up iu the Tyndale dis- j trict, and that pegging off is still the order ' of the day in the outlying district. Only ' one Company — the Silver Queen— is at present paying dividends, operations having been delayed through the absence of machinery, but a lot of the others have got large quantities of ore at grass, the Silver Bell heading the list with about 200 tons, which is expected to give very good returns. The population is steadily increasing, and now stands at about 3000, and many of these hail from New Zealand and other Colonies, notably Victoria. Good wages are made by navvies and others, but a great deal of time is lost through the heavy rainfall. A tramway is being constructed from Zeehan to Dundas, ! seven miles to the eastward, and it will be j ready as soon &s the railway, so that there ; will soon be a ready means of communica- ' tion from the coast to Dundas, five miles beyond which is Tyndale, where a good deal of pegging-off is going on. Of the companies now at work, the Queen, the Queen Extended, the Argent and the King have pumping and hoisting machinery at work, and the Queen has struck ore st a depth of 100ft. So far, very little sinking has been done, nearly all the stuff being taken from surface workings. Silver has been found from Zeehan to within fifteen miles of Hobart, and discoveries continue to be made in other directions, which show that the field is practically inexhaustible. Men well qualified to judge deolare that the place has a splendid future in store, and that it is bound ere long to carry a large and prosperous population. Mr Smith says that, unless in the case of those wishing to go into business, it is little use to go to the field till after winter, by which time the difficulties of travelling will have been greatly lessened by the advent of the iron noree. Among the New Zealanders on the ground are two old Invercargillitea — Mr D. C. Urquhart, formerly Manager of the Bank of Australasia, and now practising as a solicitor, and Mr L. Bodgers, for a long time in Dee street, and latterly of Pegaaua.