71

C—B

Working Dredges Visited by Inspector of Mines, Dunedin— continued.

Name and Situation of Dredge. Owners. Dredge-master. Remarks. Charlton —continued. Central Charlton Central Oharlton Gold-dredging Company T. Barnes Not working ; winches sent to Dunedin for repairs ; no boat-hooks and only one buoy on board. Waimumu. Waimumu Extended Waimumu Extended Gold-dredging Company Waimumu Central Gold - dredging Company George Pettigrew .. Rules complied with, and the machinery well fenced; no rules posted; all in good order; gangway required at bows. No boat-hooks or light-lines on board. The main tail-box is 60 ft. long by 6 ft. wide, and the return tables are 20 ft. by 12 ft., a total spread of 600 square feet. The dreoge is working in swampy ground, and some difficulty is experienced in getting rid of the " Maori heads " in the boxes. Pontoons overloaded at stern, and only 6 in. of freeboard; no boat-hooks or light lines at bow and stern ; old rules only posted. Generally in good order ; rules complied with. Waimumu Central George Biohen Waimumu Waimumu Gold-dredging Company .. F. Brown Waimumu Queen Waimumu Queen Gold-dredging Company James Cumming .. Mataura. Machinery, late Crookston's " Mountaineer"; pontoons new. I condemned smaller boat as being dangerous and unfit for use on the river. No rules posted ; fence required at bow and stern; being shifted to Mataura Island, the claim at Tuturau being considered unpayable. No boat-hooks or light-lines on board ; fence-rail required at pump-drive ; otherwise in good order. Eureka Eureka Gold-dredging Company W. R. Knightly .. Chatton. Gold Creek Gold Creek Gold-dredging Company .. W. Robins Otama. Otama (late Enterprise Gully).. Otama Gold-dredging Company D. O'Leary Only one boat alongside, the other being in use down the river; fence-rail required at the main drive only 12 in. of freeboard at the bows ; the pontoons are on the small side for river-work, and have not sufficient buoyancy to comfortably carry the plant and machinery on board.