CHRONOLOGY - 1855: Gold Trails

Gold Trails Chronology: 1855. A timeline of events following the discovery of gold in 1851.

1852
Washing dirt

1852 was the year that NSW’s goldrush started to face up to a reality check.
The intoxicating opening months of the gold saga when anything seemed possible and no one could guess at what would happen next had been and gone leaving behind a serious hangover.

Flooding on the western goldfields had inundated many creekbed workings on the Turon and disrupted mail and gold escort services. Meanwhile unrest over the gold regulations was stirring amongst the diggers while news in from England was demanding to know how the government had let a hundredweight of gold be grabbed with no recompense to the state coffers.

Still – there was much gold there to be had and amidst all this people went about the business of getting what they could.

Left: Collection of lithographs and sketches 1853-1874 by S.T. Gill
Reproduced courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a1833043)

The start of the new year in 1852 heralded a chance for the Sydney media to present a “call of the card” in relation to affairs on each of the goldfields.

The general mood of proceedings was one of a sober festive season, with many diggers taking a summer break – perhaps to drop back home and catch up with family connections put on hold in the rush to the goldfields.

The first of the fields to occasion comment in the media was the TURON – still the pivotal field then in play on the western goldfields in spite of competition hotting up from the newer ventures of Louisa Creek and Meroo just south of Mudgee around the locale of Kerr’s Hundredweight.

2 January 1852

TURON. UPPER WALLABY ROCKS. Last week having been Christmas week, but very little work has been done in the way of gold digging, and but very little news of any interest has occurred at the Turon.

The two last days of the week hardly a cradle has been at work on our point, ours being the only ones going on Friday, and then only till breakfast time, whilst on Saturday only four besides our own were employed here. This has been pretty well the state of things on most parts of the river.

Yesterday, it rained gently all day long, but I do not perceive it has caused any rise in the river. This morning it is fine, although the weather still looks unsettled, and we are getting fully into work again, though very few other cradles have as yet begun.

A foot race came off this morning between Mr. George Waldron and Mr. Hyland, which was won by the former, who carne in about two yards ahead of his antagonist. I understand that considerable sport in the way of horse racing, &c.;, will come off at Sofala on New Year’s Day.

UPPER WALLABY, DECEMBER 30.-I have heard of nothing of importance since I last wrote. The river still appears partially de- serted, the cradles at work not being nearly so numerous as they were a few days back ; and I expect that until New Year’s Day has passed a great many will still be keeping holi- day time.

Notices have been posted on the river, to show that a Commissioner will attend on certain days, at different localities, for the purpose of issuing licenses for the ensuing month, and that the regulations will be strin- gently acted upon for the future against any persons found working without a license. It is, I understand, in contemplation amongst some of the old diggers to form a company for the purpose of gold digging.

It is proposed that it should be only on a small scale at first, and that the amount of each share should be ten pounds ; five of which should be paid up on the formation of the Company, and the other five when it was found to be required.

I have some idea that it will be likely to pay, as the projectors are practical men, and the plan of operations at present laid out appears a very good one. I notice a slight rise in the river this morning, occasioned I expect by the rain which fell on Sunday. A large snake was killed on the other side of the river yes- terday : in fact, a great many have been de- stroyed about here since I came down-one on New Zealand Point was of a very large size.

The news from the OPHIR field at the start of the new year is especially informative. First up it reported that several diggers had returned to the field after finding the new ground at Araluen not to their liking. This was an expression of confidence in Ophir that the correspondent was pleased to emphasise along with other stories of success.

Of particular note is the account of torrential storms over Christmas and the fact that the overall season was so damp that “Such a moist season the inhabitants of this and the adjacent counties have seldom witnessed”.

2 January 1852

OPHIR. If we, at Ophir, have not spent a merry Christmas, there is no one will dispute the assertion that, taking all things into consideration, we have gone through the festivities in a very orderly manner; but, little business in gold has been done, either in the way of digging or purchasing.

The few, however, who have toiled at their claims have realized considerable returns, but they refuse to sell at the present reduced price, unless it be for actual necessaries, holding the surplus for a better market.

During the last three days no less than fif- teen individuals have returned to our gold fields from the Araluen diggings, having satis- fied themselves that Ophir is not yet to be slightingly viewed. Several other parties have also arrived, to commence operationS the en- suing month of the new year, amounting in all to about forty souls. Of these, there is a party of five from your city, one of whom, in the course of four months, with his own hands, realized upwards of £300 worth of the precious metal ; and he intends to work again conti- guous to his old claim on the Lewis Ponds Creek, about half a mile from the Commis- sioner’s Camp.

From this creek (whereon Northwood’s party were at work) I have seen some of the finest samples of gold which have yet been brought to light in this highly favoured colony.

The weather during the past week has been rather injurious to our diggers, in the bed claims : although until Christmas night we had not been visited with rain in any large quan- tity for two or three weeks, and not a drop until that night for a fortnight, still the creeks rose on Wednesday last several feet, and flooded the claims in various parts ; but on Christmas night we had a drop or two more than the miners fancied. About midnight torrents of rain rolled and roared down our ra- vines and hill slopes, and in their course lifted several cradles considered to have been stored “ high, and dry,” and secure from summer floods.

Fortunately no damage, more espe- cially to life, waa done, as at the Turon, on the late great and sudden gush of water down that river and its tributaries. Such a moist season the inhabitants of this and the adjacent coun- ties have seldom witnessed ; and, as if a kind Providence had so ordained it, our crops are more than abundant for ordinary purposes, and are being reaped and garnered in good order and at reasonable rates.

In the course of another month we fully expect to have flour delivered at our huts, or nigh to them, at 20s. per 100 lbs. In consequence of the demand for carriage to Ophir from Sydney or Bathurst being much lower for the last few weeks, pro- visions and other articles in general demand are offered at a much lower figure than formerly. In my next I imagine I shall have it in my power to declare that Ophir has won back her own, and more-the novices of other “glorious diggings,” such as the Abercrombie and the Araluen.

Not-with-standing the amount of rain falling on the district, LOUISA CREEK on the tableland country south of Mudgee still struggled with lack of water to process the gold in what was clearly a very rich field indeed.

Significantly operations focussed not so much on surface workings as they did on mining the deeper alluvial leads underpinning the area. Alongside these a new reef mining venture was also in the process of setting up operations.

10 January 1852

LOUISA CREEK, MEROO. Yesterday I visited the Louisa, and found the diggers in much better spirits than they have lately been. They had received warning that many of them must turn out and make room for the Companies who are expected to start, as they had to do for the “Great Nugget Quarter Ridge Crushing Company,” but no,-Mr. Hardy has been round and done justice to the poor man.

He has said none are to be disturbed in their claims, nor need have been, all are open to dig in the Creek, and the companies are to be confined to the quartz ridges, and consequently the Commissioner has been assigning new claims as formerly. It is expected in consequence that great numbers will pour in soon, as the Creek is known to be rich.

Many at present doing well and new places are being found out. Whoever sinks deep generally succeeds. One person who employs two men, I was told, is clearing £20 a-day. The draining of the ponds or water-holes has turned out generally well, 130 ounces and upwards being often got from a single one.

There is no doubt but gold abounds over the district or table land, which is 20 or 30 miles in length, by about half that in breadth. Some time ago I bought above an ounce of gold which had been washed from a little earth that had been carried in a bag about seven miles to water, a nugget of about a quarter of an ounce had been given away for some eatables, and the party were so convinced of the abundance and extent of gold that they said they should return to it as soon as there was water, and they had no doubt they would soon make their fortune and return home to England ; and that there was room for hundreds.

The secret was to be confided to me at the proper time, so that you may per- haps be also favoured with a hint on the sub- ject.

At the Meroo, beside Richardson’s, many have lately congregated, and I understand are doing very well. The Devil’s Hole, which I also was so bold as to look into (horresco referens), is still a favourite place.

I descended into one of the dens or pits, and strange to tell it was not hot, as you might expect, but most cool and pleasant, with not even a fly to disturb you,-something like what you might conceive of the regions of Tartarus, dull and gloomy, but yet presided over by King Pluto, celebrated for his wealth, and who with his usual generosity handed forth daily to his three devotees in this recess about four ounces of his precious treasures.

He is likely to continue for some time to be equally liberal to such as worship him With similar devotion. Dr. Gwynn has been doing a rare stroke here for a great length of time ; and were it not that he is so useful, and highly thought of, might retire literally loaded with gold.

In relation to developments on the ORANGE goldfields at this time, things seem to have been very quiet, as the correspondent’s report mentions much about the weather – but nothing of the gold!

26 January 1852

ORANGE. It is now such a considerable time since I troubled you with any communications from this quarter, that I am somewhat puzzled on what subject to make a re-com- mencement. Your very witty Ophir correspondent alluded to my usual opening about the state of the weather, and intends “following in my wake;” so suppose I con- tinue my old custom, an’*, like the Ethiopian Serenaders, at once “ explode.”

All youc readers have heard of, and all the people in the colony have experienced, the delightfully roasting weather of the past four or Ive weeks. Our district has not differed mu .lin this respect from other parts of the o/nntry, and therefore it would be useless to ¡uwkc any special illusion to it.

Since the violent thunderstorm on Wednesday, the Hill ultimo, we have had very fine weather, «uti several cool or rather cold nightsnand mornings, the days excessively hot. On Thursday, tho 2 hld, about noon, we had a sharp squall of wind and rain for an hour or so ; Friday and Satur” day-were fine, but w;th the accustomed tpian-’’ tity of caloiic in the air, f>nd yesterday afternoon we “were visitc-d by several squalls, accompanied with lightning, thunder, and rain.

We had then a lull for a few hours, but with a heavy and clouded appearance of sky, the se^d coming west nnd by north, and then divvjing to the southward and eastward. From 7 l’.w. the lightning became almost con- tinuous m the north-west, – li about half-past 8 a violent squall succeeuJa, attended with violent thunder, lightning, and rain, which lasted for better than an, hour, with the excep tio i’of the rain, which continued during the ni^’.if, sometimes with great severity.

ThiB morning we have more of it, and present ap- pearances are not indicative of any immediate change. Rain was much wanted, but whether its visitation* at thi« particular time, before the wheat croi»” had been properly secured,- .will be productive of much injury, I cannot yet say-} but I think it will not do’much harm, for ex cent in some few cases of late crops, the harFix this text ve¿ung is nearly completed, and with the most sptendid results, as far as the yield and quality of the grain is concerned. I will have to . communicate more general news in my next which time will not allow me to do at present

Weather reports however were something uppermost in the minds of all the miners on the western fields at that time.

In the case of the TURON field and the town of SOFALA, the floods on the river had resulted in a many miners deserting the field for the drier, rich grounds of Louisa Creek to the north. This was very bad news for the storekeepers who had newly established themselves at Sofala with the report from February noting that it would be “difficult to imagine a more melancholy looking, doleful set of men”.

20 February 1852

THE TURON. THE decline of the fortunes of the Turon ap- pears to be proceeding with rapid strides. Some of the points are now entirely deserted; and except that they bear the indelible marks of recent and astonishing industry, are restored to their pristine solitude.

One by one the tents disappear, team after team leaves the place with its human freight, and by sure but not slow degrees the people melt, as it were, out of sight, as if by some operation of enchant- ment. The numerous discoveries recently made in other localities very naturally attract those who have been driven from their vicini- ties by their supposed poverty in the most pre- cious of metals, to a district in which it was believed they were most abundant.

But now that this is no longer the case, we must await the arrival of a home or a foreign population and be satisfied with our share of the general prosperity.

Lucky Point, we are told, is com- pletely deserted; Monday Point almost as lonely as when a wilderness, and that Golden Point glitters no longer with golden heaps, and hundreds of energetic and expectant diggers.

As a matter of course, the town popula- tion of Sofala is rapidly falling off, although it has been gravely asserted that both the people and the buildings are increasing. Busi- ness is consequently very flat, and at this present time, with perhaps a few exceptions, it would be difficult to imagine a more melan- choly looking, doleful set of men than the Sofala storekeepers.

It is a singular fact, but it nevertheless is a fact, that their spirits are affected by the waters of the Turon as the mercury of a weather glass by the atmosphere. When the water is up spirits are down, and when the water low, their spirits are high, The prospect of a coming thunderstorm, no matter how distant, set, numberless hearts a palpitating, and a few fleecy clouds on the horizon are eyed with as strong a feeling of apprehension as the approach of a white squall by the anxious skipper of a frail bark in the midst of the great Southern Ocean.

On Sa- turday, the weather was extremely hot in the middle of the day, and atmospheric appear- ances by no means indicative of settled weather. Various were the surmises concerning the re- suit, and to a disinterested witness it was easy to perceive how frequently in the opinions ex- pressed, the wish that the weather would con- tinue unbroken, was father to the thought.

The first indications of gold digging now show themselves some seven or eight miles nearer Bathurst than formerly. The Wattle Flat, a table land stretching from the Wyagden to the Turon ranges, is intersected in various directions by chains of ponds or waterholes. Upon these small bands of diggers, numbering from eight to a dozen, are rocking their cra- dles until the waters of the Turon shall have subsided sufficiently to allow the bed claim to be worked.

Mr. White’s Stations, we per- ceive, above the head of Oakey Creek the larger are pretty closely begirt with Turonites, the earth which they are washing, (a white pipe clay), being in some cases carted a couple of miles, and not unfrequcntly in rented vehi- cles. Their earnings, so far as we could ascer- tain, are generally moderate — what are termed good wages, and a few make more. An ounce to a couple of ounces per party of three or four men each day; sometimes more, oftener less, is about the average yield of these diggings. But as the water holes, although well filled, are distant from each other, and do not there- fore present much frontage.

A dense digging population could not find employment on the Wattle Flat, and it is pretty evident that if the tailings are allowed to accumulate in the usual fashion about the brinks of these pools, that a few floods will fill them up, and render the land useless either for digging or pastoral pur- poses. In a country like our own, subject to periodical droughts, and a consequent scarcity ot water, this is a subject of great importance, and a few regulations bearing upon it would be of essential service.

Already, we are told, the Mookerwa Creek is completely levelled in this manner, all the holes having been filled up by the action of floods upon the loose earth.

The accounts from the Meroo and Dirt Hole Creeks have lately kept a constant drain upon the Turon digging population. Whole cara- vans of men and pack horses, in twenties and fifties, have for some time been taking their departure, almost daily, for both places, and the banks of the Turon gene- rally, as well. as most of the favou- rite points, present an almost solitary appear ance.

A gentleman who has latterly been on a trip to the latter place informs us, that new ground has been broken about three miles on this side of it, at a place called the Stock Yards. From two to three hundred diggers are at work, all of whom are at least making. wages, and many doing remarkably well, The country about the locality, he describes as beautifully open and very pleasant, and the ground upon which they are at work as an al- luvial flat.

A Commissioner and a body of troopers are now established in that quarter, whose services extend over the lower Turon generally. Up to the present time things ap- pear to proceed as smoothly as can be ex- pected under the circumstances. Sheep Station Point, as an exception to the rule, begins to look brisker than usual. A large body of diggers are congregated about the river bed, working, some knee deep, others almost up to the middle in water, and the greater portion doing very well.

The labour, however, is exces- sively severe, and very trying to the constitu- tion. Excavation is of course impossible, the stuff upon which they are employed being the loose drift matter at the bottom of the river, which has been washed down by the late floods. This they scoop out and throw into their cradles, which are placed as close as pos- sible to the water’s edge, and thus, for the present, carry on a very laborious but not less remunerative occupation.

The question raised by the facts stated in the last paragraph is a very important one, and one well worthy the consideration of the dig- gers. Whence comes the drift matter which now finds profitable employment for the miners at Sheep Station Point? Is it the wash from the hills ? If so, the bed diggings are renewed by a fresh deposit every great flood. Or is it rather the “ tailings,” or refuse matter which have been carried along by the force of tne stream since the late rains, and distributed along the river bed. In such case the earth must have been very imperfectly washed, and with superior industrial contrivances, we whole could be profitably reworked. It is evident at all events, that we have mucn to leam in extracting the gold from the soil.

Many bed claims have changed hands at a greatly reduced figure. One was purchased a few days since for £40 which had been refused for £100 a little before the flood, and many more have been sold at an equally depreciated value. As everything depends upon the wea- ther, and the value of these purchases is materially influenced by the chances of even a single thunderstorm, the traffic is regarded as a very uncertain one, and subject to many contingencies. The profits may therefore be On page 3 very considerable, or be represented by a cyper.

An accident, attended with fatal results, oc- cured Wednesday last at Mundy Point. A Lieutenant Duncan, formerly of the Indian army, and late a settler of South Australia, was killed whilst at work in a tunnel, by the falling in of the superincumbent earth. It appears that at the time of the accident he was employed picking down an earthern pillar which had been left as a support, and although warned by a boy who was working by his side that the earth was tottering above him he still persisted. Perceiving the imme- diacy of the danger, the boy rushed to the mouth of the tunnel just in time to save him self, whilst at the moment the unfortunate gentleman was overwhelmed with an immense drop of earth, and thus fell a victim to his own pertinacity. T

he neighboring diggers imme- set about removing the dirt, and when the body was found it was discovered that a piece of stone about the size of an egg had broken the skull and penetrated the brain, no doubt causing instant death. Deaths from dysentry are still frequent, and however unpalatable a truth to tell, coffin making appears to be a thriving branch of the carpentering business at Sofala. Many of these deaths occur under circumstances of a most painful character, demonstrating most forcebly the necessity of some such institution as a public hospital at the diggings. Amongst others who have fallen victims to this disease we may record the death of a Mr. Clay, from Adelaide, who has lately been em- ployed as butcher and storekeeper at Wallaby Rocks.

scrabbling to look after the government’s interests

One of the challenging aspects of the gold fields for both social commentators and government officials alike was the way in which claims assumed de facto property rights for their occupants, such that they could sell them at great profit without the government benefiting in any way from the transaction.

This very issue was addressed at length in an article that relates in detail both the operation of the license system and the fact that because it was not being adequately enforced, it promoted the opportunity for people to both sell their claims (which they did not own) and also to salt them in order to defraud the easily tricked newchums.

12 January 1852

GOLD CLAIM JOBBERS. THE abuse of the present system of licensing diggers for gold has called into existence a class of persons who may not inaptly be termed” Gold Claim Jobbers.” The original intention of the Government in framing the Gold Regulations was to act fairly between the licensed and the licensee ; between the Crown: on the one hind and the public on the’ other.

The regulations were evidently framed to produce a revenue to pay all current charges, and to provide a balance against contingent expenses. But it was surely never intended by the Government that that which was legally the property of the Crown, over which a monthly li- cense only extended, should be held by the licensee and his assignees for the purpose of sale, speculation, and gambling.

It was never intended that a person obtaining a license to dig for gold on a particular spot should be able to transfer his claim to another, with- out the concurrence of the properly constituted authorities, or that he should hold a claim to work it only once in ten days [in accordance with the regulations] | to ensure his tenure, without intending I to extract gold from it.

In turning to the instructions to the Assistant Gold Commissioners, issued on the 23rd of May last, and recently pub- lished by the Legislative Council, in the Gold returns, we find the following paragraph : “ You will, on the first and folloiving days of each month, commence issuing Licenses in your district, receiving pay- ment for the same in money or gold dust You will commence at the portion of the Diggings which is most convenient, marking out at the time of giving the Licences the boundaries of each party, on the following scale, namely : *’ On every river, or main creek, fifteen feet frontage to cither side of the stream, to each person licensed. “ On every tributary to a river, or jnain creek, twenty feet to each person licensed. “ In every ^ravine, or dry water-course, running into a creek or river, sixty feet of the bed to each person licensed. .. On table land or river fiats, constitut- ing dry diggings, twenty feet square to each person licensed. “ These allotments are to be marked consecutively when practicable ; and you will, with the assistance of your clerk, who will accompany you at suitable times, enter in a book in the form an- nexed (B) the description of the localities allotted, icilh the names of the parties. You will append to such book a rough chart of the ground in the manner an- nexed marked (A), giving names for the convenience of reference to the more pro- minent portions of the ground.” And a little further on it is enjoined that “ as soon as practicable you (the Assistant Commissioners) will divide j our districts into separate beats, assign- ing to each trooper a particular locality. By this means he will soon become ac- quainted with every person on his beat, and moro readily detect unlicensed dig- gers.”

These instructions of the 23rd of May, referring to the issuing of licenses, the parcelling out of claims, and their registration, are still in force. On the 7th of October additional Gold regulations wrere published, reiter- ating the quantity of land to be licensed to each digger in similar terms to the instructions of the 23rd of May, but add- ing that, “ every such claim shall be voided by the failure on the part of the claimant to work the bame within ten days after the date of its acceptance : i and persons found working on such or any other ground without having previ- ously paid the License Fee to the proper officer, ehall pay double the amount for such License ; and in default be proceed- ed against in the usual manner.”

If these instructions and regulations mean any thing, they mean this, that every party to whom a license is granted, ia lo work a particular allotment of ground during the current month for which the licence is granted ; and it was clearly the intention ol’ the Government that the license and the allotment, or claim, should be considered ae part and parcel of one licking system, wjcl that the renewal of the license was to he for a particular allotmentand for no other. Why then ia not this system rigidly and uncomprisingly enforced ?

But let us for a moment see how a digger disposes of his claim. If the allotment should turn out to be nf value, if the gold be found in abundance, and the labour of acquiring it easy, the claim becomes of value, and the digger realises, not by j digging, but by selling his claim (in which | he has only a tenure till the end of the month) to a claim-jobber, who buys the claim not to work it, but to sell at a profit to some one who can’t find a berth to dig in, and who having come thus far, thinks it better to purchase from the claim-jobber than return home without trying his fortune.

It is true that, ac- cording to the regulations of the 7th October, “ the claim shall be voided by the failure on the part of the claimant to work the same within ten days after the date of the acceptance,” and we are in- formed that it is no uncommon practice for the assignee of the licensee, or, more pro- perly speaking, the claim-jobber, to spend an hour or two one day in the month on the allotment, to establish his right to the claim, which he has derived -not from the Government, but by a purchase from a previous holder.

The common sense view winch every impar tial and unprejudiced mind must put upon the gold regulations, and the in- structions to the Assistant Commissioners is, that at the end of the time for which the license is granted to the original licensee, the claim or allotment for which the license is granted ought, if the ori- ginal licensee decline to renew his license, to revert to the Crown, to be by the Crown licensed to a fresh applicant. The present system of claim jobbing ope- rates detrimentally in two ways: it opens the door to defrauding the (Jovernment, either by the evasion of a license, or by depriving the government of any bonus or premium that the allotment or claim might ensure from the richness of the. claims in its immediate vicinity, and it operates with the greatest harshness and injustice to the miner, who leaves his home expecting to be able to obtain a claim, but who finds on his ar- rival at the diggings that such a deside- ratum is only obtained by purchase from a claim jobber.

The original license to dig does not include the right to sell the claim. It only gives the occupier of the soil a right to dig on the claim so long as his license is running, and it does appear to us a monstrous dereliction of duty on the part of the Commissioners that they do not put a stop to this illegal traffic in claims.

It may be said that they do all in their power to prevent it ; in answer to which we will merely add, that if they were to follow out their instructions to the letter, and en- ter in a book the descriptions of the localities allotted with the names of the parties, they would then be en- abled to renew the license to the same party, or failing his application, they would be empowered to grant a license i to a newly arrived digger waiting for a ‘ claim. It is only by a rigid adherence ‘ to these instructions that justice can be I done between the Government and the I miner, and the instances of “ peppering” claims now so common for the purposes of bale would be discontinued, and the unwary no longer entrapped.

… and finally – it’s stopped raining!

Now this was good news – especially for the troubled Turon field. Once people could get back to working the creekbed, the attractions of the dry plateau country around Lousia Creek suddenly seemed less rosy and the human tide turned around to drain back down off the escarment into the river valleys.

Suddenly also one wonders about how genuine those long faces of the Turon storekeepers were! It turns out that to cheer themselves up when the floods were on they purchased many of the claims from departing miners. Now things had dried out, they were then in the process of employing others to work their choice ground for them!

Elsewhere news from TUENA spoke of rich finds that beckoned a bright future for this fledgling field.

6 March 1852

GOLD CIRCULARS. On the whole we have reason to congratulate ourselves this week with respect to the news from the mines. The bed claims on the Turon can now be worked and many of the owners have returned from the Meroo and other Creeks to re-commence operations.

An excavation below Harbottle’s store has been made, and is said to be of sufficient capacity to carry off any ordinary flood without interfering with the miners its cost Is variously estimated at the £350 to £500. Parties in this locality, almost without exception are doing well. One individual obtained last week 20 oz. one day before dinner; and in several instances these earnings have been exceeded, A person, well known by the cognomen of Long Tom, has latterly been reaping a golden harvest, frequently as we are informed, taking from 20 to 3O oz. per day out of his claim.

He is now employing his men in amassing the auriferous earth so that when the winter sets in they may be engaged in washing it: a cart load of this earth is valued at £150 by the owner.

Many of the Sofala tradespeople during the late panic, purchased claims at a nominal value and have now engaged men to work them, their contiguity to rich diggings giving the advantage of turning their atention to mining when business happens to be dull.

The bed claims at Sheepstation Point are turning out very rich. A Dr. Cutting has lately been re-worklng his tailings, from which he sometimes, gets 2 oz per dav, and the diggers are doing generally well Little Oakey has again been yielding its treasures to the industrious miner but as the waters are fast falling it is soon expected to fail, the general opinion is that with a good supply of water, it will still produce an immense quantlty of gold.

On Friday last two young men took 5 oz out of a pocket; and a little boy, with a tin dish, has been making I1s, per day since the flood, whilst others have been picking up with their knives small nuggets on the ridges which divide the two Oakeys. The intelligence from New Zealand Point and the Upper Wallaby Rocks is of an encouraging nature, many of the bed claimants are now realising their long cherished an- ticipations.

The diggers on the Crudine are doing well, although few have dug to a greater depth than 3 feet. At the Dirt Hole and Stockyards it is supposed there are about 1500 people, but the success here does not appear to be very remarkable. At Mundy, Golden, Erskine, and Patterson points, a considerable number of men are reap- ing a nch reward.

The news from the Abercrombie is also of a cheering character, a party from California had ob- tained 80 ozs. in 12 days from the Tuena Creek, of coarse nuggety gold, very similar to that produced at Ophir. Another party of two had procured 24 ozs. in a fortnight, on a newly discovered point, about a mile and a half from Mr. Smith’s head station, underneath a bald hill, which by good judges is supposed to be very rich.

Where- ever the ground in this vicinity has been tried, gold has been found in such quantities as to afford a abundant as- surance of success to the miner. About 150 licenses have been taken out for the new gold field at Little River near Braidwood, the reports from which are still favourable, and many are prospec- ting in the imediate neighbourhood, expecting to find a reward for their labour. Some have dug holes and left them, while others, more perserving, have taken them up and found them very productive; both here and at the old spots.

Major’s and Poll’s Creeks, the diggers are work- ing away with their usual success. Two or three scientific men from California have been prospecting at the new diggings to the northward; it is reported that they met with gold in abundance. They worked only 5 hours in the neighbourhood of the Hang- ing Rock, and obtained 7 oxs. of pure gold in nuggets and grains. They showed their sample to Mr. Hargraves who they accidentally met there, and indicated to him pretty nearly the spot where they found it; there is little coubt but he will soon trace it out.

The escort brought in this week from Sofala 1782 ozs.; Ophir 127 ozs. Bathurst 204 ozs.; and the mails from Sofala 1165ozs.; Braidwood, 333 ozs.; Bathurst, 197 ozs.; Mudgee, 13 ozs.; in all 3898 ozs.; worth about £12,668 in addition to the above, a very large quantity has been received by private hands.

Nor was OPHIR yet to be discounted in the 1852 Goldfields Stakes it seems. Though many made merry at the mere prospect of anyone taking this ancient goldfield seriously, several indeed still did and were none the worse for their efforts.

Beginning a call that would long echo across the goldfields, the correspondent visiting the diggings lamented the want of capital claiming “if only capitalists could be induced to turn their attention to digging, employing men at fair wages, they would undoubtedly have returned no inconsiderable amount of profit”.

3 March 1852

OPHIR. After my lengthy silence, you will no doubt expect something glowing from the parent gold field of Australia. I had almost made up my mind that Ophir was doomed to be like the deserted village of old ; not so, however, the tide is once more turning in Ophir’s favour, and not only is gold in large quantities being turned up by those who work systematically, but we have arrivals of small portions every now and then from other reputed first-rate dig- gings, such as Dirt Hole and Turon’s Oakey Creek, who intend, during the remainder of the dry months, to turn the Summerhill Creek topsy-turvy.

A very good example has been set diggers generally at Ophir, by the grand operations of the party belonging to Messrs Samuels and M’Intosh, under the highly creditable super- intendence of Mr. Benjamin White.

That gentleman has, with his assistants, so directed the labouring portion of the party, that now the hole, which so very lately was an extensive basin of water, is nearly dry, and only for the underground nitration, the small body of water in the pump well could easily be thrown up in less than an hour, But the successful drainage of this first waterhole is not the only matter in reference to this undertaking I have briefly to dwell upon.

It must now be called the “ gol- den basin” of Ophir, for its yield of the pre- cious metal, I, as well as those upon the 6pot, anticipate will be more than the proprietors of this cluim anticipated a week ago.

The working of the ground, after prospecting for the purpose of striking into a promising vein, was com- menced in earnest on Monday last, with the full strength of the company, by clearing oif, collecting the soil and carrying to the cradles, and the final washing in the pans. The result of the three days, ending at 6 P.M. this evening, is as follows : 028. dwlS. ¡TT9. Monday . 5 4 l8 Tuesday . 9 6 0 Wednesday. 48 7 0 62 17 IS Add to this the quantity procured during the two or three days’ prospecting referred to above, amounting to 3 ozs. 8 dwts. I2grs., you will have the full amount collected since the hole has been brought into working trim, viz. -C6 ozs. G dwts. 6 grs.

It appears that the vein now open has yielded up to the present time an average of a little more than an ounce a foot. These are indisputable facts, and I write them in view, but by moon- light, of the scene of operations. The gold taken I have also seen, and saw it weighed. The sample consists principally of nuggets, varying in size from about 5 ounces downwards, ‘ with very little quartz attached.

The prospect is a glowing one to Messrs. Samuels and M’In tosh, and I am glad to admit, that up to the present time more nuggets of the value of £1 have been taken out of the hole, than there have been fish since May last. I shall report progrc.-B in my next early communication.

Other diggings at Ophir, as the vulgar have it, are not to be “ Biieezed at.” At Golden Point, so often spoken of, situate below Newtown, a large quantity of the precious metal has been taken during the past month, the nuggets va- rying in size from 27 ounces to a few penny- weights. I may say with safety that persons located at that Point have averaged, during the past month, for the days they were able to work, £1 per diem per man. A few have done considerably better.

And the majority of the diggers at Ophir are making more than a fair living by their regular labour. North wood’s old claims, on the Lewis Ponds Creek, immediately in the bed, have not been in a workable state but for a short period during the past month. The proprietor, I theiefore, (Mr. Phillips) set his party to clear off the daik and useless (for gold washing) alluvium from the bank in the im- mediate vicinity of those claims, and the result oí the experiment was highly satisfactory, for in eight days he collected upwards of forty four ounces.

Be it understood, also, that the party did not overwork themselves, and for the most part did a large amount in the grumbling line, which induced Mr. Phillips, at the end of the month, to break up the party, intending to dispose of the concern if possible for a reasonable amount. If he should not succeed in so doing, it is the intention of that gentleman to form a new party, and to go to work in earnest at the said bank, as well as in the bed claims.

Alto- gether the prospects of Ophir are bright- ening ; and if capitalists could only bfi induced to turn their attention to digging, employing men at fair wages, they (the capi- talists) would undoubtedly have returned to no inconsiderable amount of profit.

At Ophir, with the exception of a few sly grog selling cases, we have nothing to disturb us from our quiet gold accumulating course. Four of these cases were disposed of yesterday at the Police Office, before the Assistant Coin missioner, Hugh Hamilton, Esq , and J. Ar- thur Templar, Esq. Two of the defendants were found guilty, and respectively fined £30, with 3s. ‘ 6d. each costs ; the third was dismissed, and the fourth stands over, the defendant not having made his appearance.

On the same day, their Worships favourably took into consideration the applications of Messrs. Coomber, Davis, and Lucas, for publicans’ general licenses to the end of the current year. It is to be hoped that the granting of licenses to the above ap- plicants will in a great measure put a stop to the illicit sale of spirituous or fermented liquors, which has been a crying evil here for some time past. The houses to be opened are comparatively very comfortable ones, and will prove a great convenience to the public ; and there is no doubt, if the landlords are reason-’ nble in their charges, they will meet with con- siderable support from temporary residente, mid bona fide travellers.

one year on – and what a year it was …

On 8 May, NSW celebrated the anniversary of the gold discoveries announced by Edward Hargraves 12 months previously. For us the occasion is most notable for the accounts and summaries it generated telling of the hectic year that had unfolded in the wake of these discoveries.

Of all the statistics trotted out in support of the success of the first year’s operations, one impressive figure stands out. That is the fact that Year 1 produced over 300,000 ounces of gold valued at around £1 million. Today this represents around $450 million injected into the economy of the fledgling colony (if not into the government coffers!).

8 May 1852

HAIL AUSTRALIA I welcomes the first anniversary of the birth as a Herald of untold wealth, in which the labourer may bu weil repaid .for tho sweat of his brow, the mechanic obtain a largo incroaso to lils usual wage, the tradesman a good profit on the articles which lie retails, the merchant a handsome return for Ins capital, tho agriculturist a rich harvest for the produce of lils farm, the squatter a noble prleo for his cattle and sheep, tlie Qovernment a revenue so large that It appears tllfllcult to expend, and every human being who is willing to work, a fair row ard for his labour-well may we exult

Twelve months have rolled round since the startling announcement was mido that tho soil of Aus trilia waa as nell, or even richer than that of California, and in those twelve months how wonderful has been its production I During the first period of Its existence) some thought that the year might produce £500 000, others wore) bold enough to state that the yield would bo beyond n million but nono were daring enough to anti cipatc tho fact-that wo have actually dug out of the bowels of the earth an amount that very noarly ap- proaches £1,000000 sterling Such, however, is tho cake, as wo Bhall now proceed to show by a few sta- tistics Ozs. Ozs Tho« has been exported to this dato 303,794 There is now lying in harbour about 60,000 There may bo in the Banks and private hands in town 40 000 And ot tho mines, say 20,000 Slaking a total of 603,794 Fromlwhlch deduct the quantity received from Victoria 148,061 Leaving the produce of our mines for the year – 355,733

There was exported from Mel- bourne, up to 23rd April 068,682 Lstlinatcd eiuiutlty in Hanks and -* private hands in that city BO 000 And on tho mines, say 50,000 Making a total of produce from tho mines – 768,082 And showing a grand total pro- duced by tho two colonies of 1,124,415 Which at 05s per ounco gives a valuo in pounds sterling of £3 6o4,348 15

The gold coming into Sydney has arrrlved through various channels, as follows – * Os Ozs By western malls 51622 “ ditto escort 12o,261 – 180,873 “ southern mails 13 826 “ ditto escort 27,097 -i- 40,923 “ malls from Tamworth 433 “ vosselsfrom Mclbourno 148,001 Waking a total of 370,200 So that there must have come in by private hands 113,J04 It i-r ulniosl impossible to obtain a correct account of tho number of Licenses issued, but tho amounts received for Licenses in both colonies to 31st March last, were as follow s – Ve w South VV ales £40171 13 A ietoria 74,079 0 0 lho rscort fees up to the sim« period w ere lortiowhouthlVatcs 4,110 12 9 lorictoria 8,124 10 9 ~\o havo not had so large an influx of population us was expected, but that may be accounted for to a con slderablo extent by tho time that must elapse before the world could become acquainted with our circumstances, the arrlv als have been rrom Lngland 4 020 California 2 219 Australian f alomes 0,915 i orclgn l’orts 1,752 Making a total of 14,01j Tho departures have been Io Lngland 329 California 80S Port Phillip and Australian colonies 5,225 And 1 orcign l’orts 221 Making a total of – 0,733 So that our population has inert est d from external sources during our* first c,old year by 8 242

Surely with such facts before us wo may congratulate ourselves aud hold out a helping hand to others who aro not so highly favoured various modes hav o been sngges ted by which this Vnniversary ml »lit bo kept, several in- fluential parties in bjdney consider that it would not bo too much to expect from the Oov eminent a ge ueral boll day

Wo perceive that tho inhabitants of Bathurst have made arrangements for a public dinner, which is to take plice this day, being tho Aiiiiivcrsiry of tho day ou which Sir Hargraves communicated his discover) to tho gentlemen a= einblcd for tho purpose at Vrthur’slnn , wo quite sympathize with those vi ho would hand a day down to poatcrlt),as thoono on which an erao|ieneil upso prog nant with important results» to the land of our adoption, and the birth place of our children and no doubt tho least objectionable, and most acceptable manner of coin nicmorating the event would he by a general holiday, some e ertions ure on foot to accomplish this, and ii is probable that Monday next will bo set apart for the purpose

The news from our mincB this week is of on encouraging eluirvctcr but, as our remiras havo already extended liojon 1 their usual limit, ive shall merci) report lb it tho 1 »corts brought in from Major s< reek,200 ounci s n luon, 201 ounces, Uni (wood, ->2ounces, Goulburn, 89 ounces, Sofala 2427 ounces Bathurst 241 ounces Ophir, lb ounces and tin Vlails, lrom Braidwood, 232 ounces , Mudgee, li7 ounces, limul igal, 20 ounces Murrurundi, 10 ounces, Bathurst, 09 ounces, Sofala ISO ounces -making a total by 1 scort and Mails, of 01 ounces, in value about £14 000

There has also conn* in, per M arutuh and Dart, from Melbourne, about 15,000 eunices The amount of gold deposite el in the Vssay OfBcr> Adelaide up to the 20th ultimo was £222 0781Ss 7d 1 ho number of pi nous who had left Adolaldo for the gold mines was about 18,000 Tho pnco of gnlil has continued firm through lho week nt GJs 0d to 61s accoreliiig to sample The export since our lost has 1 ecu May 0-1’cr Johnstone, for Londou 9,099 07 1 Which at OJS per 07 , gives £ 29 “¡71 15 0 Add previous export 1,250,260 5 7 Total shipped to this dato £1 270,832 0 7 Ivxehaiigo on London-drafts against gold, 8 per cent discount Freight, yt per cent OIOIIOB A. LLOID 474, flcorge street, S)dncy, Ma) 8 An unusuall) large business lnvs been transacted lu the gold market during the p ist week not less than 20 000 ounces linville, exchanged hands privately, at Ills to 04s 3d This largo quantity of dust, of course, Is in conséquence of the steamer s arrival fioin Molbournc us besides tho 12 000 ounces by tho VV aratah, reported through the Custom House,most of her passengers brought up private paiccls Owing to the Increased cage mess of pure hist re, a comparatively small amount has been submittisl to publie compétition It will be seen however, b) tho list of ni) snles subjoined, that alvanccd rates were obtained for the parcels so sub liiltteel ^ mails during the week have arrived from Victoria probabl) owing to the flooded state of the Interior, but by the VV aratah we havo el ites to the 20th ultimo Mo have no late arrivals from lngland, but by the Noiem her and early December m ills | er lîuccnstoiTn an 1 1 Oster, account nile« of gold dust havo been received titatin¿ net results ot £3 13s 01 to £3 ISs from Ophir Advices state 1 uron (.old to contiiin fullv 7 per cent of sllvir, of the Arruluen dust a high opinion is enter t lined Gold du«t is now gencrill) regarjed as tho best form of remittance to the inothoi countrj

The whole of til« Waratah s gold was purchased on 1 uc,lish account The inna Mar) aussei cileiilatil to in ekea quill passage sailed for London September 17, with nearly 14,000 ounces of gold, benia; the finest shipment of an imposing eliaiiictcr from Australia Alviccs of her arrival may now be elaily expected Hie effci t of this extensive receipt of Austruliau gold lu London, would be fillowed, within the space of two months, hj the impression made on tho publie mind b) other an iv als amounting to 00 000 ounces, namely, the Hit) Queen’s gold September 21 11,100 ounces the l’eii)ard Park’s, October 28, 12 000 ounces, the Bl lekfnars, Ivovember 8, 11000 ounces and the Pliflciilciiiii s ivovembor 11, nearly 23 000ounces i rom these facts, it is reasonable to infer, that 1 ue,l!sh spocul ition and enterprise, in re g ird to Australian gold mining is as active and sanguine by this time as it not. at first apathetic and inoperative, the natural consequence of which will be au immediate mereiso ol imnii”ntlon, and a rapid influx of British and foreign capital Looking then, at the i rltical stage, in the progress of our golden commerce at wjii li wo are now arrived, there seems no substantial ground for ai prehension of receding rites though, possibly,on tho departure of the ships now on the eve of sailing there may be a tcmporiry dee lim tho m irket maybe ox pectcd to rally again almost immediately In the mean tim , opeiutives at all our mines | rocced In a manner hi^hl) ¿ratifying Hie recti[ts in S)dnoy during the week have reached something shoi t of 5000 ouuees The following were ni) sales to d ly – TUESDAY ANO 1nour S SALÍ £ s d Lor 1-17 oz 3 dw Is, Mount Alexander gold at OJB 61 17 7 2-37 o? 17 dwts 12 gr*, Ballarat gold, 61s Id 121 7 1 3-04o?s ldwt, ditto, 04s Id 20r> 1 0 4-10 ozs 10 dwts , ditto, 01« Id 129 15 4 5-99 ozs 17 dwts, Mount Alexander told, 04s Id 319 l8 8 0-S3 OÍS 19 dwts , Bendigo Creek gold, lils Id 2f8 19 9 7-DÖ07S Braidw ooel gold 01s 115 4 0 8-80ozs, Mount Alexander gold,(Vis 2d 250 13 4 O-300 o/s ditto, 01s Id 903 1’ 0 lu-2>o?s Odvvts llgrs ditto, 04s 21 81 4 3 11-One nugget, 8 07s 2 dwts 12 ¡,rs, flos 20 8 2 12-Mount vJoxiindcr nuggets, J ozs 8 dwts 02s Id 10 11 1 13-One nugget, 10 ozs 8 diets 4c,rs, 65s Id 63 7 H 14-2 nu’eets, l8o¿s 3 dwts 20grs , Öls lud 58 17 11 £2,000 1 7 JOHN COD1 BEI COHEN”, Auctioneer 400, George street, May 7

Just as the anniversary reports of the NSW gold operations provide a valuable reference to determine exactly where things stood at that time, so also does a parliamentary report on the present and future state of the Western and Southern goldfields tabled on 24 June. At that time it listed 5 fields in the western district: OPHIR, TURON, MEROO, TAMBAROORA and ABERCROMBIE / TUENA CREEK.

14 July 1852

GOLD DISTRICTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. On the 24th June, the Colonial Secretary laid upon the table of the Legislative Council, the Reports of the Chief Commissioner for the Gold Districts, on the present state and future prospects of the Western and Southern Gold fields.

The report opens by stating the places at which a sufficient number of diggers have been at work to render it desirable to form an establishment, viz. : Western District—1, Ophir; 2, Turon; 3, Meroo; 4, Tamboroura; 5, Abercrombie, or Tuena Creek. Southern District— 6, Major’s Creek, Araluen; 7, Bell’s Creek, Araluen; 8, Mungarlow, Araluen. Of these, says Mr. Hardy, the first five are in the Western, and the remainder in the Southern district.

At each locality an Assistant Commissioner is stationed with his establishment, these different establishments being under the supervision of a District Commissioner in the west and south respectively. I may premise that the es- tablishment authorised by the government for the control of every thousand diggers was calculated at an Assistant Commissioner a Sub-Commissioner, also acting as Clerk of Petty Sessions and clerk to the Assistant Com- missioner; and 5 mounted and 5 dismounted troopers. comprising a sergeant, (acting as chief constable,) and a corporal; but as the number of diggers has dimished in the various Localities, I have reduced as will be seen, the number of men. I may also premise that there have at the various places, been esta- blished by direction by His Excellency the Governor-General, Courts of Petty Sessions, Courts of Requests, post offices, and escorts for the conveyance of gold; antdthat I have erected various buildings for barracks, stabling, watchhouses, and other public purposes. The escort of prisoners from tfee various gold fields to Bathurst and Braidwood respectively, has been further provided for.

The report then gives a short statement of the present condition of each of these localities commencing with Ophir. In May, June, July, and August, 1851, there were from 600 to 800 persons at work, averaging about £1 per diem each; but owing to the wet season and the discovery of other diggings, that numbers was reduced in May, 1852, to about 100; and the Commissioner expected that not above 50 would be at work in June, In consequence, the Assistant Commissioner has been removed to the Meroo and Tamba- roora, and the mail and gold escort contract with Mr. Rotton, has been terminated, by which a saving of £20 a week has been effected.

Mr. Hardy however expresses his opinion, that at no distant time, many hundred diggers will re-occupy Ophir, as it is generally believed that an extensive gold field exists, which has not yet been opened, the operations there having been exclusively confined to operations in the creek, and no search made for dry dig- gings.

THE TURON. The Turon River was occupied in June, 1851, and in October there were 4000 diggers. Here the average earnings were £1 a day among the fortunate diggers, whilst those who were less lucky could easily obtain employ- ment at 30s. a-week and rations. Mr. Hardy is of opinion that the gold fields of the Turon will yet prove greatly remunerative when a sufficient population shall have gathered there. At present, owing to the rush to Mount Alex- ander, the digging population is only 1500. Courts of Petty Sessions and of Requests have been established there, and a Gold Escort and Police Escort to Bathurst. The price of pro- visions ia low, 10s. per week being sufficient to keep a man comfortably, and this price has never been exceeded. There are several stores and public houets.

THE MEROO RIVER. This gold field comprises the river and various tributaries, and the table land of the high range at the foot of which the river runs. About 800 persons are at work, but there is room for as many thousands. At the Louisa Creek a quartz company is established, but not yet at work. The Commissioner is con- vinced from frequent examinations, that all the creeks for a great many miles are abundantly auriferous. There is a weekly escort from the Meroo to Tamboroura, and thence to Sofala, a distance of 45 miles. Arrangements are com- pleted also for extending the Meroo escort to Mudgee, and then via Sofala once a week to Bathurst.

TAMBAROURA. At this creek gold is produced in abundance. Provisions are cheap, and labour can be had as at the other gold fields, for 30s. and rations. At the junction of the Tamboroura and Mac- quarie there is a rich supply of gold.

THE ABERCROMBIE. Of this river, the Commissioner does not speak so favourably, but he has no doubt that in the Tuena and neighbouring creeks abundant encouragement exists to dig. A gold escort was established in November, to Goulburn; but subsequently abandoned. Only about 100 diggers are engaged in that locality.

Respecting the Western gold fields generally, Mr. Hardy says, “In concluding this notice of the Western gold field, I have to remark that the country is universally clay slate, and that it is intersected by hundreds of quartz veins, some of which have go!d thickly disseminnted through the quartz in places. These veins are all about north and south in direction; wherever the veins run east und west they are, as far as I have observed, not auriferous, but generally contain lead or copper; I have not seen lead or copper in the north and south Veins. If these auriferous veins prove profit- able, there is no limit to the extent to which they may be worked. Preparations have been made to work some of these veins, but want of machinery in all cases, and of knowledge and the requisite capital in others, has prevented any progress being made hitherto.

Of particular interest here in this account of the western goldfields is a new name not much reported on in the press prior to this time. This is the field of TAMBAROORA sited up on the tableland west of Sofala and just north of the Turon River.

In time this highly profitable gold mining centre would be upstaged by the reef gold mining undertaken at Hill End just up the road from it. For two decades however, it was definitely “the” gold mining centre at the end of the plateau overlooking the confluence of the Turon and Macquarie rivers.

14 July 1852

GOLD CIRCULARS. THE gold news of the week though scanty is encouraging. The new diggings at Tambaroura are attracting num- bers from the neighbouring mines by the fame of their richness; and there can be little doubt but that fame will increase with thelr increasing population.

On the ridges near the Dirt Holes the surface soil in some places is very rich; parties of three are making from 3 to 4 ounces per day, and some more, whilst all who work are making good wages. Every flood tends to prove the inmense extent of our western gold fields, for no sooner do the miners find themselves prevented from working in their accustomed places on the flats and creeks, than new fields are opened up on the ridges, from which the energetic and persevering reap a rich reward. O

n the Macquarie, below the junction, parties are doing well; also at Burrandong, with increasing prospects, the stratum of washing stuff being from 10 to 16 feet thick, whilst at the generality of the mines it is not more than from 1 to 3 feet. There is nothing new at our southern mines. On Major’s Creek parties continue to get from 15 to 25 ounces per week; one party got 23 ounces last week by working some claims over again, and all are doing well.

The Hanging Rock diggings continue progressing, even with a fluctuating population; a great portion of the gold brought down is nuggetty, and appears but little water-worn. Many parties are now leaving for the winter, and intend returning in the spring fully equipped and provided. Comlsky, and two others, who barely made expenses during the first two months they wero there, have cleared £168 each during the last two. Another party of two brothers have made £100 each.

In two months; and every one who works is getting from ¼ to ½ ozs. of gold per day, and some are making for fortunes. The claims continue to yield well, especially those which are sunk deeper, and are more perseveringly worked. The largest nugget yet found here has been from 12 to 13 ounces.

The western escort, which arrived last Saturday, brought In from Tambaroura 741 oz., the Turon 680 ox., Bathurst 70 oz. ; and cam« in again yesterday with 3007 oz. Tho southern escort brought in 778 oz. ; and tho malls from Sofala COO oz.. Bathurst 625 oz., Mudgee 82 oz., Gundagai 20 oz., Maitland 108 oz. : in all, by escorts and mails, 0713 oz., worth about £21,800.

couldn’t manage a chook raffle, let alone a gold rush …

While the gold rushes may have felt very much like a domestic affair, the then fledgling colonial NSW government was still answerable to their masters in London and their associated commentariat – and they it seems were not happy. As the Times newspaper pontificated “we lost no time in emphatically warning the then government of the perils which necessarily waited on the new state of things” … hmmm anxious times indeed!

The centrepiece of the Times’ objections to proceedings in the colonies was the notion that the mineral wealth of the government was being plundered without due recompense to the public purse. To address this it recommended amongst other matters “sending without delay to the colony a sufficient armed force to enable her Majesty s Government to assert the dignity of the law and protect the property of the public.”

8 August 1852

THE GOLD OF AUSTRALIA. EIGHT months ago, when the first news of the discovery of gold in Australia arrived in this country, we lost no time in emphatically warning the then Government of the perils which necessarily waited on the new state of things.

We showed that owing to the mistaken policy which by artificially raising the prise of land has prevented the permanent settling in homes of their own of the greater portion of the popu- lation, the working classes of the colony having broken through the tics which bound them to the mother country, were extremely migratory and unsettled in their habits, and” sure to be attracted from the ordinary pursuits of indus- try by the enticing lottery of the gold fie’d.

We pointed out that a large number of these persons were men of lawless habits and des- perate character, who would be drawn together by the common principle of attraction, and learn from their numbers the seen t of their strength, and thutifthey had the will they would certainly have the power to dictate their own conditions to the executive government.

From all this we tookocc tsion to urge upon ministers the necessity of reinforcing t e handful of troops m the colony, so as at once to defend1 public property and enforce obedience to the laws. Nothing but the weakness of the Culoul ii government and the obvious impolicy of para- ding that weakness, and teaching the miners their own strength, could excuse the manner in which the rich golden deposits, the undoubted property of the public, have been abandoned to be rifled in consideration of a merely nominal payment.

Hud the Governors of Now South Wales and Victoria possessed a force equal to the assertion of the rights of Her Majesty’s Government, they would have been utterly inexcusable in allowing the rcsouices of the public revenue to be wasted, the industry of the colony to be deranged, and ¡U capital to destroyed, in order to raise to sudden and un- merited affluence, never bef. re heard of except in nn Oriental tale, men so little able to appie ciate the value of the riches which have been thus almost forced upon them, that improving upon the hint of Cleopatra when she drank diluted pearls, they can find no better use for the five-pound notes vvit’i which they are en- cumbered than to smoke them instead of tobacco.

That tile Colonial Government has acted prudently in not seeking to commind where it I was without the power to compel, is manifest I from the failure of the attempt of Mr, Latrobe, I the Governor of Port Phillip, to double the license feu denvinded from the miners in his colony.

Instead of thirty shillings a month Mr. Latrobe demanded three pounds, a sum quite inconsiderable compared with the average of profit realised from the Victoria Goldfield. This demand he has been unable to enforce. A thousand of the miners met together, de- nouncing, though upon what ground wo are I unable to conceive, the increase as illegal, and passing a resolution which pledged them to protect by force any miner from whom it should bo so’ight to be exacted. The Govern- ment gave way without a Btruggle to these threats of Btronghanded resistance to lawful authority, and the miners aie for the moment satisfied.

But the authority of the Go- vernment is gone, its weakness is confessed patent and notorious, and it henceforth only exists by the sufferance of a lawless and heterogenous multitude whom it has instructed in tho terrible secret of its own uncontrollable strength. The same will which repealed with a breath the reason- able and moderate demand of a Government for the price at which it was willing to part with the properly held by it in trust for tho community, can impose any other conditions and break through any other restrictions. There aro no longer two parties to the contract Í between the gold seekers and the Government.

They take as much and pay as little as they please, and it is not m the power of the Government to induce them to take less or to pay more. There is every probability that tnis evil is only in its commencement. The superior richness of the mines of Victoria is draining thither not merely the surplus popu- lation ot South Australia, but those who have hitherto employed themselves in the rich but less productive districts of New South Wales, and the probability is that a very large pro- portion of the adult population of the Australian colonies will meet to-1 gether on a single spot, without force j to contol, authority to gu’de, or enlightened in- I telbgence to direct them.

Robberies and mur- j dcrs are already on the increase, and while the < material intcrcs’s which hold society together. are loosened crime is encounged by impunity and stimulated by the abundance of its booty. As these persons have met together by no con- cert, and with no preconceived idea of common action, some time of course must elapse beforo they can be brought to act in unison, but every day bringa us nearer to such a result, without, as far as wo can see, raising up liny force ado quato to counteract it.

Under these circumstances wo recur to tho recommendation which vve offered to the Go- vernment in September last, the sending with- out delay to the colony a sufficient armed force to enablo her Majesty s Government to assert the dignity of the law and protect theproporty of the public. Whatever be tho terms on which it is thought expedient to permit the digging for gold on the landa of tno Crown, thoso terms ought to be the result of free and calm deliberation, uninfluenced by fear or menace. Where this ia not the case the pub lie: resources are surrendered to pillage, If a large mob of persons were to settle them- selves on one of the Boyal forests, and re fus o ¡ either to remove or pay any rent except what they themselves might assess, it would bo mero mockery to call such a strong-handed intrusion, by the name of tenancy.

Just so, If tho riche»’ oit Australia are to bo taken upon such torms as the takers please, the act is really one of plunder, though it be disguiaod under the name of license. We havo shown on other occasions how| cruelly the vested interests of the colony suffer by their unequal competition with tho enor- mous wealth which tho woiking classes aro dividing among themselves ; the caso i«, tho harder when- it is considered that that ory wealth which, is the cause of their ruin might be mado the means of their preservation, Tho troops which would bo required to proteot th.5 gold fields from the invasion of a lawless ¿aob j would by tliat voty act of protection onabletho local Government to raise a revenue far more than sufficient to defray tho cost of their pro senco. How strati go that wo who sailer the Colonial Office to regulate the miniitest affairs at the Antipodes, should abstain from interfering to arrest an evil which threatens to subvert tho very foundations of socioty !

It depend« upon our Government whether the boundless treasures of Australia shall be employed in debauching and corrupting the lower orders, recruited as they have been, yoar by year, by the most desperate and incorrigible of our criminals, and in ruining those who have invested capital under the protection of our Government; or whether, after leaving an ample remuneration for the miner, a surplus should not be diverted to maintaining the force requisite for the protec- tion of law and order, and for transporting to those for:unatc shores the want and misery which oppress us here. Anarchy and ruin on tho one side-pence, order, anti property, on the other. The choice does not seem diffi- cult, but unfortunately to save the colony requires action, while its ruin can be accom- plished without our aid ; and the Colonial Office, which has so often tampered with the laws of politicil economy when thc-y tend to ths advantage of the colonies, cannot be induced to moderato their severity when iiectssntily i tending to their destruction.

Another matter of serious international concern over the new colonial gold rush was the impact it may have on the value of gold and its role as a monetary standard. Coming hard on the heels of the Californian gold rush as it did, the Australian goldfields had the world considering what the impacts on its currencies would be as a result of a very substantial increase in the amount of the world’s gold reserves.

21 August 1852

MONETARY SYSTEM, AND PROPOSED ABOLITION OF THE GOLD CUR- RENCY IN FRANCE.

To the Editors of the Sydney Morning Herald. GENTLEMEN,-I believe if all the attention could be paid to the monetary system, which certainly would be if the present political state of Europe would allow sufficient time to ap- preciate the importance, some material change would by this time have been effected.

Already some States in Europe have taken the matter up, and have recalled the gold coin, and only issue silver. France is now con- sidering the subject, whether it is not too soon to follow the example, and to abolish the gold currency in that country.

The following interesting remarks are prin- cipally from Michel Chevalier, who urges on the French government to take the matter up at once, to abolish the gold currency before any material change in the value of gold takes place.

He goes on to state the different changes in the quantity of gold produced, and in the amount coined at different times in France, and by his argument proves that Franco must be the greatest loser of any country, if any fall in I the price of gold should happen.

At the beginning of this century, all Europe, America, and that portion of Africa and Asia with which we are in commu nuation, has apparently not produced more than 24,000 kilogrammes of gold, or about 770,000 oz., which in a solid body is not more than three feet four inch’.s cube, a parcel whioh would make four millions of 20f. pieces, or £3,200,000 sterling. America and Europe, with all their conti- I nental dependencies, such as Siberia, which! were the regions most known, produced about 16,000 kil. or 512,000 oz, annually. America alone 14,000 kil. or 448,000 oz.

It is from Siberia that the ohange first began, the old gold countries of Europe and America, ‘ produce no more now than they did at the be- ginning of this century, but’Siberia, by which is understood the “ Aural Mountains” first brought forward those unusual qmantities to* warda 1830, in a short time the quantities from that country had risen ta 30,000 kil,, or 960,000 oz,, which is more than the whole civi- lized world together produced at the beginning of this century.

Then appearod California, which about 1848 fell into the hands of an active race; the first year already surpassed the mir vellous Siberia, It is calculated that the first campaign of 1851, the extraction of tho precious metal must have reached 100,000 kil., or 320,000 oz., being about the 30th part of the gold found in all America together, in the three centuries and a half, namely, from the first outset of Columbus in 1492 up to 1848. And it is remarkable that, not at any period has America furnished such treasures, even adding the silver to it, which is in still greater abund- ance. ?

Now to this is to be added, tho discoveries in Australia, and there is every reason to believo that the Asiatic Archipelagos are also exces- sively rich in gold mines, so that tho produc- tion of gold in 1851 must havo risen to 170,000 kil., or 5,440,000 oz., inateadof 24,000 kil., or 770,000 oz., or seven times as much as the whole produce at the beginning “of this cen- tury. That a great revolution has taken place in the discoveries of gold is pretty certain.

If wo do not admit that gold will become common and cheap, wo can- not possibly help knowing that it will be less scarce than it has been, and that every nation, where there has been a gold currency, will, in some measure, be more or leis affected by it. The discovery of a “limited” gold mine is a mere good fortune for those who are working it, and cannot much effect the world, but fields like those of Siberia and California are not limited, they are of immense extent ; the perseverance of an enterprising population has set upon it in spite of the hard labour and privations.

The comparative easy production of gold, and the abundance which must ensue, must lower the value of this metal in compari- son to other goods, and in comparison to Bilver, as it has been with the gold and silver 300 years ago. At that time it was considered 16 J ounces of silver were equivalent to one ounce of gold, or that gold was worth “ fifteen and a half times as much as silver,” and on that was based the present monetary system ; this hypothesis was correct for the time, because in all that space of time gold has never varied more than from 15J to f, and never past 1C times the value of silver ; butbeginning from the present to keep the equivalence it would be necessary that the mines in Califor- nia, in Siberia, and Australia, should at once cease to furnish any more, or that the authori- ties should prevent them from being worked, neither of which is likely to happen.

Such measures may be partly practicable in Russia, where a simple ukase, as in 1849, has put a sort of duty on the working of the mines which amounted to about 4070 on the gross amount, but that cannot bo done in California or Aus- I lia, and will not be attempted. | In 1848 it was certain that for many years previous gold has been at a premium in France and the whole of the Continent in genpral. However little, it was sufficient enough to have made it disappear from circulation, and if any one wanted gold he was obliged to go the “ money changers” for it, and pay a pre- mium.

In 184C there was coined in France two millions of francs, or £80,000 sterling ; in 1847, eight million francs, or £320,000 sterling j in 1849 it rose to twenty-seven million francs, or £1,080,000 sterling ; in 1850, to eighty-five million francs, or £3,400,000 ; and, in the first ten months of 1851, the eno’mous amount of ï^i million francs, or ten million one hundred and sixty thousand pounds sterling, was coined. There is required in France, for the circulation I of the country, an actual currency of one hun- dred millions of English money, and there was hardly anything but silver to represent it up to 1850, after that gold began to pour in with increasing rapidity.

Gold is now more plen- tiful in France, and it is striking that nothing but new coined gold is seen. It is evident that silver must have gone out of the country in proportion as gold has come into it. Since France has the greatest silver circulation of any country, it will naturally bo the greatest looser should the gold diminish in value, as the diminution can only then be perceptible, when the greatest part of the silver will have left the country in exchange for the gold which has been brought into it.

The same cannot effect any other commodity as much as it does silver, for I all other productions will rise by degrees as gold becomes more plentiful. Corn must get higher, since labour will become more scarce, and workmen will not work for the same wages as before. A rise in wages must naturally be the consequence in all trades. In August, 1851, I sold gold to the mint in Paris, and was paid for it by a draft on the Treasury at 52 days sight, which was reckoned i to be the time for my turn to get my gold coined, the same was with all the bullion dealers, since they recúlate their price by the mint.

If the gold circulation was withdrawn from France.”there would of course be so much less gold coined – say 254 millions, or ten millions one hundred and sixty thousand pounds sterling per annum. This extra quan- tity will in all probability have to be coined in England before it comes into circulation. The same is likely to happen in England as in France, that an interest will be deducted for the “ time required to get the gold coined,” this alone will make a difference in the value, and in this shape will most likely be perceptible the first fall in the price of gold. I believe half a penny on the ounce of gold has always been reckoned by the Bank of England for the delay in coining, but it is hardly to be expected it will remain at that. M. BIRNSTINGL.

Finally in response to both London’s and domestic strident criticism of its inability to enforce the license system and get a meaningful return from gold miners, the government in October hurriedly introduced a major new piece of legislation. A significant feature of this bill was the way in which it dramatically increased the power of the gold commissioners to enforce license fees and the sanctions for offenders caught trying to evade them. In the process it laid down the seeds of much future discontent and major conflict was only narrowly avoided on the NSW diggings.

23 October 1852

THE GOLD FIELDS BILL. AFTER a period of nearly eighteen months from the time when the gold fields were first discovered in Australia the Government have introduced a Bill into (lie Legislative Council, which has just been printed, “ for regulating the management of the Gold Fields of New South Wales, and for raising a revenue therefrom, and for the preservation of order thereon.”

It has been in the mouth of every one in the colony that the Government have not only neglected the interests of the public, by not legislating sooner on this subject, but have trifled with the gold revenue by not giving power to the gold commissioners to en- force payment of the license fees.

They have shewn indifference to their trust in neglecting the preparation of a J3ill dur- ing the period between the last and pre- sent sessions of the Legislative Council a Bill which should have been inlro duced into the Legislature when it com- mented its .sittings in June ; but now, when the session is far advanced, when many members have left Sydney, with no intention of returning to resume (heir legislative duties when the Council as sembles after the adjournment, and when the Government will, in all probability, have a preponderance of power in the House, this Bill, which is to regulate the collection of this important branch of our Revenue, is at the eleventh hour brought under the notice of the Legislature-a Bill not founded on any report of the Gold Committee, but framed to meet difficulties which the Gold Com- mittee ure actually investigating, and the report on which may be opposed to some of the main features of the Bill.

From the comparatively insignificant revenue which has hitherto been col- lected by the costly staff of Gold Com | missioners and their officers, it is clear , that some legislative power is absolutely ‘ necessary to prevent the dishonest dig ‘ ger defrauding the revenue by escaping ‘ payment of the ordinary fee foi license j never were any instructions more abor ‘ live than those which directed a Gold .

Commissioner to collect a double license fee from the digger who evaded the pay. I ment of the present license fee of thirty I shillings a month, without at the same ! time investing the Gold Commissioner with power to punish the digger who i:ct the Government at defiance by re- fusing payment.

The proposed Bill is no1 a clear at tempt at legislation, and appears to have been hurriedly drawn. The very first I «.Pf-tirm prnpntn« ina* oil i-ulo« «».ntl modu- lations of the Governor and Executive ‘ Council, already made and published in the Government Gazette, or which shall hereafter be made, ure to have the force of law until repealed, altered, or amended, ‘lhere is no schedule of these rule and regulations appended to the Bill.

Several rules and regulations have from time to lime been issud, and latterly the cream of them has been codified in a small pamphlet. How ¡s a digger to be informed (ex- cept upon the recognised principle that every British subject is supposed to know the laws of his country) what rules and regulations are in operation and what repealed ?

The Government surely do not intend that every digger should be provided with a copy of the Gazette; und yet under this Act he is bound by regulations contained therein, and which regulations are not specified or defined in the Bul. Simplicity in legislation is necessary to ensure ihe well-working of an Act of Council, and nothing would be more easy than to ap- pend to the Act a copy of the regula- tions now in force, and which are to bind ihe digger at the time at which it will come into operation.

Licenses to dig are to be limited to the district for which they are issued ; and gold distiicti* arc tobe proclaimed in the Govt minait Gazt-tte. The first proposal is unobjectionable, the second will be at- tended with ditliculty. Is Sofala to be proclaimed, merely as Sofala?-if not, are ita boundaries to be defined? Unless the district be specifically pointed out, interminable confusion and wrangling will bring the diggers and commissioners into collision ; mid hitherto no gold dis- trict is defined by specified boundaries.

But while the licenses to dig are to be granted as formerly to private individuals His EXCELLENCY is to be empowered to grant to British subjects only, leases or j licenses for mining purposes of tracts of auriferous lund ; and to ensure fairness and competition, rules ma)’ be made for leasing such land by simple applica- tion, by tender, or by auction, and with the intention of throwing small allotments open tocompetiiion in a similar manner, the same practice is to be adopted, sub- ject to certain conditions, under single personal licenses, a preference, however, always beinjj given to a discoverer ol’ auriferous land.

Squattages ure not to be protectrd from being proclaimed as Gold Fields, and if gold be discovered on lands leased from the Crown, the GOYEB KOR is to have the power of cancelling the lease, and awarding to the lessee compensation for improvements he has” made upon his stations. This will pre- vent any question arising as to the per- manent occupation of the squatter under his lease on ianda where gold may be discovored. ‘1 h« benefit to the colony will bo so great, and the terms proposed are so equitable, that little fear will bo entertained of a succession of gold fields being constantly opened, their riches fully developed, and their present occu. ‘ pBnts liberally compensated. ¡ ‘

The present system, of licensing is open to 60 much abuse, and the number of licenses collected monthly bear so small a proportion to the diggers actually at work, , that, excepting those following pastoral or agricultural pursuits, women and chil- dren under fourteen years of age, and lessees paying a royalty and their ser- vants, every person residing in a pro- claimed gold district will be compelled io I take out a license. This provision will fortify the hands of the Commissioners : no discretion is given; all on the diggings are to pay licenses, and if proper activity be used few diggers will escape, and the delinquents will be subjected to penalties | and punishments to which we shall presently allude.

It would, however, | have been desirable to define the term ¡ “ residence,” as, under the section in question, visitors at the mines if only for a day, without intending to dig, will be ¡ liable to pay a license fee for a month. An important proposal is made in the case of foreigners, viz., that if na- turalized, which they can be for a few j shillings each, they will enjoy the same privileges as British subjects, be charge- ‘ with the same license fee ; but if they de- cline naturalization, a higher fee is to be charged to each. The question therefore of amount of fsc to be paid depends upon the will of the foreigner himself. Whilst the Government were desirous of preventing servants absconding from their masters, and required the produc- tion of a certificate of discharge pre- viously to the Commissioner issuing a l’cin e, the instruction w.is rarely if ever acted upon. No doubt on some occas sions when runaway sert ants went to the diggings they weie pursued, and ap- prehension followed.

But the Commis- sioners, we are informed, issued licenses too indiscrimatelv and rarely refused a license to the applicant, though he refused to give any clue to the Commissioner of his mode of life previously to his ar- rival at the diggings. By the Bill, run- away servants and apprentices are to be disqualified from mining. ‘1 he obnoxious and objectionable system which has grown into practice of traffick- ing in claims is’to be legalized. Under the tacit permission of the Commissioner a class of claim jobbers sprung up at the diggings whose business was to but claims and to sell them again at a profit.

A digger who takes up a claim docs so upon condition of pa) ing a monthly li- cense, and if he declines to renew his li- cense for the following month, in justice to the Crown it ought to be handed over to the Commissioner to be licensed to a bona fide digger requiring a claim There would be no objection to a transfer of claims, with the consent of the Commis- sioner, if the consideration paid by the transferee were limited to the sum actually expended in labour on the claim by the transferor. But beyond this any premium should and ought to belong to the Government. A license has to be taken out by the claim jobber, who works the claim a few- hours three or four times a month to prevent forfeiture.

But this ought not to be deemed sufficient. If the claim purchased be not fairly worked, it should revert forthwith to the Crown. The system is a pernicious one, and has opened the door to fraudulent practices in peppering claims with gold for the purposes of sale, which claims probably never contained a particle of gold before the artificial process was ap- plied. If the traffic in claims is to be allowed, a transferor imposing upon a buyer by such unfair and fraudulent, practices should be subjected to punish- ment inflicted by summary jurisdiction.

Under this Bill the sufferer can obtain no redress. He must appeal to the com- mon law. But the most important part of the Bill is that which confers upon Commis- sioners the power of punishing unlicensed diggers and those who employ labourers without taking out licenses for those so employed. This offence it is proposed to punish by a fine for the first offence of not more than £5, for the second offence by a fine not exceeding £15 nor less than £5 ; and for the third and every subsequent offence by a fine not exceeding £30, nor less than £15.

And a further provision is made that if the offender do not pay the fine immediately upon convic- tion, he is to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, or kept to labour on the roads at the discretion of the convicting Justices. And with the in- tention of further preventing evasion of payment of the licensed fee, the gold, gold ore, implements, tent, hut, or building, of an unlicensed miner are to seized, and on conviction or flight, con- fiscated.

The present license-fee of one shilling a-day does not press severely as a tax, considering the advantages which the digger enjoys in protection to person and property. We are on the eve of receiving a very large increase to our population. Our number of diggers will be considerably aug- mented, and as a consequence our ex- penses of Government will be much larger they have hitherto been.

A gold revenue must be obtained, and this can- not b« done effectually without the most stringent enactments to punish diggers who, by every artifice which human in- genuity can devise, evade the payment of. so moderate a license fee as one shilling a day. The hands of the COMMISSIONER are strengthened by the Bill ; it gives power to him and his assistants to appre- hend unlicensed miners without warrant,

A remedy for the prevention of fraud is therefore provided; and if the Commis- sioners are only determined to do their duty, there is no reason, with machinery properly organised, why any digger should escape payment of the license fee. The Bill gives the Commissioners ample powers, and if more be required they have only to ask it when the Council resumes its sittings, and they will obtain it. The present Bill proposes to legalise the powers of the Commis- sioners, and give them authority which at present they do not possess. The manner of appropriating the fines and penalties inflicted upon unlicensed diggers appears to have escaped the framer of the Bill. As an inducement to bring dishonest miners before the Jus- tices, it would be as well to permit the informer to share the fine with the Crown. If this provision be not intro- duced it will tend to bribery, and will impede the efficient working of the Act.

Life on the goldfields

In order to get a clear idea of just what life on the goldfields was really like at this time, we need to turn to the accounts of casual correspondents – those erudite souls who were commissioned to tour the diggings and wrote up detailed accounts of what they saw for the Sydney media. In this way, a series of articles published in late 1852 give us a clear idea of the state of the western goldfields 18 months into their development.

The first stop of the special correspondent’s field trip was the SOFALA goldfield accesed via the road to Bathurst

12 November 1852

THE WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. HAVING been commissioned to visit and report upon the Western Gold Fields of New South Wales, I left Sydney by the mail on Tuesday evening, and got to Bathurst on Thursday, at four o’clock. The roads were by no means so bad as I had expected to find them, although between Hartley and Bathurst there were some very ugly places, especially the ascent and descent of Mount Lambie, which was exceed- ingly trying to one’s patience, as well as to one’s nerves.

There was nothing to excite interest on the journey. The nature of the country is by no means calculated to inspire any feelings but those of weariness. The same monotonous mountain and gully in alternate succession—the same barren looking soil, the endless gum trees, iron bark and stringy bark, with here and there a few wattles, and a speci- men or two of the family of pinacea, constitute the scenery on the road, until you reach Mac- quarie plains, and catch sight of the quiet town of Bathurst, reposing in the midst of them. A

t Bathurst I exchanged the mail for the saddle, and rode to Sofala in about five hours, giving my horse the rein, and allowing him to take his own time. On the road I passed several drays, some drawn by bullocks, and some by teams of horses, heavily laden with stores of every description. The labour of getting these drays over the hills was exces- sively severe and I can only wonder that the prices of the necessaries of life at Sofala are not greater than I find them. After climbing over Wyagden, about eleven miles from Sofala, the road lies over a tolerable level country for se- veral miles, until you approach the gold field, when it is carried over a succession of steep hills, and is so much cut up that it requires considerable care to get a horse safely down the declivities, and considerable pluck to get him up the ascents. The first glimpse of the town of Sofala is interesting enough in a pictorial point of view.

Studding the winding bank of the Turon, a straggling village, composed of every variety of structure, from the simple white or brown canvas tent, to the substantial cedar house, which is beginning to supersede the temporary huts of slab and bark which were the chief boast of the Turon a year ago. In the midst of the town, on a slight elevation, rises the Wesleyan Chapel, a neat building of wea- therboard, and the hospital of weatherboard and bark. On a hill on the right, a canvas building, surmounted by a plain wooden cross, represents the Church of England, and close to it is a bark house, the residence of the Rev. Mr. Palmer. All along the river and creeks to the left and to the right, as far as the eye can see, huts and tents, stores and public houses, are dotted about at random, conveying a pleasing impression of the activity and bustle which has prevailed on the spot, and which, though much deadened by the influence of the very wet season, and continual floods, pro- mises now to be greater than ever if the fine weather continues.

It was nearly sundown when I dismounted at the door of the Gold Diggers’ Retreat, the Royal Hotel of Sofala, kept by Mr. John Broom- field, where I had been recommended to take up my quarters. This very comfortable and substantial hostelry is the resort of the “aris- tocracy “ of the town, who are attracted thi- ther by the excellence of the liquors which the worthy proprietor offers for the refreshment of the weary, or the pastime of the idle. An ex- cellent billiard-room, furnished with one of Thurston’s tables, is nightly thronged by men of various degrees of education and intelligence, but the uniformity of whose costume (chiefly a red shirt cut open down the front, and a Cali- fornia or straw hat, slouching over a bearded countenance, with dusty, care-for-nothing looking “continuations”) renders it difficult at first sight to distinguish who is the gentle- man and who the labouring digger.

The ac- commodations of the house are of a plain but comfortable character, and a very respectable table is kept, which is looked after by an old man-of-war’s-man of a cook, and attended by Sambo and Charlie, two natives of the Sand- wich Islands. It would be beyond the scope of my present business to dwell upon the various external characteristics of the place and its inhabitants, since the object of my mission is rather to col- lect information about the gold diggings than about the gold diggers and their singular mode of existence. Nor, indeed, in a flying visit, would it be possible to come to anything like a real knowledge of what is done and what left undone, in a place of this kind.

All I shall say is, that, from conversations with a great many of the people, I have gathered that the usual amount of personal pique and petty hos- tility which is to be found in every small and isolated community prevails in full force; and that every man has some story to teil, some complaint to make, some grievance to set forth, which affects his own or some friend’s character or property, and which grievances and complaint and contra- dictory stories, detailed with double force to a stranger, necessarily leaves that stranger in a state of perfect bewilderment and mental con- fusion. To pretend to form any opinion upon these matters would of course be absurd; and the only thing I could gather was, that every man had some real or imaginary “down” upon some other man, that other man being in the majority of instances, the Commissioner.

As, however, it was plainly impossible for me to understand a single word “of these various stories, I must leave the complainants to their own devices, and proceed to give an account of my inspection of the river. Early in the morning I began my rambles, entering freely into conversation with the men who were working at the cradles or in the various claims. From every one whom I ad- dressed I received the greatest civility, and all were more or less ready and anxious to receive and give information. The diggers and holders of bed and bank claims are all in high spirits at the fine weather that has set in, and I found the universal opinion to be that during the summer months a very large amount of gold will be got out of the bed claims.

At various points on the river operations have already commenced, but in most cases the water is still too high to enable the digger to do any good in his claim; and most of the holders are merely making a living out of the “tailings” and waiting with exemplary pa- tience for the drying up of the river. I wit- nesssed the operation of rocking the cradle and extracting the gold in several instances. One digger, at Maitland Point, obtained only a few shillings’ worth of the precious metal, out of thirty or forty spadesful of stuff; but he is the holder of a claim for which he gave £100 last year, and which he would not now sell for £500.

Another party of three who have just come down from Tambaroura, have scarcely made a living for the last month or two; but they told me they had claims at and about Golden Point and Oakey Creek, which they expected would yield five or six thousand pounds during the summer months. The ge- neral impression among the diggers themselves is that the bed of the river is immensely rich, and that hitherto nothing worthy the name of gold digging has been accomplished. It is quite evident that an immense amount of labour has been utterly thrown away. Hun- dreds of holes have been sunk in all directions, and of various depths, which have been filled up again and again by the floods; and in many cases, after the washing stuff has been collected during several days into a large heap, the flood has suddenly supervened, carrying away the soil with all its rich contents, and disseminating it for miles, perhaps, over other claims, thus depriving the original proprietor not only of the fruits of his labour, but of the whole value of his time.

It is a matter of great surprise to me how men can have the patience to endure the perpetual disappointment which attend upon the exertions of a gold digger; but there is something in the imagination of sudden riches, to be one day obtained, which appears to sustain them against every trial. They are beginning to work the bed claims at Sheep Station Point, at Mundy Point, and Big Oakey Creek. As yet, however, the water is far too high to allow of any uniformly good results. At several places, races are being cut, and at Lucky Point it has been determined to tunnel through the rock, by which it is ex- pected to carry away a great portion of the water, leaving some of the richest bed claims round the point quite dry. This undertaking has been contracted for by Mr. Colquhoun, of the British Australian Company, for £1500. and is expected to occupy three months. I have heard various opinions as to the wisdom of this enterprise. Some think the time will be entirely wasted, and that it would be far better to cut one or two races only.

The cut- ting of races appears to me, however, to be very uncertain in its results; the slightest in- crease in the river tending to neutralize the most strenuous exertions. At Oakey Creek they are working hard at a race, and I saw yesterday between fifty and sixty men standing up to their middle in water, shovelling away at the gravel and stones. These men were principally hired, and receive wages of from £2 10s, to £3 per week, accord- ing to their efficiency.

This amount of money most of them contrive to get through. The actual expense of living may be reckoned at 10s. to 12s. per week; but at least another 20s. goes away for drink; and a great part of the balance is, I am informed, generally got rid of in some way or other. The Rev. Mr. Palmer informed me that many men actually had been so careless about their money in good times, that they had ap- plied to him for relief on several occasions. Of course he has very small funds at his dis- posal for any such purpose, these being prin- cipally the collections made in the church.

But in fact no man ought to be in a position to re- quire relief, unless from sickness or accident, as there is always a large field for labour of various kinds. Mundy Point has been declared workable by the Commissioners, and all who have claims there are eagerly flocking to them; the regulation respecting these bed claims be- ing, that if the proprietor fails to occupy them when they are declared workable, any body else may go in, and after working for forty eight hours, the claim becomes his own. A great deal of speculation in claims is car- ried on, and they change hands very often.

A more perfect lottery it would be hard to imagine in practice. There can be no doubt that perseverance upon one spot must ulti- mately reward the industrious digger; but there is too much disposition to try one claim first, and if there is no success try another and another. I am convinced from all I hear that the present system of working is exceedingly de- fective, and that the whole subject requires a far more systematic study than has yet been given to it.

An effort is being made to estab- lish an association on the co-operative princi- ple, and a public meeting is to be held on Wednesday, at which the objects of the asso- ciation are to be expounded at large. I believe the grounds on which it is intended to proceed are sound ; but unfortunately there is very great difficulty in agreeing upon the persons to be entrusted with the management of the enterprise.

Notwithstanding the difficulty of keeping down the water, many parties about Mundy Point and Oakey Creek have been tolerably successful, getting 10, 12, and 14 ounces a day, Far greater yields are confidently expected, if the weather holds dry, of which there is every indication; and, in general, the hopes of all sections of the population are high. At Paterson’s Point and Sheep Station Hill as much as 80 to 100 ounces have been turned out in a week.

The number at present in the township is variously reckoned at from 1200 to 1600, but the population increases every day, and I am informed by some persons who have just come from Tambaroura, that parties of 50 and 60 at a time are leaving the dry diggings there, and coming to work their bed claims in this locality during the summer months.

Sunday, November 7.—As maybe supposed, riding and walking for miles up and down the river, and entering into conveisation with almost every party I met, I have heard all sorts of accounts of in- dividual success or disaster.

To embody all these accounts into a consistent story would be impossible; but every man I have sjoken to, without a single exception, including the Com- missioner himself, reports in the most favour- able terms of the prospects of the Turon dig gings. For miles and miles up and down—in- deed everywhere, there are the strongest in- dications of gold; but the people naturally stick to the neighbourhood of the township, instead of prospecting to any distance.

As the season advances and the population in- creases, there can be no doubt that the pre- sent diggings will be very greatly extended, and thousands of claims may be profitably worked. Talking to one of those who have uniformly escaped the Commissioner—an old hand, whom I accosted because he was mounted on a beautiful little mare—he told me he knew of hundreds of creeks and corners, for thirty, forty, and fifty miles where im- mense amounts of gold could be got if labour and capital were properly applied.

The river diggings appear to be by far preferable in point of certainty of results, to any of the dry claims , which, nevertheless, now and then, turn out very large quantities of gold. Until I shall have seen the Tambaroura and Louisa Creek, I shall scarcely be justified in giving an opinion upon this point, and indeed the present communication must only be con- sidered as introductory to the papers I may find occasion to furnish hereafter.

There are many questions which require discussion, and upon which I shall endeavour at the close of niy visit, to throw what light I can Mr M’Lean is in high spirits about the prospects of his district, and has, I under- stand, forwarded a very favourable report to Government. He has issued upward of five hundred licenses in the first week of November, and next month there is every probability of three times that number being taken out. THE WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. (From our Special Reporter), No. IV. THE MEROO. The road from the Louisa to Avisford, the headquarters of the Commissioner for the Meroo district, lies over a very picturesque suc- cession of hills; and the encampment itself, is a sequestered nook on the banks of the winding stream presents a scene of singular interest, and is strikingly in contrast with the more bustling aspect of the corresponding stations at Tambaroura and Sofala. The Meroo diggings have hitherto proven exceedingly rich; and from my observations of the nature of the country, and various com- munications with parties well qualified to give information on the subject, l am persuaded that a vast amount of the precious metal lies embedded in the soil, for miles and miles, in- deed, throughout the length and breadth of the district. A great deal of gold has been obtained from the surface by mere scratching, at various spots; and whenever a spade has been put into the ground the stuff has proved, more or less auriferous. The first place to which I directed my atten- tion was Maitland Bar, about two and a half miles lower down the river than the Commis- ioner’s quarters. The scenery at and around this spot is very beautiful, hugh rocks, rise almost perpendiculary from the banks of the winding and gurgling stream, thickly wooded, and frowning in horrid majesty over the labours of the busy delvers below. The bar is at this season very nearly dry, and has been one of the richest spots along the whole area of the Meroo. The diggings here are, however, limited, and I do not think above 18 persons are camped at the bars. I sought in vain a public house—a pretty sure indic- ation that no great business was going on, but from various indications in one or two of the huts, I was convinced that sly grog is to be had by means of a little management. I did not, however, put the matter to the test, because I have a natural aversion to breaking the law (if I can help it), and se- condly, because the waters of the Meroo sparkled so deliciously in the evening sun that I felt an irresistible temptation to quench my thirst in the limpid stream. The water was not so good as it looked, but in my short excursion I had already learned to be not over particular, and I took a long draught, which was considerably refreshing. There was one feature about these diggings which calls for observation. The holes were for the must part part in squares, instead of being circular, as at Tambaroura; but from the fact that many of those which had evidently been recently dug were filled up again with debris, I came to the conclusion that this sort of tunnelling would not answer the purpose. The average earnings of parties in the Maitland Bar were variously stated to be from to 2 to 5 ounces a week; but, as I had before had occasion to remark, nothing is be more fallacous or misleading than these “averages”. They prove nothing as to the fortunes of gold digging, and cannot be in any way more than a rough approximation to the truth. I had taken up my quarters at the public- house about a mile to the northward of Avis- ford. Public-house it was called, but it was rather an embryo affair, the owner, Mr. Phillips, alias “Soldier Jack,” having only very recently converted his rural home into a house of accommodation, yielding to the ne- cessites of these travelling days, and won over by the prospect of additional gains. I first presented myself on horseback, and asked for a shake-down, the old man denied that he had any accommodation for a “gentleman”; but I was not disposed to take a refusal, seeing that there was no alternative but bushing it, (the Commissioner’s camp being full), so I dismounted, took the saddle and swag off my steed, hobbled him, and de- claiming, (not without some compunctious mutterings) that I was not a gentleman, but a traveller, I resolutely walked into an un- furnished apartment constructed of bark and insisted upon something to eat, and straw to lie down upon. This line of action had the disired effect, and the housewife now set to work to make me comfortable; which she did to a far greater degree than I had expected or hoped. The house stands upon an eminence, looking down upon a somewhat extensive clearing, on which cattle and horses, the pro- fit of the landlord, grazed ‘ad libitum’ in con- siderable numbers. The view was bounded by a high range of hills, whose tops the setting sun illuminated with the most gorgeous colours: and notwithstanding the roughness of the homestead itself, there was a certain charm about the place which quite reconciled me to my quarters. On Monday, the 15th, I started early to in- spect the upper portion of the river, under guidance of Mr. Bowman, late Assistant Comissioner for the district. We made for Richardson’s Point. Our road lay across the country, which is considerably broken, and we must have crossed the river at least half-a-dozen times before we reached the little township. On the way we passed California point, one of the spots which has yielded so well. Here we saw only a few diggers at work; but such as we spoke to appeared to be doing well. The gold is coarse and nuggetty, and generally of a valuable kind. On the way, we crossed a great many quartz veins or ridges, which appeared to dip under the bed of the river, and crop out on the oppo- site side. At the point of intersection, the bed of the river has been uniformly found rich on both sides,— feature which, I believe, does not occur on the Turon, where the opposite banks of a rich point have generally been found to produce little or no gold. At and about these quartz veins various surface diggings have been made, for which considerable quantities of gold has been taken; but which are now aban- doned. I have little doubt that if these spots were worked again more thoroughly, still greater results would be realised. At Richardson’s Point I found the nucleus of a small town: there were two or three stores, of which the largest is kept by Mr. Arnold, of Maitland; two public-houses and a dozen or more bark huts with tents scattered about on the flat and the declivities. The diggings at this point have been very rich; the gold of the same character as I have mentioned above; heavy coarse and of good quality. I was told that Dr. Foulis, who is established here, has been one of the most successful diggers, and still carries on the war with considerable advantage, exercising, at the same time, the thespiian art for the benefit of his fellow workers, and I hope, to the promotion of his own interests also. Provisions at Richardson’s Point were far more reasonable than at the Turon or Tamba- roura, Flour which fetched £60 to £70 at those places, is freely sold on the Meroo at less, the reason being that the supplies to that district are received via Maitland; and the country from Mudgee to the coast being com- comparatively easily traversed, the cost of carriage is very materially less than from Sydney to the Turon. We pushed on as far as the Devil’s Hole Creek, but from various reasons we did not get to Nuggetty Gully; which, however, was of the no consequence, as only a very few diggers are working there. At the Devil’s Hole, as well as at Long Creek, most of the parties at work were making large sums. One gentle- man assured me that from six to ten ounces a day was to be reckoned upon; another was content if his claim yielded three ounces daily; a third was “paying the way” another “making wages” and so forth. At every bend in the creek little stores of the precious metal were sure to be found. The number of diggers at work was, however limited. I counted between 40 and 50, but these were not all, most of the holes employing one or two of a party, working at various depths from the surface, and who were, considerably hidden from sight. I saw one man take out a nugget which appeared to me to weigh about 1½ ozs., which he deposited in his trousers pocket with the utmost apparent indifference, and, immediately throwing down his tools, adjourned to the nearest “public” to celrbrate the occasion. The Commissioner, Mr. Broughton, informed me that he had issued 490 licenses for the month of November, for the whole district, in- cluding the Loiusa Creek. Of these 460 were digging licenses, and 30 storekeeping. Mr. Broughton fully expected to issue 600 in all. The largest number of licenses issued in this district was 900, in the month of December last past which time, however, the Dirthole Creek was included in the district. It has since been transferred to the Tanbaroura district. The result of my visit to the western gold fields is a conviction that the whole country over which I travelled is highly auriferous. All the tributaries of the Macquarie, the Turon, Tambaroura, the Pyramul, the Meroo, and all the creeks which feed them, have been proved upon trial to contain gold; but I am persuaded that hitherto their real richness has not even been suspected. One of the chief features of our western gold fields is the very general dissemination of the precious metal. Instead of being found in large masses, as at Mount Alexander and the other diggings of the southern colony, it is spread abroad over a very large extent of country, and occurs in tolerably equal quantities,—thus af- fording far greater encouragement to a number of diggers, than if they were accumulated in solitary spots; and I have no scruple in stating my opinion—an opinion which was formed before I had visited the country, but which has been abundantly confirmed by personal inspec- tion—that there is ample room and verge enough for an immense population, and gold enough to support them in comfort, and to make the fortunes of many thousands. To estimate the number which our gold fields would maintain would be idle, since there cannot be any sufficient data on which to found a calculation; but if I hazard the number at 50,000 working men, I am quite satisfied I shall be very far within the mark. It will be seen that my inspection ex- tended only to a limited portion of the district. I had no opportunity of visiting Ophir, nor had I time to investigate the rumours I heard of the aurife- rous charactor of the Cudgegong river, which several persons, whose opinions were entitled to every consideration, assured me would be found exceedingly rich, if properly worked. I may however, say with great truth, that the gold fields of New South Wales are as yet in their infancy; and when a large influx of popula- tion shall have taken place, and more especially when a more careful, systematic, and compre- hensive method of working the mines shall have been introduced, there cannot be a sha- dow of doubt that the golden produce of this colony will far exceed anything that has yet been achieved, or even hoped for.I shall have occasion to touch, in a separate article, upon the working of the license system. At present I must conclude, by stating that to day, (Sunday) I attended divine worship in the Church of England, where I found a very respectable congregation of about 100 persons, amongst whom the Commissioner and his staff occupied a prominent place I am in- debted to the courtesy of these gentlemen for several matters of information, which they very readily and freely afforded me The day has passed in a very quiet way, and the conduct of the population out of doors is characterised by considerable propriety To-morrow 1 start for Tambaroura, in com- pany with a gentleman who is going the same road. Flour sells here for £60 a ton, ale 6d to 9d a glass, and every thing else in proportion.

Next up it was the TAMBAROORA field to visit and then on to LOUISA CREEK.

27 November 1852

THE WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. BEFORE taking leave of Tambaroura for the present, it is necessary I should repeat that the whole district through which the creek and its tributaries run is exceedingly rich, and that there is ample room not only for a large number of additional diggers, but for the re-working of the present holes in the winter season.

The actual production of gold bears but a small proportion to the numbers of people at work. At Tambaroura, for instance, it is cal- culated that between 500 and 600 diggers are still engaged, notwithstanding the difficulty of obtaining water. Of these 500 or 600, the great majority, however, are mere day-to-day labourers, earning, perhaps, their 10s. to 15s. per day on working days, which, in diggers’ parlance, means three days in the week— the other three days being devoted to what they call enjoyments, i.e., drinking and playing skittles at the various public houses or sly grog shops.

I do not mean to say that all the diggers pursue this course, but I am satisfied that a majority of them do; and the conclusion is inevitable, that the more gold they get, the worse it is for them, in a material as well as in a moral point of view, If a man finds gold easily, he spends his money freely, and works half time. If, on the contrary, he is “un- lucky,”—that is, if he does not clear half an ounce a day—the probability is that at the end of the week he is richer than the “lucky” man, because he prizes his earnings all the more.

Without pursuing this subject further in the present article, I may however, state (and I do so with a full conviction of the truth of the statement,) that the gain of the individual digger is in general a loss to the gold digging community, and that I am satisfied that what is called “independent industry” is by no means me the most prevalent in the end. I beg to be understood not to advocate mono- poly by capitalists, in contradistinction to free digging by individuals.

But I do not hesitate to affirm that combined and systematic labour is the great requisite, not only for the proper development of the mineral riches of the country, but, ultimately, for the interest of the labouring digger himself. I shall, in another article, explain the reasons which induce me to hold this view.

THE LOUISA. I left Tambaroura on the 11th, in company with the Rev. Mr. Procter, who had kindly offered to act as guide to the Meroo. Without in the slightest degree impugning the savoir faire of my reverend friend in the bush, he will probably forgive my mentioning, for the fun of the thing, that we were eight hours going a distance of eleven miles, and that, after a very entertaining ride over mountain and gully, and along wet and dry creeks, Through forest, through flood, we arrived at Campbell’s public-house towards five in the afternoon, dead beat, hungry, and (I speak for myself) excessively cross. Here we resolved to rest, it being hardly to be ex- petted that our steeds would go on the seven other miles to the Louisa; and here, accord- ingly, we rested, and paid through the nose for the same, Mr. Campbell having a gold- digging conscience, and resolving to make hay while the sun shone.

Early in the morning we rode to the Louisa, through the only interesting looking bush I had yet seen. The monotony of the gum, trees was agreeably relieved by the bright green graceful wattles ; and one or two clear- ings, with bark huts and noble paddocks, spoke cheeringly of cultivation and of the labour of man’s hands.

When we arrived at the Louisa, however, every feeling of romance gave way to the dull reality of tunnels, water holes, and accumu- lations of quartz piled up in heaps, ready to be crushed for the sake of what gold they might contain. The Louisa Creek diggings have not, per- haps, been so uniformly rich as those of the Meroo, of which it is a tributary; but, as the locality from whence the largest masses of gold have been extracted from the earth, they pos- sess a more than ordinary interest.

These diggings exhibit, in general, the same external features as those at Tambaroura, and it may equally be said of them that they have hitherto not had fair play. The winter floods have rendered nugatory much of the exertions of melancholy remains of spades[?], pickaxes and other mining implements, which are found on sinking fresh water holes; and which show only too surely that gold digging, as an indi- vidual occupation, is the most uncertain in its results of any under the sun, whatever may be the aggregate realisation. The grcat quatz ridge, or nugget vein, is situ- ated at an elevation of between 4,600 and 4,700 feet above the level of the sea. The gold in the vein appears to be capriciously distri- buted in very uncertain and varying quanti- ties.

The spot where the celebrated hundred- weight lump was found is on the head of the arch, or outcrop of the vein; but the imme- diate neighbourhood has been found singularly destitute of the precious metal. About 100 yards off from the spot, however, Peter Brenan’s lump was taken; and other nuggets of considerable weight were scattered about in the upper part of the vein, a great portion of which has been found, upon experiment, to yield but very poorly. T

he Great Nugget Vein Company are stea- dily pursuing their operations, which, how- ever, have been as yet of only an experimental character, the machinery at present em- ployed being of a very limited power. I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Mitchell, the secretary of the company, for the subjoined statement of the present posi- tion of the Company, and of their prospects and intentions and I may remark that I concur, generally, with the concluding observations, relative to the policy of encouraging, (under due regulation, however), the formation of associated companies, to work the gold mines of New South Wales.

I may also mention that Mr. Mitchell in- tends, in the event of the vein being worked by the Great Nugget Company, to erect a small observatory for registering the direction and force of the wind, the fall of rain, temperature and weight of the atmosphere, &c.; Mr. Mit- chell anticipates that this enterprise can be carried out at a very moderate cost. There can be no doubt that should his intentions be carried out very valuable scientific results would be obtained.

A curious geological fact connected with the Louisa Diggings came under my observation and is deserving of record. In a portion of the slate formation fossil spirifers have been discovered, of which several specimens were exhibited to me. They have, at first sight, the appearance as of screws driven into the rock, but on a closer examination you find that the joints or excrescences are not spiral but circu- lar. They are the remains of marine animals, now supposed to be extinct, and their being found at so great an elevation above the pre- sent level of the ocean is another of the many proofs thut this continent, at some period of great remoteness, was entirely under water.

At the diggings on the creek, I found many parties still at work, averaging fair wages on the whole; but some despondency appeared to weigh upon the diggers, who in general enter- tain an idea that the creek is exhausted, in which I cannot say I found any reason to con- cur: at the same time I freely admit that my inspection of the locality was necessarily of too superficial a character to justify me in giving an opinion contrary to that of those engaged at work. Subjoined is the statement of Mr. Mitchell alluded to above:— The Great Nugget Vein Company possess four claims, each half a mile square, in the neighbourhood of Louisa Creek, which passes diagonally through two of them, and thereby secures to the Company an extensive frontage, either for the purpose of collecting the water for their machinery, or for working alluvial washings along its bed.

At this period of the year the creek contains but a chain of small waterholes in its course, sufficient however for the wants of the present establishment, which may be considered but the nucleus of that in- tended to be erected, when the machinery and labour for carrying on extensive works are obtained. Few spots could be selected more suitable for a plant of this description than that offered in the vicinity of the Great Nugget Vein.

The slight elevation upon which its outcrop ap- pears rises gently from the course of the creek and affords an incline for the transport of the quartz at once to the engines; the whole of the claims are wooded with timber suitable for fuel, and in sufficient supply to meet many years’ consumption; the pasturage for horses and cattle is superior to that on many parts of the country; and lastly, though by no means least, the climate, excepting for very short pe- riods of the year, is cool and temperate, from the great elevation of the table land upon which the vein is situated.

The vein is presented in a formation exceed- ingly interesting, as if upheaved by the ele- vation of the hill itself: it rises to the centre of the ridge in the form of an arch at its outcrop, and dips on each slope of the hill, at an angle of almost 65 degrees, thus forming a vein on either side. A transverse section of the hill would exhibit the vein like a parabolic curve, the apex cropping out upon the summit; but towards the north end of the hill it is broken at the outcrop, while on the southern end the apex or crown of the arch is entire, and does not reach the surface of the earth. The ridge or summit of the hill thus shows, for several hundred feet, a large outcrop, and would lead an observer to suppose that the whole was formed of quartz, until the openings are inspected, and the vein traced.

In thickness it varies from 4½ to 5 and 6 feet, thus giving a considerable supply of material for future operations. On almost every other eminence in the Company’s claim, however, quartz appears to show itself, as if a mantle or bed of it were spread over the country, and it were subrupted by the hills thrusting themselves through it. Both above and below the vein lie clay and clay slate, which vary in their degrees of induration.

That found in the shaft sunk upon the summit of the ridge is so hard as to render it difficult to sink more than 14 feet per diem upon an average, since the ground was f— b— The works in progress at the present moment are entirely of an experimental nature, to test the value of the quartz; an arrangement being in treaty between an English company and the Great Nugget Company, by which the former may be permitted to work the vein on certain conditions, according to its richness. It is in- tended to sink three shafts about fifty fathoms apart, to different depths between the two veins, and from thence to drive adits to the veins on either side, from which portions will be taken and tested by various means.

Hitherto, the experiments have not been sufficiently carried out to enable a correct valuation to be placed upon the quartz, the greatest depth to which it has been quarried being but about seventeen feet in one spot, and a few feet in others. In all cases tried, however, gold, more or less, has been dis- covered, but when the extremely capricious nature of that metal is considered with refer- ence to its ramifications through the quartz, no amount of care can be too great in discover- ing its true value, before the vast sums re- quired are perilled in the operations of a Mining Company.

A single specimen in a ton may wonderfully alter its average value, and a few feet between two parts of the same vein in the like manner produce very different results: success may therefore even after many satis- factory experiments be doubtful, until opera- tions on a large seale are tried after all. Besides the quartz vein, however, there are alluvial diggings upon the Company’s claims, which hold out great promise of profit. Dr. Kerr’s celebrated cwt. or great nugget, from which the title of the company was derived, was found a few feet from one of the shafts. Brenan’s lump, and other large pieces also, and a considerable amount in smaller gold, was taken by the company in diggings a short dis- tance from the same spot, The process adopted with the quartz at pre- sent is to roast it upon brush and billet wood for some hours, and while hot to damp it with water, which renders it extremely friable; it is then pounded in a mortar attached to the engine, between bars in the bottom of which the pounded portion falls; this is then crushed beneath two heavy rolling wheels, afterwards sifted and washed in cradles, and the residuum sometimes amalgamated with mercury, but when the quartz is not finely sifted, the mere washing is sufficient to separate the gold, the small nuggets of which were shown.

The engine used at present has not power to crush more than a ton during the usual hours of daily labour, but it is intended to pressure machinery —— hours; should the yield be one ounce per ton, the profits will thus be considerable, though allowance must be made for transport, labour, &c;, besides unforeseen stoppages. This imperfect sketch of our first embryo quartz company leads me beyond the primary causes of its formation, to the succeeding effects likely to flow from the establishment of companies in this remote and unsettled dis- trict. It is painful to witness the state of the labourers who offer themselves for hire to the company. Like mendicants, they come without clothes or bedding, and appear con- tent to live in any hut or hovel for the time they may remain; without ties of any kind to the spot, the man who leaves to-day may be found twenty miles off to-morrow, and bends his way to any locality his fancy may dictate. The whole existence of these men is really in- ferior to that of the aborigines.

The blacks wander, but in company and with some method; but these men vagrate like solitary outcasts, and, with better powers, seem con- tent to remain the other’s mere imitators. Should organized companies occupy these solitudes, what changes may not be effected. Skilled labourers with their families may live and save nearly every farthing of their wages here. Ground for the tillage, cot- tages without rent, food without purchase, for these the companies would sup- ply, and instruction gratis. It isFix this text gratifying to report that even in its present half-formed state a clergyman is retained for service at the establisement on every alternate Sunday. I

t seems, however, hopeless to look forward to any social improvement being speedily undertaken until families are located, and steady labour engaged among us, and there is nothing so feasible when companies are firmly supported: it becomes therefore the interest of every man who has the welfare of his adopted country at heart to help them on- ward, if not with other encouragement, at least with the negative good of offering them no obstruction. But what shall we say to this obligation on the part of the Government?

And once at Louisa Creek, MEROO was just next door.

1 December 1852

THE WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. The road from the Louisa to Avisford, the headquarters of the Commissioner for the Meroo district, lies over a very picturesque suc- cession of hills; and the encampment itself, is a sequestered nook on the banks of the winding stream presents a scene of singular interest, and is strikingly in contrast with the more bustling aspect of the corresponding stations at Tambaroura and Sofala.

The Meroo diggings have hitherto proven exceedingly rich; and from my observations of the nature of the country, and various com- munications with parties well qualified to give information on the subject, l am persuaded that a vast amount of the precious metal lies embedded in the soil, for miles and miles, in- deed, throughout the length and breadth of the district. A

great deal of gold has been obtained from the surface by mere scratching, at various spots; and whenever a spade has been put into the ground the stuff has proved, more or less auriferous. The first place to which I directed my atten- tion was Maitland Bar, about two and a half miles lower down the river than the Commis- ioner’s quarters.

The scenery at and around this spot is very beautiful, hugh rocks, rise almost perpendiculary from the banks of the winding and gurgling stream, thickly wooded, and frowning in horrid majesty over the labours of the busy delvers below. The bar is at this season very nearly dry, and has been one of the richest spots along the whole area of the Meroo. The diggings here are, however, limited, and I do not think above 18 persons are camped at the bars.

I sought in vain a public house—a pretty sure indic- ation that no great business was going on, but from various indications in one or two of the huts, I was convinced that sly grog is to be had by means of a little management. I did not, however, put the matter to the test, because I have a natural aversion to breaking the law (if I can help it), and se- condly, because the waters of the Meroo sparkled so deliciously in the evening sun that I felt an irresistible temptation to quench my thirst in the limpid stream.

The water was not so good as it looked, but in my short excursion I had already learned to be not over particular, and I took a long draught, which was considerably refreshing. There was one feature about these diggings which calls for observation. The holes were for the must part part in squares, instead of being circular, as at Tambaroura; but from the fact that many of those which had evidently been recently dug were filled up again with debris, I came to the conclusion that this sort of tunnelling would not answer the purpose.

The average earnings of parties in the Maitland Bar were variously stated to be from to 2 to 5 ounces a week; but, as I had before had occasion to remark, nothing is be more fallacous or misleading than these “averages”. They prove nothing as to the fortunes of gold digging, and cannot be in any way more than a rough approximation to the truth.

I had taken up my quarters at the public- house about a mile to the northward of Avis- ford. Public-house it was called, but it was rather an embryo affair, the owner, Mr. Phillips, alias “Soldier Jack,” having only very recently converted his rural home into a house of accommodation, yielding to the ne- cessites of these travelling days, and won over by the prospect of additional gains.

I first presented myself on horseback, and asked for a shake-down, the old man denied that he had any accommodation for a “gentleman”; but I was not disposed to take a refusal, seeing that there was no alternative but bushing it, (the Commissioner’s camp being full), so I dismounted, took the saddle and swag off my steed, hobbled him, and de- claiming, (not without some compunctious mutterings) that I was not a gentleman, but a traveller, I resolutely walked into an un- furnished apartment constructed of bark and insisted upon something to eat, and straw to lie down upon.

This line of action had the disired effect, and the housewife now set to work to make me comfortable; which she did to a far greater degree than I had expected or hoped. The house stands upon an eminence, looking down upon a somewhat extensive clearing, on which cattle and horses, the pro- fit of the landlord, grazed ‘ad libitum’ in con- siderable numbers.

The view was bounded by a high range of hills, whose tops the setting sun illuminated with the most gorgeous colours: and notwithstanding the roughness of the homestead itself, there was a certain charm about the place which quite reconciled me to my quarters.

On Monday, the 15th, I started early to in- spect the upper portion of the river, under guidance of Mr. Bowman, late Assistant Comissioner for the district. We made for Richardson’s Point. Our road lay across the country, which is considerably broken, and we must have crossed the river at least half-a-dozen times before we reached the little township. On the way we passed California point, one of the spots which has yielded so well.

Here we saw only a few diggers at work; but such as we spoke to appeared to be doing well. The gold is coarse and nuggetty, and generally of a valuable kind. On the way, we crossed a great many quartz veins or ridges, which appeared to dip under the bed of the river, and crop out on the oppo- site side.

At the point of intersection, the bed of the river has been uniformly found rich on both sides,— feature which, I believe, does not occur on the Turon, where the opposite banks of a rich point have generally been found to produce little or no gold. At and about these quartz veins various surface diggings have been made, for which considerable quantities of gold has been taken; but which are now aban- doned. I have little doubt that if these spots were worked again more thoroughly, still greater results would be realised.

At Richardson’s Point I found the nucleus of a small town: there were two or three stores, of which the largest is kept by Mr. Arnold, of Maitland; two public-houses and a dozen or more bark huts with tents scattered about on the flat and the declivities. The diggings at this point have been very rich; the gold of the same character as I have mentioned above; heavy coarse and of good quality. I was told that Dr. Foulis, who is established here, has been one of the most successful diggers, and still carries on the war with considerable advantage, exercising, at the same time, the thespiian art for the benefit of his fellow workers, and I hope, to the promotion of his own interests also. Provisions at Richardson’s Point were far more reasonable than at the Turon or Tamba- roura, Flour which fetched £60 to £70 at those places, is freely sold on the Meroo at less, the reason being that the supplies to that district are received via Maitland; and the country from Mudgee to the coast being com- comparatively easily traversed, the cost of carriage is very materially less than from Sydney to the Turon.

We pushed on as far as the Devil’s Hole Creek, but from various reasons we did not get to Nuggetty Gully; which, however, was of the no consequence, as only a very few diggers are working there. At the Devil’s Hole, as well as at Long Creek, most of the parties at work were making large sums. One gentle- man assured me that from six to ten ounces a day was to be reckoned upon; another was content if his claim yielded three ounces daily; a third was “paying the way” another “making wages” and so forth.

At every bend in the creek little stores of the precious metal were sure to be found. The number of diggers at work was, however limited. I counted between 40 and 50, but these were not all, most of the holes employing one or two of a party, working at various depths from the surface, and who were, considerably hidden from sight. I saw one man take out a nugget which appeared to me to weigh about 1½ ozs., which he deposited in his trousers pocket with the utmost apparent indifference, and, immediately throwing down his tools, adjourned to the nearest “public” to celrbrate the occasion.

The Commissioner, Mr. Broughton, informed me that he had issued 490 licenses for the month of November, for the whole district, in- cluding the Loiusa Creek. Of these 460 were digging licenses, and 30 storekeeping. Mr. Broughton fully expected to issue 600 in all. The largest number of licenses issued in this district was 900, in the month of December last past which time, however, the Dirthole Creek was included in the district.

It has since been transferred to the Tanbaroura district. The result of my visit to the western gold fields is a conviction that the whole country over which I travelled is highly auriferous. All the tributaries of the Macquarie, the Turon, Tambaroura, the Pyramul, the Meroo, and all the creeks which feed them, have been proved upon trial to contain gold; but I am persuaded that hitherto their real richness has not even been suspected.

One of the chief features of our western gold fields is the very general dissemination of the precious metal. Instead of being found in large masses, as at Mount Alexander and the other diggings of the southern colony, it is spread abroad over a very large extent of country, and occurs in tolerably equal quantities,—thus af- fording far greater encouragement to a number of diggers, than if they were accumulated in solitary spots; and I have no scruple in stating my opinion—an opinion which was formed before I had visited the country, but which has been abundantly confirmed by personal inspec- tion—that there is ample room and verge enough for an immense population, and gold enough to support them in comfort, and to make the fortunes of many thousands.

To estimate the number which our gold fields would maintain would be idle, since there cannot be any sufficient data on which to found a calculation; but if I hazard the number at 50,000 working men, I am quite satisfied I shall be very far within the mark. It will be seen that my inspection ex- tended only to a limited portion of the district. I had no opportunity of visiting Ophir, nor had I time to investigate the rumours I heard of the aurife- rous charactor of the Cudgegong river, which several persons, whose opinions were entitled to every consideration, assured me would be found exceedingly rich, if properly worked.

I may however, say with great truth, that the gold fields of New South Wales are as yet in their infancy; and when a large influx of popula- tion shall have taken place, and more especially when a more careful, systematic, and compre- hensive method of working the mines shall have been introduced, there cannot be a sha- dow of doubt that the golden produce of this colony will far exceed anything that has yet been achieved, or even hoped for.

And finally it was wrap up time – what did it all amount to really and what were the long term prospects for the fields at the end of 1852? In this the correspondent provides a very candid account of the limitations and brutality of the license system and the need to strongly promote collective enterprise – or gold associations – to reduce the risks and perils of individual mining ventures and ensure social stability while also making revenues both easier and more civilised to collect.

1 December 1852

THE WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. I HAVE said, in two former articles, that in order to develope the auriferous wealth of this colony, and to promote at the same time the interests of the largest number of labouring miners, encouragement ought to be given, by all legitimate means, to the formation of asso- ciations or companies.

The most cursory observation of the working of the present gold regulations must convince any impartial person that a vast amount of labour is extravagantly thrown away in the production of gold, and that an enormous expense is incurred for the government of the gold fields without pro- ducing an adequate result. A

lready the miners themselves,-at all events a large proportion of them,-have be- come aware of the necessity of combining labour and capita!, m order to counteract as fax as possible the operation of the law of chance and lottery, which, from the very na- ture of the pursuit of gold mining, must be paramount.

And, speaking generally, there axe not enough prizes in the game to induce the mass of men to prefer the system of indi- vidual working, to that of combining together, either as labourers for hire, or as shareholders in a general concern ; whereby the disappoint- ments and disasters, which are the necessary concomitants of gold seeking adventure, may be partially neutralised by being divided among a great many, and the advantages and profits be more equally spread among the digging population.

It is quite unnecessary, in these days, to say a word about the advantages of mutual asso- ciations. The only question is, ho’v far the nature of gold mining will allow of the princi- ple being carried out in the gold fields-or rather, whether there is any reason why it should not be carried out as fully and as bene- ficially in the case of gold mining as in that of any other Industrial pursuit.

Gold mining has now become one of the regular industrial pursuits of the colony. It involves gold trading, gold exporting, and will probably soon involve gold assaying and gold coining. So that we have here a new element of wealth,-not in the shape of a mere fortui- tous addition to the resources of the colony, but in that of a regular, and probably for many years a permanent, occupation, which will naturally absorb a very large portion of the labour which is likely to seek for employment on these shores.

By the formation of gold mining associations two objects of primary importance would be, in my opinion, attained, -first, the precious metal would be produced in greater quantities, and more regularly, secondly, the deceptive temptations, or allure- ments, of the gold fields, would be materially modified, and probably reduced in force.

In order to the encouragement of such as- sociations, it would be highly desirable that every facility should be afforded on the part of the Government in the way of granting ex- tended claims, and relaxing in their favour ?whatever regulations may be adopted for the management of the gold fields. Of course, any direct interference with the rights of individual labour would be as impolitic as it is really im- practicable ; and I do not advocate the slightest attempt to check or to cripple the individual digger.

On the contrary, I believe that it is essential to the proper development of our gold field that, “ prospecting” which is chielly carried on by individuals, should have the fullest play. The working of the present license system I consider necessarily vicious. The dut) ?which devolves upon the Gold Commissioners is harassing both to them and to the miners ; and it is avowedly inadequate for the purpose for which it was established, namely, the col- lection of a revenue from gold.

The money collected barely pays the cost of collection ; .Mid it is obtained at the expense of every sort of trickery and subterfuge. The nature of the gold country, ruggel, extensive, and hitherto only imperfectly ex- plored quoad its auriferous wealth, renders it a mere quixotism on the part of the Government to attempt to carry out in their integrity the present gold regulations ; and, at the same time, their existence acts as a check upon the adventurous miner, who would, but for the fear of being called upon to pay 30s. at a moment’s notice, probably extend in every direction his Eoarch after new deposits of geld. The abstract assertion of the Royal preroga- tive as regards the precious metals was un- doubtedly the duty of the government ; and, in order to the preservation of life and property in the mining districts, the Royal prerogative must he, in the abstract, maintained.

But as it is impossible to prevent gold digging-as, on the contrary, it is the dut;/ as well as the interest of the government to promote this new branch of industry by every fair and lawful means,-it becomes a question of very great interest what regulations shall be adopted, and permanently carried out, with the double object ol’ encouraging gold mining, and of preserving life and property in the gold districts. During my short visit to the Western Gold Fields, I had opportunities of ascertaining the views, not oi the miners only and the other portions of the population at the diggings, but also of the government officers themselves ; and I believe I may say that the present license system is almost unanimously condemned as one-sided, inefficient, harrassing, and unpro- ductive. What to substitute for it is more easily asked than answered ;. and I do not pretend to solve the problem. Many plans were proposed to -TOP ; hut, most of them WPTP, nu pvaininntirm, – imprncttcnbleT-or-of-doubt ful-cxpetKeneyf-O f one thin:; I am, however, tolerably well con vinced ; and that is, that the collection of a revenue from gold, over and above the neces- sary expenses for police and for the registration of claims, fee., ought not to be attempted.

I am aware that this will sound very like heresy in the ears of the government, and of pseudo financiers ; but I do not the less 6trongly fool the truth of ti e assertion. The increase in the trade of the c >untry which must result from the gold discovery, coupled ?with the excellent commercial code recently established, will, of itself, amply provide the necessary means for carrying out all legitimate objects of government.

It may be said, how- ever, that the gold fields ought to be made to pay the expense of improving the means of internal communication, which in all conscience are deficient enough. To this I would reply, first, that the Government have not evinced cither that zeal or that judgment with refer- ence to our roads and bridges which would i’ustify the Legislature in entrusting to their lands large sums of money for that purpose ; and, secondly, that the special application of a particular fund to a particular public object, is ?vicious in principle, and almost always delu- sive in the end.

If the fund were conscien- tiously administered, it might, perhaps, be I otherwise ; but for this we have, unfortunately, i no guarantee whatever. The proposal of the Government to raise an ‘ export duty on gold is one that I cannot con-, cur in ; but, as its discussion would involve 1 arguments which do not immediately apply to the mntter in hand, I sholl say nothing more, on this occasion, than that I believe it would be found a complete failure. In principle, all export duti’ s are bad : in practice, they are Inoperative, and creative of embarossment and trouble, if they do not directly encourage law- lessness and riot.

Whatever may be the issue of the delibera- tions of the Legislature on the subject of the ?working of the gold regulations,-whatever may be the measures it may adopt, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it in reference to tho gold revenue by the Colonial Office, – I hope that the following objects will be kept steadily in view : 1st. To promote, by all legitimate means, the extension of our gold discoveries.

2nd. To contribute, as far as can be done by legislative ‘ enactments, to the economy of labour, and the increase of production, by encouraging associations of miners, whether in small or large companies.

3rd. To facilitate the police business of the gold districts, the registration of claim*, the maintenance of order, and the preservation of life and property generally. ‘

4th. To improve the means of transit ; and especially, of postal communication between the various gold settlements, and the metro- polis.

5th. To form townshipB at the principal points of the diggings.

6th. To establish elementary schools at every settlement, so as to afford facilities for the education of the children of miners and the other population, which at present do not exist The foregoing are the leading objects which should be kept in view m any legislation on the subject of the gold fields. There are many subordinate matters, however, which will necessarily come under the cognizance of the Legislative Council, requiring regulation I have not included, in the enumeration of leading objects, the promotion of the means of religious instruction.

This properly is the business of the heads of the various denomina- tions of Christians in existence in the colon), and canno*, without producing endless and fiuitless contention and bickering, be enter – tiined by the Legislature But, -whilst I hold this view, it is mj duty to urge m the mofct earnest way upon the attention of the arious religious bodies the immense held for exertion v Inch lies before them, and the necessity of pro uding for the moral destitution which un questionablj exists, and which the nature of the pursuits of a gold mining population are only too well calculated to increase.