13 June 1851

In order to give a more definite idea of the numbers pass ing, who are actually bound for the diggings; a friend of ours had the curiosity of counting them, and the fair average of three consecutive days, ‘ fourteen days ago, was just 100 each day.

Taking the above, which is now at least one half below the average, as the basis of a simple but yet astounding calculation, we would ask now many days more shall pass over our de voted heads ere the present available popula tion of Sydney shall have passed off for the diggings. Hero as well as in most other agricultural districts of the colony, the result of this cursed gold mania, will “undoubtedly prove anything “but favourable to field opera tions.

Many of our agricultural friends having exchanged their wanted avocations for the great uncertainty of a prospective golden harvest at the mines of Summer Hill Creek. The advanced state of the season will be greatly against them, and will no doubt prove more or less unfavourable to many of the reckless adventurers. It is well known that j the winter is just on the eve of commencing, and if we may be allowed to draw our conclu sions from experience, wo must naturally expect that this winter will set in with its usual severity.

It is a well known fact, too, that the country around Bathurst and Welling ton is naturally of a cold bleak character, and it is nothing uncommon, even at Summer Hill Creek, to see the mountains covered with grey frost, and not unfrequently with deep snow. How far this may agree with the constitutions of counter skippers and quill drivers, &c, we are at a loss to conjecture; one thing, however, we are quite sure of, that many will have deep cause to regret that they ever heard of the “ accursed thing,” and would have reason to rejoice if Summer Hill Creek, with all its boasted riches, had shared a similar fate with the once devoted cities of “ the plain.”

Have have seen many on their return trip from the mines, crest-fallen and disappointed, although the principal cause of their leaving was, their not being properly equipped with the necessary implements for digging : £10 at least is said to be required for the necessary outfit, and to this sum we must add the item of 30s. a month for a license, making a total of £11 10s.

Yesterday we saw two specimens of gold which were in the possesson of parties return ing from the mines. Mr. James Nairne, of Hartley, was one of the fortunate parties, the lump weighs upwards of 1 lb. Mr. Nairne was only absent about eight days, and wo are led to understand that the piece above mentioned was only part of his earnings. The other lump was not quite so large, and we believe it has been disposed of m this township for £32 16s., together with other smaller pieces. Mr. John M’Lennon was the purchaser ; and the finder, one of a party of five men headed by Mr. E. Vertigan, all of whom left this township for the diggings about two weeks ago. I forgot to mention that the smaller pieces were also purchased by Mr. M’Lennan for £52 ; thus making the total amount realised for the whole of the metal above mentioned, £84 16s.

18 June 1851

Other parties have no doubt purchased ; in fact, there is a rumour that £500 worth was sold on Thursday or Friday last, but I am not in a position to state that such was actually the case. The purchases made by the above-named gentlemen are, however, more particularly worthy of notice, inasmuch as a portion of the gold was obtained from the Turon, which locality has for some little time boon spoken of as abounding with golden deposits.

Mr Austin purchased 30 ounces, rought from thence ; Mr. Dunsford’s pur chase was considerably larger, as it weighed upwards of thirty ounces. It was brought in on Saturday, by a person named George Scho field. It appears that Schofield, who be longed to a party of seven, worked nearly a fortnight at the Ophir diggings, and ob tained 10 ounces, but on Monday last they left that plact and started for the Turon, where they realised about 30 ounces in about three days. Of course the statement that it was ob tained at the Turon rests solely on the credi bility of Schofield and his party ; but I find, upon making inquiry, that there is no good reason for doubting that such is the fact.

They were known to have left Summerhill Creek on the Monday, and on the Saturday following they appear in Bathurst with 16 ounces which they got nt the Ophir diggings, and 30 ounces found at the Turon, The gold obtained at the latter place is, moreover, of a different shade of colour, being considerably darker than the specimens I have seen from Ophir. The exact spot where Schofield secured nis prize is, as a matter of course, a secret ; but most probably it was in or near the bed of the Turon river, possibly at the junction with that river of one of the numerous creeks or ravines intersect ing that part of the country.

The secret, however, is not likely to be long confined to him and his party, for I hear that some of our restless spirits are already on the qui vive, and propose an immediate visit. The mountains there, I understand, abound with quartz rock, which appears to be an almost certain indication of the presence of gold. The weather is much moro bleak and wintry than with us in Bathurst ; indeed it is not by any means uncommon for snow to faB. there, and lie on the ground for three or four days, when wc ore visited with nothing more than a cold rain.

Since my last communication various persons have been trying their skill, and, I may also say, their patience, on our creek, (the Vale Creek), but, although they can find gold in very minute portions, no in ducement appears sufficiently strong to set the regular gold digger in motion here. No doubt, as I have before stated, gold will b3 found in larger quantities higher up the creek ; and if this supposition is correct, you will very speedily hear of it. Mr. Austin has offered a rewurd of £5, to the person who obtains the first ounce from it ; but as he states .’from the Vale Creek,” I presume the reward could only be claimed by a person finding it on this side of George’s Plains, as there the creek assumes a different name. Mr. Foster, of Fitzgerald’s Swamp, is reported to have found gold in the vicinity of his residence, and several persons have within the last few days, pushed out in that direction.

I believe the report is not without foundation. The old story that plenty are coming up to the dig gings, full of hope, and that plenty are return ing again, thoroughly disappointed, is still applicable, and to relate particular cases would now be considered to savour of pro lixity. ? I might,-hovevcr, remark, that several persons arrive 1 on Satuidiy, from Goulburn, via the Abercrombie River ; and another party of seven gentlemen arrived on the same day from Sydney, intending to search for gold in some locality, upwards of sixty miles from from Ophir. Their party appears to be a strong one, as besides them selves, they have seven men and two aboriginal natives along with the drays, which have three or four days stara of them.

The last account I received from the Ophir diggings was dated on Friday, the 13th. The diggers were spreading up the Creek for eight miles above its junction with Lewis’ Ponds, and were increasing fast in number. Some of them had trespassed on Mr. Lane’s land, and had been turned off by the Commissioner. Many persons were leaving, and previouMio their departure, were selling their tools and necessaries on the ground, each man acting as his own auctioneer. The rain had not much impeded the digging operations. Instances of individual good luck were not numerous ; at any rate but few came under the notice of my informant. Many of the Sydney people who left were driven away by the inclemency of the weatier, and purposed to. return again next spring, when the season wou’.d be more genial, and would not call upon them for so considerable a sacrifice of comfort as they were at present obliged to make. June 15.-

This morning a party of five started for the Turon. Another party are about leaving for the same locality in the morning. A person arrived from thence to-day, and is stated to have brought with him 27 ounces of gold. Two persons arrived yester day evening from George Plains Creek (the continuation of the Vale Creek), one of them having been altogether unsuccessful, and the other having found gold ; but not, I believe, in any considerable quantity. The weather still continues unsettled, being raw and cold, with occasionally slight mizzling showers. The frost appears quite to have left us, and it is very generally conjectured that we shall not bo long without snow.

20 June 1851

There is a magic charm about the mystery in which as yet the unknown and untold wealth of tho Turon diggings is enveloped.

People enquire as eagerly for the latest intelligence from the terra incognita, incognita as regards its mineral resources, as if their very existence and happi ness depended upon it.” What news from the Turon-have you heard anything from the Turon ?” assail you at every corner of the street, and because we are not prepared with a peren nial well-spring of intelligence, we are unable to confirm the current extravagancies and im probabilities everywhere afloat about the Turon, n doubtful glance from beneath the eyelids, tell us distinctly as if spoken, that we arc suspected of concealing the truth, and that we know much moro than we choose to com municate.

But the fact is, we are very chary about giving publicity to uncorroborated ru mours. Within the last few days the greater portion of the colonial press has been anathe matised in our hearing by disappointed Sydney gold-diggers, and our own unpretending sheet his not been spared, although it has warned the enthusiastic from rushing from the ills they bear, to fly to others that they know not of ; and although we have rigidly excluded any matters of detail or fact, of whose authenticity we were not firmly convinced. The conductors of the Press have had all sorts of imaginary tortures prepared for them, on several occa sions in our own presence.

Shooting an editor has been accounted altogether too mer ciful a death, and as to discoverers, they have been set down as imposters, whose only dis covery has been-how to gull the public. A little slow roasting or a protracted dose of flagellation has been mercifully recommended as a fitting punishment. The publicans and storekeepers of Bathurst have, in numberless instances, the credit of originating the ruse, and of having, it is said, bribed the press to bring customers into the town of Bathurst to drink their gro” and buy their stores.

Hun dreds have rushed back from Ophir and Bathurst, and very largo numbers who reached neither the one nor the other, but caught the panic on the road. The Blue Mountains, old Father Winter, and no gold have driven bands of Sydney enthusiasts back to the low c juntry, penniless and spiritless, like a discomfited army, in a humour to abuse and blame every body and everything but their own folly and stupidity. The order of things has boen re versed, and there has been a very extensive rush from the diggings. As regards the Turon, we shall briefly state all we know of the matter.

It was generally rumoured some ten or a dozen days ago, that Messrs. Stutchbury and Piper had started from the diggings for the Turon, and that they had discovered very rich ground. The attention of many parties was in consequence attracted to that quarter. Rumours were rife on all sides that numbers were at work there, and doing a profitable business. One party of “several men who had been very fortunate at Ophir, were known to have left a very productive spot, with the in tention of exploring the creeks and gullies of the Turon, and as they did not return, the circumstance was regarded as presumptive proof that they were doing what is termed “ a good stroke.” Mr. Richards’ overseer, Mr. Bedford, who had been prospecting above the Turon ranges, succeeded in dis covering gold in many places. Mr. Mur nane, who has charge of Mr. Suttor’s sheep establishment, was equally successful in an other quarter, and wrote his employer the particulars of his explorations, and at the same time suggested the propriety of return ing a flock of fat wethers lo the station, which was intended for the market, as ho fcty convinced that when the discovery of gold existing in such plenty, becami publicly known, the mutton would be required to supply the gold-diggers of the Turon.

Tho next circumstance which carne prominently before the public, was the arrival in town of an ounce of the precious metal about the latter part of last week, the produce of the Turon. The bearer of this was Air. Richards, who has stations there, and from having been in the ‘ survey department, is conversant with all the localities. On Saturday last, Mr. George Schofield sold 30ozs, lOdwts. 5grs., which himself and party had obtained in the Turon, for £93 18s. 7id. Mr. Dunsford was the pur chaser.

The fact, therefore, of gold existing in the Turon, and in sufficieut quantity to remunerate the labour expended upon it, appears to be established beyond a doubt. The parties, whose names we have given, .ire all respectable, and would not lend themselves to anything like deception. The consequence of this discovery being made public, has been a diversion of many new arrivals in that direction. Parties are also leaving the Ophir diggings for the Turon, so that in a short time, should the new field prove as profitable as is anticipated, the population of Ophir will be materially thinned, and an opportunity will then be offered of establishing something like regu larity and system. As it is the order of the day with the Syd ney newspaper proprietors to dispatch what are termed “special correspondents” to the diggings, we seo no earthly reason why our little sheet should be deprived of this little bit of ostentation. Well, then, our “ special correspondent” has started for the Turon, and we hope to be shortly enabled to place our readers in possession of further particulars.

25 June 1851

I much fear we shall shortly hear that a most lawless state of society prevails up there, and that crimes of every description will abound.

The Government will no doubt be placed in a difficult position, for there is at present no organized force in the colony suffi ciently strong to preserve peace and good or der amongst them, and the difficulty will, I am apprehensive, be found to increase daily. Under these circumstances, it is necessary that the most respectable and influential persons on the ground, should take steps to maintain or der, and to afford protection to life and pro perty, and with a view to further this object, a few suggestions might not at the present mo ment prove altogether unacceptable.

I would propose that a camp be formed by every five or six parties for mutual protection, to which they should all resort at night, and which they should guard by turns during the day. That one or more respectable men from each party at the diggings, should form themselves into an association, and bind themselves to use their utmost endeavours to maintain order and good con duct on the ground. That, in pursuance of this they should in every case assist the local authorities in detecting crime and bring ing the perpetrators to justice, so much so that if a single constable came in the execution of his duty, he might, under their protection, and with their assistance, be able to fulfil the duty on which he was sent.

That they should pre vent by such means as the urgency of the case might render necessary, the illegal sale of in toxicating liquors, and should, both by precept and example, discourage intoxication on the spot. I feel satisfied that more is to be feared from the distribution of ardent spirits amongst a body of men-many of them lawless char acters-than from any other cause whatever.

PROVISIONS.-At the present moment Ba thurst is in a state of great excitement-in fact, the gold fever has fairly set in; consequently, provisions of every description realizes a price that astonishes sober-minded people. In the course of a few hours, flour rose from 25s. per 100 lbs. to 32s., 36s., and 40s., at each of which prices sales have been effected this day. Ra tion sugar has risen one halfpenny per pound. tea 10s. per chest ; tobacco has also risen, and even meat is on the advance. I hear that at the gold field parties living in the neighbour hood are slaughtering their sheep, and retailing the mutton at 3d. per pound.

LATEST PARTICULARS.-I rode out above 5 miles this evening, and saw nineteen men com ing back from the diggings, They complained of hard work, starvation, and other ills. I give no opinion upon the subject, because I know well that gold is on the spot; but energy, per severance, &c., are necessary ingredients to wards obtaining it.

2 July 1851

… the more particularly as the accounts, taken altogether, must convince thc most sceptical that digging hard, and enduring very great privations, will ensure to comparatively speaking, but few persons, a re ward adequate to the sacrifices they are in most cases called upon to make. However thc subject is one of considerable interest, not only to this colony, but I may also say to the world at large, I shall still continue to’trouble you from-time to time with such little items of intelligence as my rather circumscribed opportunities of observation afford me.

From thc ‘ Ophir diggings, I find the people have been I gradually melting away, like snow acted upon by thc powerful rays of the sun, and I am very doubtful whether three hundred licenses will bc taken out by diggers actually working there for the present month of July. I am ‘ informed by a credible witness who left there on Thursday, that the number on the creek certainly docs not exceed from one thousand to twelvo hundred.

Everyday small parties are ieaving for Bathurst, and others aro crossing tho Macquarie for the Turon, which locality they can reach in about ‘. fifteen miles over a rugged and mountainous ‘ country, hardly passable for a horseman. The incoming stream to Ophir has almost entirely ! ceased-in fact, my informant did not meet I one party on the road during the whole of the day occupied by him in travelling into ‘ Bathurst.

The water has subsided consider ‘ably since my last, but mining operations in 1 the bed of the creek are still virtually sus pended, the diggings being almost entirely con fined to the banks. Parties are now working fur nearly fo ir miles up the Lewis’ Ponds Creek, but I have not heard with what success, i Had “thev met with any extra”rdinary good luck, the is little doubt but that it would very I speidily nave been blazoned abroad. There are o rreat many on the Creek who are work ing veiy Vin”1 without having enough to eat, j and of course thc greater portion of them will disappear by degrees

Flour has been pur I chased at the mines from diggers . about to return, at twenty shillings, and biscuits at twelve shillings per one hundred pounds. , During thc last week Campbell’s party of four, ‘ after working four weeks, brought in gold which realised £141. Evans’s party of four, after five weeks’ work, obtained gold to the amount of £!)5 l’is., the greater portion of which was sold in Bathurst, John Gumble ton, saddler, from Sydney, with three others in the party, all industrious, willing, and able young men. obtained one ounco fifteen penny . weights after sixteen days’ hard work.

He is an intelligent young man, nnd tells me he is satisfied that not more than ten persons out of every hundred are doing well. Mr. Smith, optician, from Sydney, who passed through Bathurst’afew days since on his rond to Ophir, writes to a friend in Bathurst, stating he has got into a good hole. The most singular spe cimen of gold intermingled with quartz, which has come under my notice^ was one brought in by Mr. Mulvey, last week. It was a piece weighing perhaps a pound, being about the size of a duck egg, and had boen broken appa rently off another piece. The quartz was of a mu My light red colour, and tho gold appeared on the fractured side to run in very minute threads and small dust all through the stone.

On the exterior surface the gold might be seen in a few places rising in low flat protuberances, which leads me to believe that there wos one ormorebulkier threads or veins running through the quartz from one protubeiancc tb the other. It was estimated that there might be about three ounces of gold altogether, and Mri Mulvey assured me that £7 10s. was offered to him foi- it at Ophir. No piece in which? the gold was so thoroughly intermixed with the stone has been seen by me before ; in fact, it almost appeared as if thc quartz nnd gold had been in a state of fusion together, and had afterwards hardened into a solid mass. The person who first discovered it, saw one of the little golden protuberances, and thinking it was a small nugget, tried to pick it up with his: finger and thumb, but finding it resisted his efforts, had recourse to his pick. Another specimen obtained bv Mr. Gumblcton, is a very small piece of crystallized quartz, forming one end of a prism, with minute flakes of gold right through the centre. It is his intention to have it cut, polished, and set in a rir.

FROM THU Tonos, I have but littic au thentic information. It is repjrted herc that Íthe average yield of cradles well kept at work is about ono bunco y.ci doy, and.it is stated 1 every one .*» getting gold j m most^r* es the , junount of gain, maintaining nearjv ^jmial1 ! proportion to thc quantity of work performed. I should not, however, wish any ono to depend upon this statement until it meets with fur ther confirmation. Nothing but fine gold has I a» yet been obtained One circumstance in favour of the report that tho diggers are doing well, is the fact that no stragglers have as yet made their appearance who have been driven in by thc want of success ; hut on the ocher hand, I hear of no considerable quantity of gold from thence having been purchased here, although this latter circumstance maj’ in a measure be accounted for, by thc fact, that the diggers have as yet hardly been there long enough to render it worth their while to come in to dispuse of gold obtained only at the rate of one ounce per day. I have received no information wor thy of record from any of thc other localities where gold has been dis co rered ¡ .had it been found at any of them in any qwmtitv, no doubt it would have come to my knowledge. Since writing the above, I find that Kenyon’s party obtained possession of the hole worked by Campbell’s party (whose success has been before mentioned by me) after they left. Mr. Kenyon arrived in town on Saturday evening, bringing with him £20 worth of gold obtained from the same spot. It was obtained by his party in the short space of six hours.

PROVISIONS, &C.-All the necessaries of life still realise a high figure in Bathurst. Flour is fetching forty shillings per one hundred pounds, and other articles in proportion. Forage is very high. It is perfectly true that sales have been effected by return diggers, of flour, tea, and other articles, at very low prices, but dealers have, generally been the buyers, and but little benefit has been felt thereby by the general class of consumers, who have in so many cases suffered severely from the high prices which have ruled the market ever s:nce the discovery of the gold field.

16 July 1851

TURON DIGGINGS. From various and respectable sources we have gleaned the following items of informa tion respecting the present state of the Turon Diggings. The immediate and most obvious effect of the new discoveries is a general dispersion of the mining population over a large extent of country, but none have contributed so largely to produce this result as the discovery of the gold fields of the Turon.

There are gathered over a wide extent of country a mass of human beings variously esti mated by different calculators at from 800 to 1500 souls. But this dispersion is not so much a matter of choice as of necessity. The long intervals between the water holes, not only in the Turon rivulet, but in the Oakey Creek, Two-mile Creek, and Crudine Creek, render it impossible to con duct mining operations, except in localities distant from each other.

The consequence is that wherever there is the greatest extent of water frontage the largest number of miners are assembled, and to a traveller the sight is a very interesting one, of a large mass of men laboriously and most sedulously occupied in groups of 50, 100, and where water is abundant as many as 150, in a wild and rugged country, which, until within the last few weeks was the seat of silence and solitude. Whatever direction you may take in your rambles through the hills, you may unexpectedly stumble upon a small knot of busy men located upon a water hole, addressing themselves to their golden pursuits with characteristic diligence.

The great body of the miners aro scattered over about ten miles of the Turon rivulet, but there are parties at work in every quarter. We learn from Mr. Cummings that there are about one hundred and fifty men now at work at the junction of the Turon with the Macquarie. He had with him a piece of the precious metal weighing about an ounce, which had been procured there the day before. This is the only piece of any size which has been found there, or which is worth dignifying with that ugly little appellation “ nugget.” As Mr. Cummings is doing a flourishing busi ness in mutton we presume a corresponding change in his sentiments relative to the gold discovery has taken place. The principle group are as yet assembled about the Wallaby Rocks, owing to the prevalence to a greater extent than in any other spot yet discovered of the two prime requsites – gold and water.

Except at the junction, there are comparatively few down the river. Our in formant states that he unexpectedly stumbled on a party working by themselves in a quiet comer, a considerable distance down the river, where they had a good supply of water and were doing well. He know a few parties who had been getting an ounce a day each, but these were extreme instances.

Several teams from Maitland had arrived within the last few days, and one individual from that town had opened a large store immediately upon his arrival. The issue of the licenses, and the collection of the fees, were proceeding peaceably ; but there was nevertheless a good deal of passive resistance. Every description of scheme and trick was resorted to by some to shirk the payment. Those who are doing very well . have little inducement to scheme, and there fore come forward voluntarily to take out their licenses ; but there are some, and always will bo, who doing either indifferently or mode rately well, are seriously affected by the monthly tax of 30s., and it is not surprising that they do their best to avoid payment. In such cases, many of the diggers suddenly be come idle spectators when the Commissioner heaves in sight, and affect to be gazing at anything about them in stupid wonder. Others scamper offinto the bush, and deposit their bodies behind tree, returning to their labour when he has disappeared.

In one way or another many evade payment altogether. The earnings of the miners generally have not been overrated in our reports, but rather the reverse. A gentleman of undoubted vera city, recently returned from the Turon, in forms us that the party to which he belonged had been procuring an ounce of gold a day each, for some time past. He mentioned the names of several others who had been equally fortunate, and informed as that he had an ounce in his pocket which had been pro cured by his son, who was at work by him self, in one day. Many of his neighbours, he stated, were earning £1 per day, and a man must be a “ crawler” who did not make 10s. !

But from nil we have heard, the gentleman in ‘ question has been at work in about the most ‘ productive spot yet discovered. From another respectable individual, who has devoted some attention to the subject, and taken pains to ascertain the general earnings of the Turon miners, we learn that they vary greatly at different points of the river, and that where water was plentiful and the diggings conve nient thereto, they were making the most money. He fixes upon 5s. as the lowest, and rises to 30s. as the highest daily earnings. Isolated cases of a higher rate, he says, may occur, but they are too few in number to found a rule upon. Several individuals have men employed, to whom they pay wages.

Messrs. Want and Redman have about ten men at work on these terms, and are doing well. They are located near the second Wallaby Rocks. One party had a pump at work with a spout eight feet long, and were pretty successful. There was very little water about the place, but they sup plied their wants by digging a hole in the bed of the creek, from which they procured suf ficient for washing, cooking, &c. In many places the water is so scarce that the men were filling up the holes with the refuse from their cradles. On Sunday and Monday last, from forty to fifty Sydney people started back home. Many of them appear utterly helpless when they arrive at the mines, and remain there for a few days only, to cat up a portion of their supplies, and sacrifice the remainder.

How many of them mustered courage to get through the journey up is astonishing, for one glance at the diggings apnears to paralyse them. As regards the public peace, the very best order prevails. On Tuesday night last a con cert was got up, for admittance to which a trifling charge was made. There are several females at the diggings. A professional gen tleman from the metropolis, accompanied by his young and blushing bride, is now rusti cating at the Turon, and it is said is very suc cessful in his digging operations. The party with whom he is connected have earned good wages.

18 July 1851

It is beyond the range of our ordi nary ideas – a sort of physical incomprehensi bility-but that it is a material existence, our own eyes bore witness on Monday last.

Mr. Suttor, a few days previously, threw out a few misty hints about the possibility of a single individual digging Four Thousand Pounds’ worth of gold in one day, but no one believed him serious. It was thought that he was doing a little harmless puffing for his own district and the Turon diggings.

On Sunday it began to be whispered about town that Dr. Kerr, Mr. Suttor’s brother-in-law, had found a hundred weight of gold. Some few believed it, but the townspeople generally, and amongst the rost the writer of this article, treated the story as a piece of ridiculous ex aggeration, and the bearer of it as a jester who gave the Bathurstonians unlimited credit for gullibility. The following day however set the matter at rest. About 2 o’clock in the afternoon two greys, in tandem, driven by W. II. Suttor, Esq., M.C., made their appearance at the bottom of William-street.

In a few seconds they were pulled up opposite the Free Press office, and the first indi cation of the astounding fact which met the view, was two massive pieces of the precious metal, glittering in virgin purity, as they loped from the solid rock. An intimation that the valuable prize was to reach the town on that day having been pretty generally circu lated in the early part of the morning, the townspeople were on the qui vive, and in almost as little time as it has taken to write it, 160 people had collected around the gig conveying the time’s wonder, eager to catch a glimpse of the monster lump said to form a portion of it. The two pieces spoken of were freely handed about amongst the assembled throng for some twenty minutes.

Astonishment, wonder, in credulity, admiration, and the other kindred sentiments of the human heart were depicted upon the features of all present in a most re markable manner, and they were by no means diminished in intensity, when a square tin box in the body of the vehicle was pointed out as the repository of the remainder of the hundred weight of gold. Having good-naturedly grati fied.the’euriosity of the people, Mr. Suttor in vited us to accompany his party to the Union Bank of Australia, to witness the interesting process of weighing. Wo complied with alacrity, and the next moment the greys dashed off at a gallant pace. Followed by a hearty cheer from the multitude. In a few moments the tin box and its con tents were placed on the table of the Board Room of the Bank. In the presence of the Manager, David Kennedy, W. H. Suttor, T. J. Hawkins, Esquires, and the fortunate pro prietor, Dr. Kerr, the weighing commenced, Dr. Machattie officiating and Mr. Ferrand act ing as clerk.

The first two pieces already alluded to, weighed severally 6lbs. 4ozs. 1dwt. and 5lbs. 13dwts., besides which were sixteen drafts of 3lbs. 4ozs. each, making in all 102lbs. 9ozs. 5dwts. From Dr. Kerr we learned that he had retained upwards of 3lbs. as specimens, so that the total weight found would bc 106lbs. (One hundred and six pounds)-all disem boW’ lied from the earth at one time. And now for the particulars of this extraordinary gather ing which has Bet the town and dibtrictina whirl of excitement. A few days ago, an educated aboriginal formerly attached to the Wellington Mission, and who has been in the service of W. J. Kerr, Esq., of Wallawi about seven years, re turned home to his employer with the intelli gence that he had discovered a large mass of gold amongst a heap of quartz upon the run, whilst tending his sheep.

Gold being the universal topic of conversa tion, the curiosity of this sable son of the forest was excited,. and provided with a tomahawk he had amused himself by ex ploring the country adjacent to his employer’s land, and hod thus mode the discovery. His attention was first called to tho lucky spot by observing a speck of some glittering yillow substance upon the surface of a block of the quartz, upon which he applied his tomahawk, and broke off a portion. At that moment the splendid prize stood revealed to his sight. His first care was to start off home, and dis clo«e his discovery to his master, to whom he presented whatever gold might be procured from it.

As may be supposed, little time was lost by the worthy Doctor. Quick as horse flesh would carry him he was on the ground, and in a very short period the three blocks of quartz, containing the hundred trei/hl of gold, were released from the bed where, charged with unknown wealth, they had rested per haps for thousands of years, awaiting the hand of civilised man to disturb thom. The largest of the blocks was about a foot in diameter, and weighed 7-5 lbs. gross. Out of this piece 60 lbs. of pure gold was taken. Before separation it was beautifully encased in quartz. The other two were something smaller. The auriferous mass weighed as nearly as could be guessed, from two to three cwt. Not being able to move it con veniently, Dr. Kerr broke the pieces into Email fragments, and herein committed a very grand error.

As specimens, ‘the glit tering blocks would have been invaluable. Nothing yet known of would have borne com parison, or, if any, the comparison would have been in our favour. From the descrip tion given by him, as seen in their original state, the world has seen nothing like them yet. The heaviest of the two large pieces pre sented an appearance not unlike a honey comb or sponge, and consisted of particles of a crystalline form, as did nearly the , whole of the gold. The second larger piece was smoother, and the particles more con densed, and seemed as if it had been acted upon by water. The remainder was broken into lumps of from two to three pounds and downwards, and were remarkably free from quartz cr earthy matter. When heaped together on the table they presented a I splendid appearance, and shone with an ef fulgence calculated to dazzle the brain of any man not armed with the coldness of stoicism.

The spot where this mass of treasure was found will be celebrated in the golden annals of these district?, and we shall therefore de scribe it as minutely as our means of informa tion will allow. In the first place the quartz ! blocks formed an isolated heap, and were dis taut about 100 yards from a quartz vein which stretches up the ridge from the Murroo Creek. The locality is the commencement of an undulating table land, very fertile, and is contiguous to a never-failing supply of water in the above-named creek. It is distant about 53 miles from Bathurst, l8 from Mudgee, 30 from Wellington, and l8 to the nearest point of the Macquarie River, and is within about 8 miles of Dr. Kerr’s head station. The neighbouring country has been pretty well ex plored since the discovery, but with the excep tion of dust, no further indications have been found.

In return for his very valuable service, Dr. Kerr has presented the black-fellow and his brother with two flocks of sheep, two saddle horses, and a quantity of rations, and supplied them with a team of bullocks to plough some land in which they are about to sow a crop of maize and potatoes. One of the brothers mounted on a serviceable roadster accom panied the party into town, nnd appeared not a little proud of his share in the transaction. Our readers are now in possession of an ac curate history of the whole affair. The parti culars were kindly furnished by Mr. Suttor and Dr. Kerr, and may therefore be relied on as correct. Since the affair was blazoned to the world, several gentlemen of our acquaint ance have shown undoubted symptoms of tem porary insanity, and the nerves of the commu nity at large have sustained a severe shock. Should the effect be at all proportionate in Sydney to its population, the inmates of Bed lam Point may be fairly reckoned an integral portion of the community.

22 July 1851

2. Persons having gold to transmit will therefore have the opportunity of forwarding it with the security of the protection which the Government will be able to afford ; but it is to be understood, that in the event of a loss, notwithstanding that protection, the Govern ment will not be responsible for it.

3. The gold intended to be sent to Sydney is to be delivered to the Commissioner of Crown Lands at Ophir, who, after weighing it, will place it in bags, which are to be sealed, numbered, addressed, and marked hy him, with the weight, in the presence of the parties bringing it; and receipts will be granted by him, in which these particulars will be speci fied, as well as the description of the gold, and the names of the agents or persons to whom it is to be delivered in Sydney.

4. The chest or safe containing the gold will be consigned to the Colonial Treasurer in Syd ney, who will deliver the bags to the persons or agents appointed to receive them, on their pro ducing authorities, corresponding with the re ceipts given by Commissioner, and with the return which will be transmitted by him to the Treasury.

5. A charge will be made by the Government for] gold forwarded under this arrangement, at the rate of one per cent, on its value, estimated at £3 4s. per ounce for washed gold, and £2 8s. for gold obtained by amalgamation ; and payment of the same will be required to be made at the Treasury on the delivery of the packages.

6. The mails by which gold may be sent under the protection of an escort will leave Ophir every Tuesday morning, arriving in Sydney at 8 a.m., on the Thursday following, commencing on Tuesday, the 22nd instant.

7. The packages of gold will be delivered at the Colonial Treasury, between the hours of eleven and twelve o’clock, on each Thursday, to the agents or parties authorised to receive them.