Ophir will always hold a special place in the story of NSW gold through it being the first goldfield to which the fortune seekers rushed in the heady days of May 1851.

16 May 1851

GOLD, GOLD, GOLD

If any one is incredulous is to the fact of gold having been found in these districts, they need not be incredulous any longer. I have myself seen it, and I am perfectly satisfied there is no deception in the matter.

Three persons started from Bathurst on Saturday last, one of them an experienced hind from California. On Monday two of them returned, bringing with them one piece of gold which just weighed down thirty five sovereigns , another piece which weighed about half an-ounce, and several small pieces, which might weigh half-an-ounce altogether.

The largest piece appears to be solid gold, and good judges inform me it is. It is about three inches long, the breadth and thickness varying. 11 shape it ippe us like a piece of lead wl íeh his undi! ¿one the nition of fire, md MUCH in i liquid stitc been thrown c*irele-.slj unongst ishes or rubbish

In the thickest portion a small piece of quirt/, ibout half an inch m diameter is embedded, but whether it adds much to the weight I cannot dccidedlj si M opinion howe-,cr is, th it it does not The smallest piece or lump appe irs p lfcctl) pure, and the smallest pieees look like span gle», only that mstctd of bein,? smooth they are rough, anduneenon the edges, inclining more to an oblong thin an oal shape lhe 1 uga piece has since been sold to Ali Austin foi £30

OnTuesdn, about two pounds and a half of g >ld in lumps was bl ought into the town, besides a quantit) of duit Parties for the digguigs are lorming m c ery direction, and machines are being constructed for w ish mg the soil, sand, &e; I hope that the Go eminent will see the necessit) of lmmediateh strengthenmg the hinds of the loc d authori ties, by adding to the number of the constabu lary or bj forming a separate corps to presen e peace and order in these districts, for I assure i you I much fear that crime and outrage of every description will soon be the order of the j day. I hear there are upwards of two hundred persons on the gold ground, and the number is daily increasing.

20 May 1851

“PILGRIMS TO OPHIR”

The discovery of the fact by Mr. Hargraves that the country, from the Mountain Ranges to an indefinite extent into the interior, is one immense gold field, has produced a tremendous excitement in the town of Bathurst and the surrounding districts. For several days after our last publication, the business of the town was utterly paralysed.

A complete mental madness appears to have seized almost every member of the community, and, as a natural consequence there has been an universal rush to the diggings … Any attempt to describe the num berless scenes-grave, gay, and ludicrous which have arisen out of this state of things would require the graphic pen of a Dickens, and would exceed any limit which could be as signed to it in a newspaper.

Groups of people were to be seen early on Monday morning at every comer of the streets, assembled in solemn conclave, debating both possibilities and im possibilities, and eager to pounce upon any human being who was likely to give any in formation about the diggings. People of all trades, callings, and pursuits, were quickly transformed into miners, and many a hand which bad been trained to kid gloves, or ac customed to wield nothing heavier than the grey goose-quill, became nervous to clutch the pick on a crow-bar, or “rock the cradle.” at our infant mines.

The blacksmiths of the town could not turn off the picks fast enough, and the manufacture of cradles was the second briskest business of the place.

A few left town on Monday, equipped for the diggings ; but on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the roads to Summer Hill Creek became literally alive with new-made miners from every quarter, some armed with picks, others shouldering crowbars or shovels, and not a few strung round with wash-hand basins, tin pots, and cullinders, garden and agricultural implo ments of every variety, either hung from the saddle-bow, or dangled about the persons of the pilgrims to Ophir.

Now and then a respectable tradesman, who had just left his bench or counter, would heave into sight, with a huge something in front of hiss horse, which he called a cradle, and with which he was about to rock himself into fortune.

Scores have rushed from their homes, provided with a blanket, a “damper,” and a pick or grubbing hoe, full of hope that a day or two’s labour would fill their pockets with the precious metal ; and we have heard of a great number who have started without any provision but a blanket and some rude implement to dig with. Such is the intensity of the excitement, that people appear almost regardless of their present comfort, and think of nothing but gold. Of course all this must end in disap pointment.

The wet weather of the last two nights, with the damp ground for a bed, and the teeming clouds for a canopy, will do much towards damping the enthusiasm of numbers. We have the the authority of on experienced man in stating that from the imperfect and unsuitable implements used by all who have left for the diggings, coupled with their miserable provision in other respects, suceeds is impossible ; that the labour neces sary to success is extremely severe, and he ventures, as his opinion, that no more than thice per cent, will become permanent miners.

One of the consequences has been a rapid rise in the price of provisions. Flour which ranged from 26s. to 28s, per 100 lbs., has been sold for 45s. ; tea, sugar, and almost every other eatable commodity have advanced in equal proportion. A large amount of the wheat of the district is in the hands of a few speculators, who will maintain their hold in the hope of a golden harvest. But for the very extensive supplies now on their way from Sydney, flour would soon be at a famine price, and should a rush take place from below, as may be reasonably expected, it is to be hoped that there are capi talists enough to adventure in one of the safest speculations of the times — the purchase of flour for the supply of the district.

What assisted very materially to fan the ex citement into a flame, was the arrival of a son of Mr. Neal, the brewer, with a piece of pure metal, weighing eleven ounces, which was purchased by Mr. Austin for £30, who started to Sydney by the following day’s mail, with the gold and the news. Since that an old man arrived in town with several pieces in mass, weighing in all from two to three pounds. He also started for Sydney with his prize. Mr. Kennedy, the Manager of the Bathurst Branch of the Union Bank of Australia visited the diggings on Saturday last in company with Messrs. Hawkins and Green, each of these gentlemen picked up a small piece of the pure metal, and a few handsfull of the loose earth from the bed of the creek, which were brought home by Mr. Kennedy from motives of curio sity, have been since assayed by Mr. Korff, from Sydney, and a piece of gold extracted there from of the size of a small pea. Besides these we have not heard of any particular instances of success. On Wednesday morning last, Mr. Hargraves accompanied Mr. Stutchbury, the Govern ment geologist, went to the diggings, and with his own hands washed a pan of earth in his presence, from which twenty-one grains of fine gold were produced.

He afterwards washed several baskets of earth, and produced gold therefrom. Mr. Stutchbury hereupon ex pressed his satisfaction, and immediately fur nished him with credentials, which have since been forwarded to Government. The fact of the existence of gold is therefore clearly esta blished, and whatever credit or emolument may arise therefrom. Mr. Hargraves is cer tainly the individual to whom it properly belongs. Should Government deem it necessary, as it most probably will, to appoint an inspector, superintendent, or commissioner, over the gold regions, in addition to the fact of Mr. Hargraves being the discoverer, his practical acquaintance with mining points him out as the most suitable and worthy person for the appointment.

We have very much more to say, but have not space to say it in. _ A Mr. Rudder, an experienced California gold digger, is now at work at the diggings.— There are also several magistrates plying their picks and cradles most laboriously, but we have not heard with what success. In fact there ap pears every probability of a complete social revolution in the course of time. Those who are not already departed, are making prepara tions. Servants of every description are leaving their various employments, and the employers are, per necesitatem, preparing to follow. But notwithstanding all this, we feel that a reaction will speedily take place. The approach of winter and wet weather will do something towards cooling the ardour of the excited multitude.

20 May 1851

That there is gold in Ophir, and that the gold of that land is good, seems to be now determined.

Whether it will pay for the finding is yet uncertain … but whatever view may be entertained of its probable abundance, its profitableness to work, it is obviously quite in vain to attempt by any arguments addressed to the fears or the reason of men to prevent numbers of adventurers from leaving their sure and honest employments and crowd ing to the Australian California.

There are some considerations, however, which may be usefully submitted to every individual however sanguine, qui sperat, vescius aura fallacis,-not to deter, but to guide him, in order that the evil of an unsuccessful exploration, if he be bent upon going to the diggings, may be some what alleviated. The following observations ought to be written in letters of gold, but as this would not suit the Herald’s mechanical arrangement, I put them partly in small capitals.

I. Remember “ the Winter is coming on ; and though the winters are not severe in this colony, as compared with those of the old country, or of California, still those of the interior are considerably more so than those of the sea-board. There they have ice and snow, and the water in the brooks flowing from the hills will be very cold to the gold washer standing in it up to the middle.

II. Remember ‘ Flour is scarce in the Gold Region.” Previous to this discovery it was upwards of £20 a ton. The excitement and expected resort of strangers to a district not thickly peopled and not growing more wheat than was necessary for itself, has already pro digiously advanced the price, and if the appre hended result actually takes place, a famine must ensue : for no person can carry with him beyond a few days’ provisions, and there are no sufficient means of supplying the antici pated demands of the auriferous district by carrying provisions thither from other places.

III. Remember, farmers, first to “ sow your farms” before you go. The price of wheat will, no doubt, this year and next, be very high everywhere, in consequence of the influx of strangers. Your crops will be growing while you are in the mountains digging, and whether your search for gold should prove fortunate or the contrary, the produce of your fields will procure you golden corn in due season.

IV. If any of you have respectable, remune rating and certain employments, beware how you desert your posts, lest on your coming back from a wildgoose chase, you should find your places occupied by strangers, and you should seek in vain to resume your old avoca tions.

V. Beware how you break your legal engagements, or desert your wives and families. Such an occasion as this marks the difference between the honorable and the un principled man. Do not for the sake of the chance of a few pounds or hundreds of pounds destroy your character, burden your con science, and ruin your happiness.

Those who remain at their duties, will be most esteemed and trusted, and will receive an increased rate of wages by the departure of others. The gold will find its way into the hands of all – of him who stays by the baggage as well as of him who goes to the battle ; always sup posing there is gold to be got ; but, if not, why then the home-stayer is the better off.

VI. Ask yourself, O thou who proposest to thyself to go and dig gold, dost thou know in what places thou shalt be likely to get it by digging, and wouldst thou know it when mixed with earth if thou shouldst see it? If not, thou mayest lose a week or two in learning the indications of its existence, the appearance of the article, and the trick of obtaining it in a measure enough to pay thy labour.

30 May 1851

NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR.

The locality where the gold is at present found is on the banks and in the bed of Summerhill Creek, situated at its junction with Lewis’ Ponds, about thirty-six miles from Bathurst

The banks of the creek are very steep and rugged, and the sun’s rays I penetrate it but for about five hours each day.,

There are at present about seventeen hundred diggers, and not above six women on the creek. Great order prevails amongst them, indeed far more so than could be reasonably expected, when the fact that there are no con stables on the spot is taken into consideration.

The only disturbance I have heard of, oc curred through two of the diggers who be longed to a party, coming into Bathurst and selling their gold for £44 10s” and on arriving ‘at the diggings telling their partners that they (had only received £24 10s. tor it, they pocket ing tlu^ difference of £20.

No suspicion was entertained of their honesty until the Bathurst Free Press carno out, when the truth of the case appeared, and they were severally thrashed off the ground, and nave not since been allowed to return to it.

The diggings commence at the junction of Lewis’ Ponds with the Summerhill Creek, and have extended more or less to the confluence of the Summerhill Creek with the Macquarie River, a distance of about sixteen miles.

The gold is generally found in pieces varying from an ounce in weight to the smallest particle imaginable, indeed to fine gold dust. There have been several large pieces picked up, even as large as four pounds, but not above one person in every fifty has yet been 89 successful as to fall aóross anything weightier than an ounce.

The diggers for the most part are very badly housed, many of them lying in bough gunyah», which afford but little protection against the cold, and none against the wet, they, however, all seem in good spirits as long as their provi sions last, when those who have not been suc cessful ‘ enough to obtain sufficient gold to purchasemore, have been either obliged to leave the diggings, or else to lure with other parties whose success has been greater.

They generally dig in parties of three or six, who are distributed as follows :-One digs and fills the buckets with soil ; one carries the buckets of earth to the cradle at the creek; and the third works the cradle with one hand, and supplies it with water with the other. ‘

In parties of six they generally work two cradles. In some parties there are four persons, the rocky and heavy nature of the ground where they arc, requiring two persons to dig. The laborious nature of the work would deter many from coming, could they but form a correct idea of it.

I will at random take the case of a party of six, who were, I assure you, far more successful than many other parties who went out. They started from Bathurst on the 22nd of May, having with them a saddle horse, a horse and cart, tools, bedding, and provisions, weighing in all about ten hundred weight.

The cart horse was a good steady animal, but the ten hundred weisrht was too great a load for one horse up the pinches they had to surmount before they reached the diggings. The first night they camped at Swallow Creek, after having expe rienced considerable difficulty in getting the horse up two hills.

The second night they camped within six miles of the diggings, and but for the assistance of other teams on the road tliey would not have reached that far. On the morning of tho third day, tiley reached the commencement of the diggings, and had to leave their cart there, and carry the loading over rocks for a distance of two miles to where they had chosen the piece of ground they in tended to work ; this, and erecting their tefit, occupied the remainder of the third day, which was Saturday. On Monday they opened the ground, and worked until Saturday evening, when they found they lind altogether three ounces ‘ of gold.

During the six days they worked, they rose nt brpak of day, and . imme diately afterwards breakfasted, and went to the ground, returning for one hour at dinner time, and leaving off at sundown. They turned out upwards of twenty tons of stone, and washed 983 buckets of soil, all of which had to be car ried over 57 yards of rocky ground to the cra dle at the creek. Those who worked the cra dle had the additional comfort of wet feet and hands,, while the frost waa lying on tho ground, and all suffered much from cold and hard lying at night.

The amount that each man earned during tho week was about thirty shillings. They are still on the ground, intending to try and do somewhat better this week. The success of the different parties has been so various, that it is hardly possible to state correctly how the diggings pay. One man may, after two or tlireo days’ work, fall upon a heavy lump. Another may by steady perseverance and hard work make £2, £3, or even £4 in the week; whilst another, less fortunate, will barely realize as many- shillings. Under these circumstances it is almost impossible to average tho amount of earnings ; but I am firmly persuaded in my own mind that it does not exceed £2 per week, even if it reaches that amount.

The price of provisions is most exorbitant ; flour being 7¿d. per pound, mutton 3’d., and other necessaries in propor tion. I perceive that people are arriving every day in great numbers, many of them being persons of a weakly constitution, who would be but ill able to endure our biting frosts and heavy snows, even had they comfortable homes and ! habitations at the mines, far less will they be able to when they have nothing but the cold j earth for their bed, and a bough gunyah, or at j best a tarp .ulin, to protect them from the in-1 clemency of the weather,’

Those who arc de-1 termined to como will do well to provide them- selves with warra clothing, not forgetting a pair 1 of waterproof boots reaching to the middle of | the thigh, and the following tools, viz. :-one ‘ cradle (the light small ones answer best), one strong crowbar, one small and one large pick axe, one shovel with the points rounded off, one gardener’s trowel, for scraping the rocks and lifting the earth from between the crevices where there is not room to work with a shovel ; one tomahawk, one felling axe, two round tin dishes, well soldered inside, one broad tin pot holding two quarts, with wooden handle about two and a half feet long, for supplying the I cradle with water, two small American buckets, and six files.

20 June 1851

MINING INTELLIGENCE.

Discoveries of gold deposits in the Turon, which are said to be very rich, are at present the current topics of conversation in Bathurst.

The Ophir Diggings are by no means exhausted, but everything connected with them has lost its novelty. 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 nows 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.

2 July 1851

NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR.

From the Ophir diggings, I find the people have been I gradually melting away, like snow acted upon by the powerful rays of the sun, and I am very doubtful whether three hundred licenses will be 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 leaving for Bathurst, and others are crossing the 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 butthatit 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.

6 August 1851

From Ophir the news appears to be pretty much as usual, the superabundance of water still retarding the industrial operations of the place, and the miners leaving in consequence.

Many parties still remain, in the hope of securing good ground so soon as the creek shall have fallen. A gentleman called at our office on Saturday last with a flat piece, containing -very little quartz, and weighing 51 ounces. From another party we learn that the same individual who found this piece has since weighed another of 47 ounces, and it is be lieved is possessed of more of a similar charac ter.

A robbery took placo on Monday oi, the road to Ophir, the particulars of which have not yet transpired, except that two frmed bushrangers stopped, some say nine and others twelve men, and robbed them of a little money. – One of the men, who had £30 in his pocket, contrived to cut it off and cast it a distance away before he was searched, and thus saved his money. Who they are, or what are their names, we have not heard, but can only ob serve that Dutch courage must have been plentifully blended in their constitutions. Havilih is a 1 but deserted. The last visit of the Commissioner put a period to the pro ceedings of the miners, who forthwith betook themselves to the Turon. There are not more than two or three parties now on the ground. For some time to come, therefore, there will bo little to report from this locality.

A rumour has been prevalent for some time that several parties are doing exceedingly well at Frederick s Valley, and ‘it is reported that Mr. Wentworth’s laud in that vicinity lins furnished profitable employment to many of the people about Summerhill. Two or three individuals have lately been in town from that quarter, but beyond winks and no.Is, and sly looks, little information of a satisfactory cha racter can be obtained.

One of the uninitiated, who had been doing a little f>ly digging, caine to town a few days ago with a sample of some thing which he believed to be gold, and. after very carefully unfolding the precious treasure, which was enveloped in as many folds as the gi ave digger in Hamlet, he tenderly placed it in the hands of the gold merchant, as if afraid of its being hurt. Upon learning that it was genuine gold and no mistake, ho quickly pocketed the payment, and rushed from the place as if to start foot-hot to Summerhill, saying, as he left the door, that if that was gold he had a bucket-full at home. The gold was shown to u«, and was an excellent sample. Of course we give this man’s statement for what it is worth. Free ous stones are very plontiful about Ficdcrick’s Valley. A person who had been at work in that locality describes one amongst a number which he had picked out of nis cradle as shining like a star. From this description it appears not improbable that the stone spoken of is a diamond.

30 August 1851

OPHIR.

All digging for gold is at an end here for sometime to come, heavy rain having come down for the last two days, and it is still raining heavily. The creek, which on Sunday was almost as low as the diggers could desire, is now covered with foaming waters, and all the late working holes are consequently filled and invisible

Some few favoured spots on the slopes of the numerous bars may yet be worked at the expense of a thorough drenching ; but I fancy very few would venture to rock a cradle during the present unsettled weather.

All is silent with the exception of the roaring of the water down the creek. In anticipation of great things being done in the summer, Mr. Coomber, of Carcoar, is erecting a large and substantial slab house, for the accommodation of visitors and amateur miners, to which will be attached good stabling for their horses.

Such a building is much required, as there is now no place for “prospecting” gentlemen to shake down and feed in, but at the hut of those who have located themselves here for a season as storekeepers, or gold purchasers ; and it comes veiy epe isive to these gen tlemen, who, to say the least of them, are ex ceedingly hospitable to respecable strangers.

A meid of tea, damper, and mutton, costs something more than it would do in Sydney. Since my last communication, several par tics have started for the Turon, nnd about as many have arrived here to fill their places.

I have been credibly informed that many who left these diggings in hopes of doing a better stroke at the Turon, regret when too late, that they did not remain at their first chosen locality. One or two, dissatisfied with their luck here, have gone to Frederick’s Valley, hoping to do better ; in other words, in the anticipa tion of procuring the precious metal in buckets ful, and without material labour. Such cha racters are doomed to be disappointed ; for to get gold you must work hard. The kid-gloved and Spanish-leather-booted gent will not make salt to his porridge or his damper.

In the course of a short time -we expect to have erected in the immediate vicinity of our quartz-veined hills, crushing machines, for which purposes several licenses have been taken out. There is l’ttle doubt but that the parties interested will derive considerable pro fit for their venture, provided the quartz gene rally should yield the same per-centage of gold as the parcel sent to Sydney for assay.

Mr. Assistant-Commissioner Green has com menced erecting a habitation near the junction of the Summer Hill and Lewis Ponds Creeks, where are also in course of erection quarters for the troopers and their families, and where will be erected the Police Office, lock-up, &c.; On the return of Mr. Green, last Friday, in company with Captain Batty, they proceeded up the Summerhill, and issued about eleven new licenses ; but two or three managed to shoulder their cradles and scamper up the ac clivities where they had been rocking, thus evading the payment of tho license for a sea son. It is no easy mutter for a horseman to pursue these men, as in some places the moun tains are nearly perpendicular.

Great complaints ure made of the early hour at which the mail hence for Sydney leaves on the morning after its arrival, sometimes late the previous evening, thereby preventing correspondents replying to their letters by return of post.

It is thought, that to ensure the arrival of the mail in Bathurst in sufficient time for transit hence to Sydney, that eight o’clock in the morning would be quite early enough for it to leave Ophir. A

t present it starts at daybreak, and the office closes about nine on the previous evening. It must be admitted that the postmaster here is by no means disobliging, and that at any rea sonable hour, after the time of closing, he will not refuse to take in letters,-it is therefore to be lamented that he has determined to discon tinue the office. We may get a worse, or less obliging public servant. Certainly, the remu neration is by no means adequate to the duties, he being in the receipt of no more than £5 per annum. It is scarcely worth a man’s attention for so trumpery a salary, for he must be con stantly on the spot.

The salary ought to he at least equal to that paid to the postmaster in the minor country towns, for his duties are quite as onerous as theirs. In consequence of the price of gold in Sydney having fallen, some say Is. 6d. in the ounce, the precious metal here does not meet with ready purchasers for more than £3 -Is. per ounce, which considering the escort charge, &c;, is even more than a buyer con afford to give. I expect that next week few will bo found liberal enough to give more than three guineas. The quantity of gold forwarded by the last escort, was trifling compared with the amount sent by that conveyance pre viously.

This is to be accounted for by the fact that many parties prefer the risk of taking their collections to Bathurst, and disposing of it there, in the hope of making a few shillings more, not taking into consideration the expense of their journey, and time lost, when it might have been profitably employed at tho head of their cradles. No saving is effected by such procedure, as only one per cent, escort is charged, whether from Oplúr or Bathurst to Sydney. The escort is the only safe convey ance, nnd as it is supported at great expense, parties should not be “ penny-wise and pound foolish,” in risking the chance of being re lieved one fine morning by an armed band, of their hard-earned gold.

It would appear that the Turonites are sadly off for provisions, for within the past few days Bevcral men have come to Ophir for provisions, and sold their gold in exchange at the rate of £3 4s. It is only seventeen miles over the mountains to the Lower Turon at its junction with the Macquarie, and therefore much handier than proceeding to Bathurst. The price of provisions is much the same as when I last wrote, but if the weather does not speedily clear up we may expect a consider able rise flour especially. A few tons from Sydney of first and seconds (or ration) would pay well-£60 per ton being being now the wholesale price, delivered on the creek.

29 September 1851

THE GOLD LICENSES.

The sudden discovery of our extensive auriferous regions, and the rapid influx of population thither, bent on digging for gold, took the Government by surprise, and compelled the Executive to adopt some immediate tax for the purpose of meeting the increased expense occasioned by the discovery …

The appointment of a Gold Commissioner, with an assistant, at Ophir, and a proclamation levying a poll tax of thirty shillings a month upon every person engaged in gold digging, whether delver, carrier, or rocker, had hardly been brought into operation be fore the gold field at the Turon was dis covered, and a still more extensive emi gration was diverted to that quarter than had ever occupied the creeks at Summerhill.

The consequence of such migration was the requirement of a greater number of Assistant Com missioners to collect the monthly revenue, and increased protection to those engaged in digging. We are not going into the question of the qualifications of those who have been appointed to the gold district, whether as Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, or Subordinate Officers.

So also as we have no returns of the number of licenses which have been issued, or of the extra disburse ments occasioned by the discovery of gold around Bathurst, we are unable to i give anything like an approximation of I the balance of the funds in hand arising from the discovery.

But ive have been given to understand that with all the zeal and vigilance of the present staff of Collectors of Revenue the number of persons who take out “ licenses to dig” bear no proportion to the number actually work ing ; if this be the case, and we have been credibly informed that it is so, there is something radically wrong in the pre sent system of collection. W

e ha7c recently been informed by those who have traversed the Turon from one end of the diggings to the other, who have pioneered and prospected the creeks in its neighbourhood, who have ^ ¡sited the heights and the gullies, that the population there for the present month has been estimated as high as 16,000, and that the lowest estimate formed is 9000 persons.

If we assume that the latter estimate be about the cor rect number, what proportion does this bear to the licenses which have been taken out during the present month of September ? We have not official data to go upon, but it has been slated that tîie number of licenses which have been issued for the month of Sep tember does not amount to 6000.

Of course no one likes to pay tax-gatherers.

There is the same aversion to paying the license to dig at the mines, as exists to paying the lax upon a horse or car riage at home. It cannot therefore be a matter of eurprtse that the appearance of the semi-military looking Commissioner with his subs and licenses should be the signal for leaving off digging, for appa rently prospecting in a well-worked hole, or shunning his presence, for being busily engaged in making clampers, for giving leg bail, or pretending to have just arrived on the Creek.

Such eva sions of and escapes from the tax daily and hourly occur, when the Commis sioner makes his circuit to obtain payment of the monthly revenue, and as the Commissioner is armed with no legal authority to do more than order a digger who declines to comply with his demand off the ground, an illegal system of cradle-breaking has been introduced, which the Commissioners can neither sanction by law or justice.

Still it has happened that one, if not more, of the Commissioners have been guilty of this excess of duty, an excess not sanctioned by any powers which the Commissioners themselves possess. Ihe Legislative Council, however, will shortly meet, and then something beyond Commissioners’ law must be made to pre vail at the Diggings A more effectual method of collecting the revenue might be easily accom plished.

One method suggests itself. If for instance a tent or hut were placed every three miles along the workings, why should it not be made compulsory on the digger within the first seven days of each month to apply personally to the Commissioner for a license? and any person found digging without a license should be deemed guilty of felony, have his goods and chattels (including &a; gold which he may have obtained) con fiscated, and the delinquent sent to gaol for any period not exceeding six months, and during his imprisonment kept to hard labour. A severe penalty, such as we have just mentioned, would prevent fraud, and produce’a considerable increase to the revenue.

The machinery for the collection in the way we have suggested would be much less expensive than the costly and tedious way now adopted of the Commissioner visiting each digger separately. And to save still fur ther trouble the digger should be com pelled to wear his fícense as a badge on his breast, so that after the first week when the licenses were issued, the Commissioner in making his rounds would, at a single glance, be able to detect the honest from the fraudulent digger.

We have offered these suggestions be cause they are easy and practicable. Some amendment of the present system must be adopted, as nothing can be more unfair than that the digger who defrauds the Government, should be put on the same footing, and enjoy the same privi leges and protection, as the digger who is ready and willing to pay his monthly license.

4 December 1851

OPHIR.

You will perceive by the quantity of gold to be forwarded by to-morrow’s Escort, from the Father diggings in Australia, that my surmises, or rather declarations, that Ophir’s yield would soon become once more considerable, have been realized …

I have not, since my sojourn in this part of our golden regions, witnessed so large and varied a display pf the precious metal taken out of our rich creeks during the past week.

The success of many parties must have been great, and I am of opinion that our diggers have cleared their expences, with enough left at the end of the month to pay for new licenses. It is not because their is not gold in abundance all round us that many whO “come on trial,”-with extravagant ideas of rapid fortunes, from quartz veins and water-holes of gold,-do not succeed.

Their total want of experience in the manner of working and searching for gold is the primary causE of failure of the majority of the unsuccessful ; then from the peculiar character of the ground upon which some claims are taken, the parties are far too weak in numbers, and deficient in suitahle ma chinery, consequently it is impossible for them to do more than remove the portable deposit distributed all over the beds of our numerous water-courses and creeks, which “ drift” sel dom yields more than dust, grains, and what are designated small “ nuggets.”

“ Every man to his trade.” If it were to become the rage among a community to become cobblers, the awkward handling of the awl, by the inexpe rienced, would soon disfigure their hands and create general dissatisfaction and a desire to return to their educated line of life.

So it is with gold-digging. It is generally imagined by the Sydney cockneys, and others more used to hard labour, that gold-digging is not more laborious than digging out potatoes-and because they see a plate-full of nuggets in a goldsmith’s window in the me tropolis, their imagination leads them to see visions of lumps as big at least as walnuts, with an “ old man “ piece the size of a croco dile’s egg once a month at least.

The only parties likely to make gold mining a continuous profitable speculation are those made up of “ heads and tails ;”. or, in other more compre hensible language, where a company has its experienced scientific leader or director with hired labourers and good board and lodging, surrounded too with their families.

Our principal creek (the Summerhill) is now in better working order than I have seen it during the last; four months ; and from some claims in the bed a large quantity of beautiful lumps have been extracted, und as usual, a few “elegant extracts” denominated specimens.

A very singularly formed one was procured near the Junction last week,’somewhat re sembling a horse s ear, weighing about eight ounces; the concavity is beautifully inter spersed with white quartz. This specimen was purchased by Mr. John Jardine, having been procured by a party of two who had just commenced digging.

I understand that a greater number of licenses have been taken out this, the first day of the month, than on any day at the com mencement of the preceding month, since the discovery of gold in the colony. This is not a bad sign for Ophir. The weather is delightfully warm, and the flies both as numerous und as troublesome as at the Turon.