THE NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS.
REPORTS FROM THE ACTING WARDEN
The Commissioner of Crown Lands has received the following report dated
Western Shaw Station, June 26th, from Mr. L. H. Davies, acting warden of
the Pilbarra Goldfields:—
I have the honour to make the following report on the Pilbarra Goldfields
for the information of His Excellency the Governor.
WHIM WELL.
There are a good many men at work on the copper mine here, which is being
tested by an English syndicate with a view to the purchase of it, if the
test is satisfactory. I went round the workings with Mr. Swete the manager
but h& could not give me any information as to the prospects of the mine
until he has made his report to his employers. He certainly seems
determined to thoroughly test the property.
MALLINA
I met Mr. Fone the manager on his way to Port with about 55ozs of smelted
gold, which he reports having obtained from about 20 tons of stone put
through in three weeks. Mr. Argles is expected here stortly [sic] with the
new machinery for the mine.
EGINA.
Very little is doing here, there being only about twenty men gaining a
poor subsistence, and some at, them are leaving.
PILBARRA.
I arrived here on the 4th inst. and found only about twenty men on the
field, most of whom only just pay their way, but a man picked up a nugget
weighing about 91ozs a few days before I arrived. The men who were
working the puddling machine had to abandon it as the water in the well
gave out.
WESTERN SHAW
I arrived here on the 15th inst. and found about one hundred men at work,
some of whom are doing fairly well, and all seem to be making a living.
The prospectors have knocked off their well at about 70ft. without
striking water and are now dry blowing their reward claims with I believe
very good results. The old reef here is likely to be worked by a Roebourne
syndicate, who will probably arrange to have the Huntingdon Mill now at
Pilbarra put on the property in the course of a few months if the testing
which is now going a turns out satisfactorily. A new reef or a
continuation of the old one has been found about a mile to the Southward
and four claims have been registered upon it since I came up. It appears
to be a well defined reef on the top of the razor back range to the West
of the reward claims. The gold shows freely in the stone and the reef
seems to widen out as it goes down. It runs nearly north and south with a
high dip to the westward. The holders intend to sink shafts to test the
reef as soon as explosives can be procured.
The alluvial workings about eight miles to the north west of the main camp
have been abandoned, but another flat has been found about half a mile, to
the eastward of Grassy Flat, and a good many of the men are working on it.
The Coongan.—The rush that was on to the Coongan when I left town has
ceased now, and most of the men who left here for it have returned
disgusted. They report that the claims held by the prospectors who
discovered the place are undoubtedly rich, but that with the exception of
a few claims adjoining the reward claims the field is barren of gold.
Since I arrived here, there is a report of another rush in the
neighbourhood of "Talga Talga," but there is no excitement here about it.
I purpose to leave here for the Nullagine about Tuesday next, and to go on
from thence to the Coongan as there is said to be .some difficulty in
getting across from here on account of the scarcity of water on the road.
I have no authentic news from the Nullagine since I wrote my last report.
There has been no rain as yet in this district, with the exception of very
slight drizzling showers which do little or no good to the feed,
consequently feed for horses and other stock is very scarce, and
provisions are likely to be scarce and dear shortly.
The Commissioner of Crown Lands has received the following report, dated
Hillside Station, July 17th, from Mr. L. R. Davies acting Warden of the
Pilbarra goldfield :—
I found that I could get across to the Coongan from the Western Shaw's, so
I now have the honor to make the following report on the workings there,
for the information of His Excellency the Governor :—
There are some forty men now working in the vicinity of the “Marble Bar,”
on the Coongan, which is the site of the rush I reported by telegraph from
Roebourne, in May last.
There were some four hundred men on the find during the rush, but some
returned to Western Shaw and Nullagine, and the majority of the remainder
left for a new rush on the Watershed, between the Talga Talga and Little
de Grey Rivers.
On, my arrival at Marble Bar, I heard that the find at Little de Grey was
a failure, and that most of the men had left there again, some going to
the Nullagine and a good many to the country round Coppin's station, on
the De Grey River. Report says that there are about one hundred and eighty
men prospecting around Coppin's, and obtaining
their supplies from the station.
The alluvial workings at Marble Bar are situated about four miles east of
a “bar” or dyke of flinty quartz, which crosses the Coongan, where it
breaks through a high range chiefly composed of diorite. The gold is found
in low-lying slatey country, intersected by numerous quartz reefs and
blows. The quartz is honeycombed, end apparently highly charged with iron.
Some of the reefs show good prospects, and already five claims have been
registered upon them
The extent of the alluvial gold is limited, being chiefly confined to one
gully, in which the prospectors have their reward claims, but the country
is very likely to turn out a good reefing field, judging by the opinion of
miners on the spot.
The water supply is wholly inadequate to the requirements of the field, as
it has to be brought from the water holes, formed by the water falling
over the “Marble Bar,” which are not permanent. I have no doubt that many
more miners would prospect both for reefs and alluvial gold if water was
to be obtained on the spot. Judging by the appearance of the country water
could be obtained at a small cost.
All provisions are very scarce on the fields, and they have to be packed
from the surrounding stations, for although a very fair road can be
obtained to the port of Condon from the field, some of the stages between
water upon it are so long as to be impracticable for loaded drays. Two or
three wells sunk at suitable spots would be of great convenience both to
squatters and diggers, and I do not think the cost of sinking them would
be great, certainly under £150.
THE MURCHISON GOLDFIELDS.
INSPECTOR TROY'S REPORT.
The first gold workings we came to are called Bayley's, and are situated
on an island in Annean Lake. The island is about one mile long and half a
mile wide, the direction of its length is north and south. Along the
eastern side of the island there is a ridge of ironstone and quartz, and
at different spots to the west of this ridge quartz crops out, and farther
west the island is composed of red sand covered with mulga trees and
saltbush. Bayley's patch is close to the south end of the island, and is
on a gentle slope covered chiefly with ironstone, and is about 150 yards
in length by 50 yards in width, and was discovered on the 30th June by
Arthur Bayley, and his mate James Taylor. On that day they picked up 230
ounces of nuggetty gold upon the red surface; then they commenced digging,
and had obtained up to the 6th instant about 500 ounces of gold.
The gold is all coarse or nuggetty ; one piece weighed 34 ounces, and they
got several others from 12 ounces downwards.
I found 15 men digging here. A few were doing well, but the majority
complained that they could get but little gold. The work was what the
diggers called “surfacing,” and only from 6in. to 1ft. in depth.
Gold was found in small quantities at different points along the whole
length of the island From the island, about a quarter of a mile of the
lake has to be crossed to the mainland where an ironstone range commences,
and extends a few miles about north-north-east, and then, after meeting a
granite range turns away north-east. Four or five rich patches of alluvial
gold and some leaders have been found on the south and eastern slopes of
this range and near the lake.
The “Home Rule” line of quartz reef, over a mile in length, runs north
and south (nearly) down the slope, and its southern end dips into the
lake. Four protection areas are taken up on this line of reef, and upon
one of these (Gillis Macpherson's) rich gold specimens have been found,
and apparently payable gold reported.
Half a mile east, and nearly parallel to the Home Rule line of reef, is
another line of less extent, also supposed to be gold-bearing. Two
protection areas have been taken up either upon or adjoining this reef.
About 200 yards further east another line of reef can he traced by
numerous outcrops in the bed of the lake. I found Macpherson and his mate
Peterkin working on their reef, and they were getting good gold. The
remainder of the diggers were engaged fossicking around the above-
mentioned two patches, and a few were scattered out a little in search of
something fresh. Most of them expressed them. solves dissatisfied with the
result of their labour. One young fellow told me he had worked hard a week
for half an ounce. The only sinking done on the field was what Macpherson
and his mate did when putting shafts of 9 feet or 10 feet down on quartz
leaders. They told me that the leaders carried gold near the surface only,
but in one case I knew a digger to get 3 ounces of gold in one day out of
the bottom of one of those abandoned shafts. I made a short excursion
along the, ridge and eastern aide of the range for about eight miles, and
found the country of similar character to that at its southern end, except
that I did not meet with such extensive outcrops of quartz, but I came
upon two a [sic] three little hills, of dull white quartz which trended
north-easterly.
I was informed there is auriferous country stretching for miles north-east
of the existing workings, and also east and south. The country near Lake
Austin is said to be very promising, and a prospector named George Woodley
has applied to register a protection area near West Mount Magnet. Between
Coodardy Station (Townsend's) and the present field there are four or five
belts of country which I crossed, and which I consider worth prospecting.
When I left the field on the 6th inst., there were about 60 men there, and
I passed 142 men en route to it .… Messrs. Cruikshank & Co. had opened a
small store on the field, and also a butchering business.
The main camp of the diggers is situated about 2 ¼ miles west from Nanine
Well, and a tree marked on the chart X4. A watercarrier supplies the men
with water at 3d per gallon . . . . . The total quantity of gold obtained
on the field since November last amounts to 1709 oz., by the
undermentioned persons, namely:—Macpherson & Peterkin 800 ozs, Bayley &
Taylor 650 ozs, Harris 56 ozs, Robinson 70 ozs, Baldwin 30 ozs, Dugles 50
ozs, Kilkenny 20 ozs, Woodley 20 ozs, Burdett 13 ozs; total 1709 ozs. The
above is exclusive of what was obtained by the less fortunate diggers. The
road from Geraldton to the diggings is good, except about 30 miles of
heavy sand. There is water at every stage, except the three last, which
are 30 miles apart. Grass is very scarce. . . . During my absence, and
until other arrangements are made, I left Police Constable Binning to
carry on my duties as agent for the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
In conclusion, I beg to state that notwithstanding the large quantity of
gold which has been obtained the existing alluvial workings were almost
exhausted when I left, and up to that time no new ground had been found
which would support the number of men already gone to the field. The area
of the present field is 3 ½ miles long by about one mile broad at the
North end and runs to a point at the South end.
P. TROY,
Inspector of Police.
August 15.
In a footnote to his report, Inspector Troy states that the total distance
from Geraldton to the field is 300 miles.
