The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1882. The Woodstock Rush.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume III, Issue 652, 2 June 1882, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1882. The Woodstock Rush.

TOWN EDITION. [lssued at 4.40 p. m. j

The latest accounts to hand from Woodstock revive half forgotten memories of some of the smaller Australian rushes that broke out while the “ gold fever ” still raged in Victoria and New South Wales, What was, comparatively speaking, a deserted spot, but three short months ago, is now full of life, bustle, and excitement. “ The race for* gold ” is at its height, and people can talk of nothing but “ cradling,” “sinking,” “bottoming,” and “ washing up.” More than a thousand miners are on the ground, to say nothing about the storekeepers, sawmillers, publicans, and adventurers that a

new rush is sure to attract. New buildings, we read, are going up every day, and shares in the various mines are, generally speaking, at a premium. And cheering as are the accounts which are constantly arriving from the scene of operations, it should be remembered that the treasures of Woodstock are as yet but partially developed, owing to the want of water. A vexatious delay has occurred in getting water to the ground. Some time ago a contract for fluming to connect with the water-races was let, but the contractors subsequently discovered that they had tendered too low, and the work fell through. Now a second contract is being carried out, but it is thought that at least a month must elapse before it is completed. The delay is very annoying to those who have had ample time to form an idea of the nature of their claims, and who eagerly await the arrival of water to determine their value. However, the attainment of the consummation so devoutly wished for by the miners, will only be a question of lime. It is satisfactory to know, in the meantime, that the attractive metal is there, and plenty of it, for every day, according to the published statements in the West Coast papers, new and valuable “ finds ” are being made. New arrivals are daily pouring on to the ground, and Cobb and Co.’s coaches can hardly keep pace, it is said, with the demand for seats for “ the diggings.” One word before we lay down the pen. At almost every “ rush ” will be found scores of persons who would have done far better had they kept away. Digging for gold is hard work, which every man is not physically adapted for. Nothing can be more pitiable than the spectacle of the “new chum ” digger, or more trying than the shifts and hardships he has to experience on a goldfield. The weak, penniless, those unaccustomed to labor, and ne’er-do-wells, before they set out to try their fortunes at the diggings, had better think of Punch’s “ advice to parties about to marry,” which was—- “ don’t.”