THE SOUTHERN CROSS PETROLEUM COMPANY'S OIL SPRINGS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3541, 14 November 1882, Page 4

THE SOUTHERN CROSS PETROLEUM COMPANY'S OIL SPRINGS.

The following description of the works at the Southern Cross Petroleum Company's ground at Rotokautuku is from the Poverty Bay Standard : — When we arrived within about a mile of the Company's works we could easily distinguish the derrick which is 70 feet high, in the distance ; from the hills it can be seen from very far off. On arriving at the works •we "were received most cordially by the manager, Mr G. P. Hilton, and his assistant Mr Knox, who took us over the works, explaining the various matters to us as we ■went. We can only say we "were literally astonished at the prospect we saw palpably before us. No chimerical visions of possibilities, but hard material realities, which to all reasonable probability would indicate the possession by this Company of one of the richest properties in the colonies, if not in the known world, and which in themselves give a flat contradiction to the malicious and false reports some time ago industriously circulated regarding the oil interests of the Company. Mr Hilton called our attention to a 400 gallon tank, which was full to within eight inches of the top of petroleum oil, which had been baled out of the shaft from day to clay ; and which was somewhat of the color of pale brandy, and At the time of our visit the works were stopped owing to the supply of curbs (which are large iron bands of 3 inch angle iron, sft 6in diameter) being exhausted ; a fresh supply being then daily expected to arrive at Awanui by the schooner Minnie Hare. Steam, consequently was down, but the manager ordered it to be got up in order that we might be lowered down the shaft, which is a round one, sft. 6in. in diameter, and was then down to a depth of 157 ft 6in. Mr Hilton showed us a frame containing email square block specimens of the various strata passed through in each day's sinking, a guide which we should think "would prove most valuable in future sinkings, for it must be remembered that this present shaft must be considered as a prospecting shaft only. There will, without a doubt, in the course of a few months, be many other sinkings and boi'ings in full work upon this property. There is ample room for very many of them, and the indications tend to almost a certainty of an ample supply of oil when the deposit is fairly tapped by the boring tools. Steam haying been reported up by the whistle, we proceeded to the shaft, where we found a large iron bucket suspended by a 7-inch water-laid hawser rove through a sheave at the head of the derrick plumbing the centre of the shaft, the fall working round a drum of about t-vro feet in diameter, and worked by a steam engine of about 16 horsepower, the manufacturers of which are Messrs Maudslay, awaiting our advent. The Manager stood upon the edge of the bucket, holding on to the hawser, but we, thinking discretion the better part of valour, and recognizing the fact that giddiness is very often attendant upon such descents when the head is unused to them, got carefully into the bucket, and had a life line passed round us, holding on the while to a becket spliced into the hawser. The Manager gave the word to lower and down we went prettj fast; on arriving at the bottom we found ' Jim ' there, who signalled the engine by a vigorous pull of a rope attached to a signal ' bell' on the derrick, to stop, and wo got out, and the bucket ascended the shaft for our ' compagnon de voyage,' Mr A. Or. Croll, who presently came down in like manner to ourselves. At the bottom of the well we found about 2 feet of ,oil which Mr Hilton informed us was the accumulation of two days, the well not having been baled out for that period. "We could plainly see the oil and gas bubbling up to the surface. Previous to going down the shaft we had been invested with a sou' wester hat and an old coat, in order that our clothes might escape soiling from the oil, or the water dripping from the sides of the shaft. Underneath the accumulation of oil in the shaft there would probably be about 6 or 8 inches of water from these drippings. Tbe quality of the oil seemed to be very superior, and we were informed that it would not ignite at a less temperature than 130" Fahrenheit, most of the known petroleum oils igniting as low as 110". The shaft is slabbed from head to foot and the slabs secured by iron curbs of 3in. angle iron weighing respectively lOSlbs and 1351b5, placed at intervals of about 5 feet; yet notwithstanding the apparent strength of such work the pressure of the earth ha 3on occasions twisted them and twined them as though they were straw. Some few days back a violent xipheaval of earth took place in the shaft, and the soft papa clay kept, as it were, ' spueing up 'in the shaft. In two cubic yards of sinking, by shaft measurement, the Manager assured us that he removed forty-eight dray loads of papa clay, and had to keep the men at work day and night to effect such removal. The strong iron bands were twisted and contorted out of all shape by this extraordinary action of the earth. Some of them, which ho had taken out and replaced by new ones, being actually forced into the shape of the letter S. The shaft is supplied with air by an air pipe of about 12 inches by 10 inches, at the top of which is a fan driven by a small Tangye engine, forcing the air down to the bottom of the shaft. Only Davy Lamps are allowed in this shaft. The printed rules for the working of which are suspended in a conspicuous place in the shaft house, which is boarded in. Two. young ladies—Miss Sutton, the niece of Mr Creek, the schoolmaster at Wai-o-ma.ta.tini, and Miss Stewart, a daughter of Mr R. 0. Stewart, of Tologa Bay—had made the descent of the shaft a week previous to our visit, and the shaftmen speak in terms of high admiration for the pluck they evinced in descending. They are the only ladies who have as yet been down the shaft. The Manager, Mr Gγ. P. Hilton, expresses an earnest wish that more visitors will come from all parts in order that they may see for themselves how gratuitously false the detrimental statements previously referred to, which have been so industriously circulated concerning the Company really are and to this end he intends putting up a visitors' room for their special accommodation, which "will enable people to remain on the ground a night or two without being forced to return to Wai-o-maattini or Awanui hurriedly. The timber for the Manager's house had arrived on the ground, but he has been compelled to forgo the use of it, and devote it to other more pressing necessities. A further supply was daily expected ex Gisborne and Minine Hare, as also a fresh supply of curbs. Light can be flashed from head to foot of the shaft by means of reflectors, something on the principal of tlie heliograph. The Manager intended to sink the shaft to a depth of 200 feet, and then start with the boring tools, as he expects to be on more solid rock at that depth. After spending about half an hour below ground we again took our place in the bucket, and were drawn to the surface, and proceeded with Mr Hilton to Mr Knox's house for tea. Mr Hilto/i informed us that he allows no alcoholic liquor of any kind to be brought on the ground, having seen too many accidents result from its use in other places. Hitherto this shaft has been very fortunate, no accidents having occurred. Still, we think the manager should be supplied with a medicine chest, and spirits and bandages, which his own knowledge would enable him to apply, in the absence of a medical man, in case of or possible accident. There is only only one medical man resident on the coast, and he probably might be two or three days ride distant when his services "were required ; as there are always 14 or 15 men employed on these works, we certainly think the- supply of a medicine chest and its surroundings would be a desideratum. Wo had a good look round the store shed and blacksmith's shop, engine-room, fuel stacks (of which there are about 150 cords), &c, and felt that our journey was amply repaid by what we saw. Everything seemed in first-class working order. The plant is undeniably good and valuable, and the

Manager seems to have left nothing undone that could enhance its value. Tho prospects of the Company are, we say most unhesitatingly, magnificent; in fact we doubt very much if, in the course of a very short time, when the oil deposit is fairly tapped by the boring tools, as must inevitably be the case, whether this Company will not assume proportions of which its most ardent supporters have hardly dreamed. The assertions made by its detractors are false and valueless, and we fearlessly predict for it a future that will make its name ring not only through the colonies, but throughout all Europe and America as a petroleum supply, and an example of what energy and perseverance can effect in the teeth of evil and false report. For ourselves we do not hesitate to pronounce those reports to be wicked and malicious falsehoods. Let any person of average sense and knowledge pay a visit to the ground, and we guarantee that their opinion will corroborate our own expression regarding the hona fides of tho Southern Cross Petroleum Company, and the almost incalculable value of their property. Let us add that we hope and firmly believe that the day is not far distant when on tho oil grounds of Poverty Bay we shall not only see two, but two hundred or twenty hundred shafts in full working order, and every shaft giving its due return to those whose energy and perseverance have established them. The manager of the South Pacific Company, an experienced old miner, says that he has never seen on the American oil fields indications of such rich promise as he has seen here. We firmly believe that his words will be verified at no distant period by incontrovertable facts in the shape of a largo and remunerative export from the oil springs of Poverty Bay.