THE QUARTZ REEFS AT BENDIGO GULLY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 400, 17 December 1869, Page 3

THE QUARTZ REEFS AT BENDIGO GULLY.

(by our special reporter.)

The starting place for Bendigo Gully is, of course, Cromwell, which town is some thirteen miles from Clyde. The tiade of the place, since the discovery of the reefs, has certainly very much improved ; hut there has been very few additions to the number of its buildings, they evidently having been more than sufficient for previous wants. The business of the Warden’s Court has, as a matter of course, much improved, and an Officer iu Char.e or Gold Receiver, is permanently located there. The want of such an officer has long been felt, as it could not be expected that miners, having business with the Warden’s Office, should he compelled to make a pilgrimage to Clyde; nor do I suppose, notwithstanding what may' be said to the contrary, that the people of Clyde required this sacrifice of time on the part of the miners, as it only represented as loss of labor, consequently, a correspondingly less yield of gold and less money to find its way into the pockets of the business people. Directing my horse’s head up Melmorcstreet, and having ridden up a steep hilt some feet deep in sand, I found myself on the correct course, so I was informed, to Bendigo Gully. A ride of twelve miles, over a good road as level as a bowlinggreen, brought me to M’Pherson’s punt, at Rooky Point, the old Lindis crossingplace, and where, during the winter season, the Clutha may be forded on horseback. A ride of some two miles over a plain and my ears were regaled with the sound of stampers reverberating through the hills, proclaiming, as they reduced the hard quartz rock to powder, the beginning of a new era in gold mining. I soon espied the crushing p ant of ‘Messrs. Goodger an 1 Garrett, otherwise, the Solway QuartzMining Company, but, as I shall hereafter describe the machinery in the regular course of ray narrative, I will leave the subject for the present. Following up a rather precipitous road, cut by the Solway Company for the purpose of conveying their quartz from the mine to the mill, I found myself in Logan Town, named after one of the enterprising shareholders in the Solway Company, and to whose untiring perseverance and abilty to overcome difficulties the success of the company must be mainly attributed. Logan Town appears to he very conveniently situated for the workings at the various lines of reef, but it is' badly off for water. It contains three stores, three butchers’ shops, five hotels, a clothier’s shop, a restaurant and bowling saloon, and a goodly number of miners’ tents are in the vicinity.

Five distinct lines of reef, running east and west, have, up to this time, been discovered. They are Logan’s, the Aurora, Alto, Colclough’s, and Richmond’s (another line lately discovered near the old workings of the Rise and Shine Company, and one mile east from Logan’s). Gillies’s was at first thought to be a reef by itself, but it

was proved to be a continuation of the latter.

Logan’s Beef, or the original Bendigo Gully Reef, is by no means a recent discovery, and as early as the year 18C3 stonersontaining sold in payable qu»ntities was show*, and from that to the present time somebody has iifltm at work on it. Mr. Coater, formerly Mining Surveyor for this district, in hit periodical reports, invariably referred to this ro#f as likely to turn out exceedingly rich, and, mainly through his representations, a company was formed in Dunedin to carry on operations. They expended some small amount of money ; but, like most people who know nothing about quartz mining, got tired, and gave up just ■when they should have vigorously continued their operations. What followed is, as a matter of course, well known. The Solway C'ompiny hold two licenses on this line of reef of sixteen acres each. As to the number of other claims taken up it would be hard to say. There were no less than thirteen in actual work at the time of my visit. The Solway Company have opened the reef to a depth of seventy feet in three places, and are now engaged making an opening in a fourth, and the course of tlie reef has been traced throughout the length of the claim. Including operations at the reef and crushing mill the company have thirty men employed, and the quantity of stone raised aim clashed is about sixty tons per week.l descended one of the openings,or excavations, and found the men “benching” out the stone to a depth of about seven feet. The width of the reef varies from throe to four feet. It is nearly perpendicular, the inclination, which is to the northward, being not more than one in thirty. It is a compact an well defined reef, requiring the constant use of powder to remove the stone. The character of the quartz is of a sandy nature, consequently, when the blocks are not large, they split up into small pieces during the process of breaking out. The prevailing impression that the reef is a mullochy one is quite erronious, as it is as solid as the generality of reefs in Victoria. The whole of the stone is crushed, together with about one inch of the casing on either side, the yield averaging throughout about three nonce# to the ton. No. 1 West have not struck the reef as yet. but are not far off from it. No. 2 West (Wilson and Co.) have struck the reef, and have first class prospects, the claim looking equally as well as the Solway. Nos. 3 and 4 have not yet struck the reef, but are working hard to do so. East of he Solway Company a considerable number of claims have been taken up, and golden stone has been struck in most of the shafts that have been put down. Gillies and Co. the Golden Crown Company, bold a claim on a hill about half a mile from the Solway here the reef apparently rises to near the surface, and has been traced down n two shafts, on; hundred feet apart, to a depth of sixty four feet; the reef in this claim is from eighteen inches to two feet wide and contains gold throughout, while it shows every indication of widening out as it deepens. M ‘Laughlan and party,® the adjoining claim to the east, have also struck the reef. The stone both in this and Gillies’ looks exceedingly well, so much so that the proprietors, for the most part, tradesmen resident at Clyde, have decided to erect crashing machinery at once. At the tine of my visit, the Mining Surveyor was engaged marking out a site for the machine, close handy to the workings. The Avrora Beef is about one mile north from Logan’s. It was discovered about six months ago, cropping out of the surface by some of the shareholders in the Aurora Water-race Company, and from which it derives its designation. The reef has been traced down to a depth of sixty three feet. It is two feet six inches in thickness, and is gradually widening out. The company are driving in a tunnel from the side of a steep hill, so as to cut the reef at one hundred and fifty feet from the surface. The Victoria Compomy, whoholda sixteen acre lease, a joining the Aurora, to the east, have very promising prospects, the reef cropping up to the surface in several places. There is gold hero from the roots of the grass, downwards. I brought, away several specimens from this claim, and two trials of rubble washed in a dish left no doubt about the claim proving a paying one.

Cololough’s Beef, about three hundred yards north of the Aurora, gives promise of a large yield; in fact, I saw considerably better stone on this line than on any other, The discovery was first made on the surface along which the course of the reef has been traced about throe hundred yards. No. 2 East, and No. 2 West, have also struck the reef, and can see gold pretty thickly distributed throughout the stone. The casing likewise contains much g( Id. This reef appears to vary from twelve inches to two feet in thickness. It is compact and w«dl defined and but very little off the pn-pe: d - cular ; what inclination there is, is to tue northward. The Alta Reef is some three or fo ir miles east of Logan’s, and was discovered on the surface, about four or five weeks ago, by an experienced Victorian quartz miner, Mr. Wil iams. One foot below the surface the reef is from two to three feet thick, and at thirty-live foot down it had opened out to four feet It underlays about one in ten to the north, and has been traced for one hundred and forty-two yards. The reef is compact and well define' 1 , the stone moderately soft, and prospects yielded from five to ten grains to the dish, while specks of gold were distinctly seen in almost every piece of stone. The prospector intends to erect a crushing mill at the Halt-mile Creek, from which source ample motive power can he obtained.

A few days since another line of reef was discovered near some old workings of the Rise and Shine Company, about a mile north of Logan’s, and from what 1 can learn the prospsets are very promising. There appears every probability of an abundant supply of crushing machinery being available shortly. The Solway Company have at present a battery of fivoheatls of stampers at work, and are proceeding with the erection of two more batteries of five heads each, making in all fifteen heads. This company purchased the entire plant of the defunct Hindon Company. The motive power is a thirty-feet overshot wheel, supplied from a race cut from the lower end of Bendigo Gully. A capacious shed is now in course of erection for the new batteries, which are expected to be at work early in the new year. The Aurora Company are proceeding rapidly with the erection of their machinery, lately the property of the Criterion Company, Arrow. This company intend starting early in January with ten heads of five-hundredweight stampers, driven by an overshot wheel, twenty-six feet six inches in diameter, the depth of the buckets being sixteen inches. The wheel has been built of kouri and clear pine, and has been exceedingly well braced, and strengthend with iron bands and knees. The iron work is under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Reid, late of Pleasant Creek, Victoria. The wood work is directed by Mr. John Letcher, of Arrowtown, who originally erected the machine for the Criterion Company. The Golden Crown Company purpose erecting a battery of ten heads. Mr. 6. Murray, of Dunedin, intends to proceed with the erection of a powerful mill, running thirty heads of stampers, to crush on public account. The prospects of the Bendigo

Gully Reefs are, certainly, very good ; I do not mean to infer that it will equal the Thames, or that there will be any very great finds, but the yield of gold promises to bo of an uniform character, which experience has proved is by far the best in the long run. The present population of Bendigo Gully is about four hundred, but ere twelve months elapse it will not be less than a thousand.