THE LAKES

Dunstan Times, Issue 467, 31 March 1871, Page 3

THE LAKES

(from our correspondent.) Queenstown, March 27. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, the Rev Dr. Moran arrived here on Saturday afternoon';, last, escorted by a very largVSiivaloade of his co-religionists in vehicles and on horse back. S om e had made a journey all the w ft y to Arrow town to meet his Lordship, while others met the cortege at the Shotover Biidge. From all parts of the district, the Catholics came to do honor to the head of their church in Otago. The most noticeable feature in Queenstown is the immense building operations now being carried on. Messrs. Hallensteln Coq are building a shop and warehouse in Rees Street, sixty fe'df square, the foundations are of stone, the lower and upper stories, brick This, when completed, will be the largest and most substantial erection ou the goldfields, while it will also possess considerable architectural merit. Mr. Halleustein is also erecting a large stone dwelling-house, which will cost upwards of one thousand pounds at his farm at Spear-grass flat. Mr. M. J. Malaghan is building his business premises anew with stone, Mr. A. Eichardt, of the Queen’s Arms Hotel, is doing the same, commencing fromthe back portion ot the premises, and working up to the front. Mr. D. Powell, our local knight of the hammer, has just completed an extensive range of stables and sale yards, while as to cottages they are going up by the score. The demand for timber is so great, that the two mills cannot supply sufficient, and much delay is occasioned. The wood splitters ml the Lake are equally busy, the demand for fencing timing and firewood being largely in excess of the supply. The traffic of the Lake has completely outstripped the powers of our local fleet of steamers, and more vessels are badly wanted. Messrs. Mack ay and Boult are building a screw steamer of thirty tons, which will be a little help but there is sufficient trade on the Lake now for a couple <>f really first class boats of large carrying capacity, with proper passenger accomodation, a matter not at all provided for at present. It is said that a large Chinese firm is about starting a store in the town here. This Celestial establishment is to be on an extensive scale, and to be well stocked with every article required by the Barbarians, equally with Chinese. This Celestial enterprise is looked upon by consumers in a most favorable light, for notwithstanding that every other business or service has’been cut down to the lowest that of a Storekeeper is as profitable as ever, prices of stoves being as high now as .in the good old times, when carriage was fifty anti sixty pounds per ton —of course heavy goods must to a certain extent be excluded from this category.

The annexation of Otago to Southland, and the presence of so many Chinese, have added considerably to the trade of the town within the last twelve months, but whether it will still go on increasing, or whether this prosperity is ephemeral I am not prepared to say. At the same’time no just cause exists why things should not continue as good as tjiey now are for some time to come at least, or until we are completely over run by the Chinese. The Government have at last set aboni repairing the roads, and a few of the worst places are .being made good. 11 must not he Understood that the roads are in course of re-metal ling they never were anything but mud and it is with mud they are being repaired with. This material being so readily obtainable, and fills up a hole or rut so quickly, that the Provincial engineer cannot find it in his heart to use stone for making or repairing roads. This, however is the case all over the goldfields, so we must not complain of being worse off than our neighbors. Verily we are heavily taxed for something. What a contract exists between the beautiful macadamised roads near Dunedin and the primitive mud roads of the goldfields.