BALD HILL FLAT INQUIRY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 594, 5 September 1873, Page 2

BALD HILL FLAT INQUIRY.

- o The Board of Inquiry for the district consisting of W. L. Simpson, Esq., District hand Officer, and Messrs Haz'ott and Thomson held an Inquiry on the 27th nit, at Clyde, as to the auriferous nature ofjdie land at Bald Hill Flat. Mr. W. F. Forrest appeared to support the objections to the sale of the land, and Mr. J. F. Wilson, Solicitor appeared on behalf of the leaseholders. Mr. Forrest said that before calling evidence be wished to explain that the fact of gold being found in a number of Sections lirgbt create an impression that itwas scattered oil over the Flat, hut this was m>t exactly the case. The Flat is divided into two portions by the Bald Hill ridge, Skipper’s Cully forming the outlet at the Butcher’s Creek end of the Flat. This gully separates into two branehe-', one branch running through Sections 1, 3, 4, and 5, and th«n crossing the mad to the little Bald Hill through Section SO. The other branch comes into the Flat through a gorge about half a mile from Butcher’s Creek and crossing the'rnad, winds up the side of Section 32 (J. Crossan’s). At the other end of the Flat there is a gully rblining at the back of Hugh Crosslin’s sections and emptying into the Obelisk Creek near Kemp’s, and it will be found by the evidence that most of the gold obtained was in the line of these gullies. The gullies could not be observed very well from the road, but if the Board was to visit the ground referred to before coming to a decision they would be able to form a better idea of the Flat .than from any mere description that he could give them. He called the following witnesses : John Trembath, being sworn, deposed. 1 am a miner residing at Butcher’s Point, know Section 1 occupied by Wilkins Worked there for two months about three years ago. I had very little water to work with. I mode about 31. per week bv paddoeking. The ground would pay from seven to eight, pounds, per week per man, with water sufficient to sluice it. I ceased to work on account of not having sufficient water. I do not recollect the time it was appli ed f w by Wilkins. I was residing at Campbell’s Gully at that time. A t the time the Flat was surveyed for agriculture, I did not know that it was auriferous. My actual experience is confined to V ilkui’s section. I Inin ve the gully tube payable all through. The next Section is auriferous also. I got a regular sample of gold. 1 ma le 3/. 15s. the last week 1 avoided there—that aa r as the most I had in a week. I had as low as 2/., 31. 10s.. ‘ll. 155., and 31. ss. per week. The only reason 1 left the ground was from the want of avater. T made ten" shillings per day bringing up a tail race to the ground. Wilkins saw the gold 1 obtained there one aveek. There was about one ounce of it. The miners did not know avhat 1 avas doing except S. Simmonds. Cross examined by Mr. Wi’son— I got the gold from the gully, I think it is conlined to the gully. The sums I mentioned avero per man per aveek. I had a mate Thomas Smith, he loft me, and loft me his interest. A Chinaman was . working ahead of me. I worked as long as I could get gold. I have been doing better since 1 leit Raid Hill Flat. I consider the bed of the Gully tit to be avorked over again, if avater could be got it avouid pay 3/, per man per aveek. It avonld take about two beads of avater for four men. The average depth of the wash is about Jtavo feet ; on the sidelines of the gully, from three to four feet. Other patties worked the gully afteravards below avhero 1 bad been. Heard that they made from live to six pounds pr aveek 1 never avent back when 1 had once left. I have been ten or eleven years in the district. I took no steps to oppose the application for an agricultural lease. Ho not remember whether I signed the petition for the Flat to be thrown open for agriculture. 1 have seen gold got on J. Crossan’s section (32) before it avas taken up for agriculture. The ground was not much disturbed at the time of selection. There avas fro u two to three feet of likely looking wash in the holes. It avas a kind of gully avhere the avork had been done. Cannot state positively whether there is any other payable ground, but believe that there is. I believe I could go back there and make from tavo to three pounds a aveek at the present time I avonld not have left had there hc<n any avater. I think Wilkins’ section avouid occupy four men for three years to avork with avater. If the Chinamen had been making three pounds per week, I beliea’e he avouid have stuck to the grmin 1. Samuel Simmonds. —lam a. miner residing at Bald Hill Flat. I know Wilkin’s section, I got gold in it about eighteen months ago, I obtained half a grain to the dish. There is deep stripping, there was no water to be had at that time. The place I got the gold was from tavo to three hundred feet from the centre of the gully, on the sideling. 1 sank another hole and got as much as from one to three grains to the dish ; the stripping was from eighteen to twenty fees deep. Myself and mate estimated that it would pay from six to seven pounds per man per aveek if wc had avater to sluice it. 1 never tried other portions of the Flat. By Mr. Wilson.—l do not recollect hoav many dishes I ai’ashod. I obtained about half a pennyaveight of gold by prospecting. The second hole I sank avas in a linV'With the first. The Section is only fenced in, not cultivated. There arc a number of holes sunk on it. George Wilkinson and others had avorked oil'the Section' Jamcs'Sccftt.— I iuh engaged in business, and reside at Cromavell. I have formerly avorked as a miner at Bald Hill Flat ; avas shareholder hr a water race heading from Butcher’s Creek, 1 worked ground at J. Orossan’a section (32) and found it payable. die i i.d iai ciked wa in guilijs

running in to the Flat.- below where I I worked the ground had been worked by ) cradling, our tailings ran on to Section of Crossan’s. All the gullies had been partially worked before I had anything to do with them, we gutted them out. I believe the holes sunk on the Flat to be a continuation of the run' I was working. We worked the ground as low as we cordd without taking up a main tail race. I had A prospect out of one of the boles on the Flat of from half a pennyweight to three quarters to the dish ; wo had poorer prospects afterwards I donor think it would pay for tunneling, bot it would pay well for sluicing. Since I sold out, my water has never been available for the Flat. I tried other portions of the Flat. In Skipper’s Gully we made 21. 10js. per week paddocking ; the place would be three hundred or. four hundred yards from the Bald Hill (Section 4). I likewise found payable sluicing prospects on tbe Little Bald Hill I believe there is not a better speculation in the district, if there was a good water supply to work the ground. I lost too much lime and money by lit! ation, but otherwise 1 would have been well paid for any work I did on the Flat. The taking up of a main tail race is a heavy job, but seme gold would be got in doing so.. I would rather not answer the question whether it would pay to knock farming on the head, If I had to pay for it personally, I might hesitate to do so. By Mr. Wilson. I be’ieve I could yet point out the places referred to in my evidence. The wash averages from three to seven feet thi- k. The thickness diminishes towards the Bald Hill. We had a second race heading from Coal Creek, it carried very little water, not a constant supply. At. Kemp’s end of the Flat, I only made If. the ] ast week I worked there. I cannot speak much of that end of the Flat. Webb and party would have been an obstacle to my taking up a tail race at that cud of the Flat. The prospecting I did was on the Flat, itself, not on the hill sides. Thomas Sims,—l am a miner residing at Mutton Town Point ; have had eighteen years experience of sluicing, had a share with Scott and party in the race. 1 know Section 32, was sluicing in a gully near that Section w-bli Scott. The ground pal I well, a gully leading into it also paid well. The regulations compelled us to keep six men to do the work v. liich three men could have done. The lead where wo worked would run into Crr ss.m's section. We lost a great deal of time and money by litigation, but the ground paid us over 41. per man per week. The ground in Crossan’s section in my opinion is highly payab'e—say from five to six pounds per week. I prospected all along the Flat. My opinion is that there is payable gold in many places from the surface to six feet deep. The Regulations did not permit us to hold our quantity of water with less than six men. M e sluiced the ground as low as we could without bringing up a main tail race ; as far : ns we could work, the gold did not dimin- I ish towards Crossan’s section. I prospeot- ! Ed no other portion of the Fiat except obi holes sunk previously—one near the Paid j Hill was forty feet deep, I got a slnic'ng prospect out of the staff thrown out of it. We desisted from taking onr water on to the Little Bald Hill on account of the j heavy price of material for flaming at that i time (1805). j By Mr. Wilson. I only tricdsmall quan- ■ titles in prospecting, the ground is comparatively unworked. There was no other water-race available for that ground. Our party broke upon account of the constant litigation we were engaged in. The water was diverted to the other side of Butcher’s Creek after we sold out. Our party did not take the water away. Tbe party that diverted it had better ground than we had 'v hde wo had the race it terminated at Bald Hill Flat, I am not aware that the water was extended to White,s. We woiked the ground out as far as the fall permitted us ; we did not find it get poorer the farther we worked. We worked about tin ee hundred vards in length. The depth of the holes alluded to on Cross,m’s section was from four to six feet, 1 thick they are within the present fence. We had a little over 4b per man per week. I had 14(31. for my share. The depth of tbe ground we worked varied from three to twelve feet I base my statement of the payable nature of the Flat on my inning experience o‘ IS years. I consider the Flat not half tested yet for gold. I do not think that more than one tenth of the Flat would he required for mining purposes. My- opinion is that the gold is confined to the gullies or water courses. I did not wo: k near White’s when I left I have no idea of the prospects obtained near White’s. 1 signed no petition for throwing the Flat open for agriculture. I do not recoTeat the special petition. At the time of these petitions I was working near Clyde. I will not swear that I did not sign the petition, but if I did it must have beeirfroin the representations made to mo as I never read it. Samuel Canfield, David .Hally and Allan Russell, miners, gayo similar evidence as given by the former witnesses. Mr. Wilson, on behalf of the leaseholders, called the following evidence ; John Kemp ; I reside at Bald-hill Flat, and hold a water-race there. It carries two heads of water, and is now in useKnow scclion 27. My water would not be useful in working’', that section. Know David Hally, ! hut do not know with certainty what he is making. Have lived on the fiat for the last niue’years. Know that mining has been done on sections 1, 26, and 27. Have understood it to be payable near the creek. JMy sections would have to be cut to reach sections 11, 1.1, and 14. The value of improvements on my scclion is about 200/., but- I have expended about 1,200/. on the (sections 1 hold in connexion v itli these. Smith M ‘Lellau : I am a miner, and have beau mining for seventeen years. Know B Id bill Fb t, and have prospected it near

White’s. Heard Gray’s evidence. Pro. spected the holes ho referred to, and found half a grain to a grain to the dish as the result. This was three years ago. I think the ground might pay for sluicing. Did nut find anything anywhere else to pay. Could give no opinion as to whether it would pay to upset the farmers John Crossau : I am lessee of section 31 and 32; The old workings are outside the sections. My valuation for improvements is from SOO/. to 900/., for building, fencing, and laying down in grass. No opposition wis made to my application V- tbe lease. Was settled there, hy permission of the runholder, two years prior to the land being thrown open for settlement. There was no mining done except hy Chinamen, who left it as no good. By Mr. Forest ; There is no water except in holes. There was one hole on the sections when I got them. There might have been more than one hole, but covered over by tailings. My proper boundary would take in some of the old working. I hold eighty-seven and a halt acres. Offered to sell section 32 for 3CO/., without any of the moveables. Have made improvements on it since. Hugh Crossan : Hold sections 12, 13, 14, 25, and 20. My improvements are worth from 1,000/. to 1,200/ Was living on the fiat when it was thrown open. There was no mining going on at that .time. P. M ‘Gettigeu : lam lessee of sections 19 and 52 (fifty acres). There was no mining being done on it when I took it up. I value my improvements at 600/. There are Chinamen working near it, and Lithgoe and party w-orking higher up the creek. By Mr. Forrest : Any tail-race or workings on the fiat would not interfere with my sections. John Butler.- 1 amles°ee of s- ctions 3 and 4 (about eighty-six acres). There appeared Jto have been paddocking di ne on both sections. Value my improvements at 600/. Wilkins informed me he valued his improvements at about 180/. Ho has three or four acres cultivated as a garden. M ‘Dusky and _Lynch : Were lessees of section 11. There were no traces of mining when taken up, except a tail race. The estimated value of improvements Was fiom 200/. to 300/. Cornelius Murphy : Was lessee of section 9. No mining ha- been done mi the s cCon. Value my improvements at 200/. to 30 ■/. By Mr. Forrest : There are about sovrnry chains of fencing done, at a cost of about 20s. per chain. There is also a house and other buildings. John M‘Donough (partner with John White and Robert Leslie) ; Wc are lessees of sections 5, 7, and 8. Miirug had been done on the sections when taken up by us. Heard Bally give hisj evidence. Value our improvements at 1,700/. or 1,800/. Know section 27, .but cannot speak regarding its payable oalure. Have worked it myself occasionally, but bad other business to attend to. Have made 30s. pier week on ir. Cave permission to prospect section 23 recently. Tbe greatest number of holes was on section 5. 'l'lie Chairman intimated that the Beard would take time to consider the evidence before coming to decision. |