THE KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELDS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1268, 18 June 1886, Page 3

THE KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELDS.

In Melbourne a syndicate has been formed for the purpose of purchasing land in the Kimlierley district. - The capital is LIOO.CUO

Numerous bogus report* re finds at Kimberley have lieen circulated at Sydney, anil miners are advised to wait for authentic

A young man named Brookman, just returned to Sandhurst from Derby, gives the following intorma'ion :—He left Raeburn in August last with aoeep for Derby. The roods were good, and the Government wells supplied water. At the Fitzßoy River he waited three months before he got acmss the river to Derby, owing to floods. He mot two miners who said wages on the diggings were pin-. Two others, however, brought down 2Soiz of gold, which they obtained on the surface. The gold was much waterworn. They declared the field was not payable, and said it took from three weeks to a month to reach it from Derby. The country was bad for travelling, the high grass being troublesome. Some of the miners on the ground did not take enough provisions, and bad to live oa snakes and iguanas. Fever, ague, and scurvy prevail on the field, and Brookman was lai I up for a month. Flou- was selling at Derby at 1.20 per ton, and horses at L3O each. F"Ur hundred head of cattle had reached to within 150 miles of the diggings, but eighty died on the road.

Captain J. K. Darke, of the steam-T Catterthun, which arrived last week in Queensland,states that the steamer ohm bier might get within five miles of the landing at Pert Derby if piloted np tbechmnelhya local man. He also state's that their is great necessity to hucy the channel np King Sound, as it is surrounded with mnd flats. Dr Halley, of Ha;n ! lton, NS. W., has received intelligence from his biother now on the Kimberley goldfields, staling that ho has struck a rich patch of geld, which has yielded 500oz.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. In a letter received by a resident of Sydney from a friend in Perth, Western Australia, the writer gives some interesting information with reference to his experiences in that colony. Writing on the Bth May, he says “ I have l>een laid up since I landed with an attack of the cholera, but have been getting much better for the. past week ; everybody here gets it at the latter end of summer. The weather has been fearfully hot ; as had as Sydney at Christ--1 mas. This is a very poor country* It is

■ all » vast sandy desert, quite barren and destitute of grass and water. Everything has to be imported ; consequently they are very dear and inferior in quality, added to which there! is a Customs duty of 12$ per pent, on everything landed in the country, besides extortionate ra'es for freights, wharfage, and’ carriage, and vexatious delays with Custom-house and railway officials. Wages are very low for nine and ten hours a day. Mechanics average about Is au hour, and (laborers just what they can get. Everything and everybody is overtaxed, and the people bavo no voice in the government of the country. The best land has all been grabbed by the Government i.fill-dale, their friends, and toadies for the last half century, and town and suburban land is dearet 'ban in Sydney ; in fact they do not know how to open their mouths wide enough. The farmers pro* duce very little, and have been dragging out a miserable existence by the sale of sandalwood, which is the main stay and principal export of the country. Things are just about to change for the better, and it is anticipated that the country will make a little headway for the next four or five years. The goldfields in the Kimberley district, iu the North, are now an established fact, and altogether it is supposed ab nit 10,0 if*. >z or 12,0000z have been brought into Dei by. King’s Sound seems to be the favorite port for the diggings, which are situate on the Elvina River, a tributary of the Ord flowing into Cambridge Gulf. One of the prospectors is stopping at thj same place here with me. The party went up last September with tiiirty'three pack horses lent by the Government. They went by way of Cambridge Gulf, and came down via Do by, He says the route via Derby is the best, the distance, being 400 miles. They all had to leave, as ih-y had cons ranted all their tucker, and there was no water to be had for washing the dirt. The country is something like Northern Queensland, and the style of working the same—- * gully raking.’ The ground is shallow—from no hing to three or four feet- the bottom open slate. He only had about 12"z foreix months’ trip, but only about a week’s real working. He says it is no good going up again until just before tbe wet season sets in. as noho y can work without water. The beds of the rivers and creeks are all dry. There is no timber about the diggings. The horses managed to keep in good condition by feeding on sptnifex and coarse grass growing on the edges of the gudies and creeks. The gold extends over a large area of country, and will not be worked out for a year or two, unless the Chinamen are allowed to fl ck in, when it will be all itp with it I’arties goi g there will have to take supplies enough to last at least six months if they intend to give it a fair trial. The place will never do for poor men until a practicable road for drays is discovered, and then . the cartage will lie very high and provisions very dear, with a good chance of catching the fever thrown in. lam not going there. The people will not move out of the old groove ; but ».rangers are flocking in from the other colonies, chiefly from Adelaide, and immigrants are to be poured into the country after tbe Sydney style, so the old hands will soon be in the minority, out they will 4 boss ’ the place, as they have all the lands in their possession. 1 think there is a chance of gold being found much nearer Perih than Kimberley. Steamers leave here for Derby fortnightly, steerage LlO, and L 8 from Melbourne to Perth. It would cost about L2O or more from Sydney round by this route. The prospectors were six weeks coming from the diggings to Derby, King’s Sound. The Government are going to erect a telegraph iino to Derby, so we will have a chance to hear a little news from the goldfields about the time they are worked out. The people here don’t trouble mu:h about the dig ings. Every boat takes about thirty or so for Derny, but they are ciikfly new arrivals from the other colonies. Remember me to all the boys, and tell none to come here unless there is good gold struck nearer the coast, ”

Mr Robert Purvis, who lately returned from ttie Kimberley, Bends the following interesting letter to the ‘ Dubbo Despatch’ : —" As 1 have just come back from the Kimberley district. Western Australia, after nine months’ prospecting and exploring, I am aide to give full information about it. AVe made up a party at Port Darwin, and came over to Cambridge Gulf. After waiting six weeks for the horses we started —six of us and twenty-two horses—up the Ord River, which we followed for about 200 miles through well watered and splendid pastoral country, grams growing to the height of sft and (ift, and of a good fatten* ing“ quality For fifty miles or more, as far as the tide goes up, the Ord is infested with alligators, hut beyond the tidal influence the river is full of crocodiles. The B'acks in this part of the country are cannibals, as they eat their own children ; and no doubt they would treat the white man the same, but they are too wild to attack, as they run like deer at the sight of him, hnt when they become half-civilised they will no doubt he troublesome. They are the fiercest race of B : acks I have seen in appearance Most of them are six feet high, wi'h fine limbs and broad chests. We used to round them up on hj rrsebm k like a mob of cattle, but never ill-used them. We used to tire our rifles off at trees, which had the effect of frightening them in case they should feel inclined to attack us. After leaving the Ord we struck up t ie Panton River, and from that on to the Elvire. After six months’ travelling we emio to this part, which is the gold region ; and 1 believe will be the future Fd Dorado of Australia. The party divided her-, three of us going south twenty miles, where we got nearly lOOuz in three weeks, being compelled then to leave for the want of rations. In returning to Derby from here, about 40 nrilcs, we get about 12oz in a few days, but had to leave or starve. There never was a white man in this place before. The party wo separated from got gold, and that was sixty miles north from where we got ours last. 'J he intervening country is not half prospsctel. The gold is a beautiful s-mp'e, having got L 4 per ounce for it. We found a great many quartz specimens thickly impregnated with gold, iu fact one half gold and the other half quart*, and 1 believe it will turn out to tie a grand reefing country, as the country is full oi reefs and leaders of good looking stone, but 1 had no time to prospect them. It is no use men going till the wet sea-on set* in, which was January with us, and lasts three months, the rest of the year being dry and no water for gold washing, but s.ufficifnt for domestic use by earning it three miles. It is also no ire men going unless they are provided with provisions to last them through Iho wet season. They will require plenty of pickhorses. They are de ir at Derby, bringing L2O and LSI each. The distance is about 1.400 miles. On our way down we were compoded to live on boiled crass and grubs, and thought ourselves lucky if we could c itch a snake or an i .iiana, we being away from iiirne desirable game, on account of having to travel on the high ground, it Iw* ing the wet season, an I the lower c-untrv being flooded. After a great deni of trouble and privation we readied Derby’, a goal deal the worre tor having no boots and very little other clothes. The cbm ate agreed with me, but not so wed 1 wit!) the others, owing ’o the hard faro no doubt. Tam going back with another party oncer