NEW GUINEA GOLD

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 54, 1 September 1926, Page 9

NEW GUINEA GOLD

RICHNESS OF EDIE CREEK

DIFFICULTIES OF TRAVEL

(From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, 26th August

Accounts of the richness of the Edic Creek goldfield in New Guinea have been, trickling down to Sydney during the last two or three months, firing the. blood of men with that age-old lure of tho precious yellow metal. Eetired prospectors have come out of their seclusion, officers of island steamers have forsaken their maritime love for the new siren of fortune, clerks have dashed their pens down on their desks, because of these stories. How many will come back with their pockets lined, or will leave their bleaching bones oa a foreign shore, is in. the lap of the gods. Last week-end what may be termed the first comprehensive account of tho , new field was given by a returning export, who had visited the field, Mr. James Hebbard, a well-known Adelaide mining engineer. The field was about thirty miles inland from Salamoa Bay, he said, but it took six days of hard walking for most men to cover the distance. It was probable that the traveller climbed an aggregate of 30,000 ft, over razor-backed mountains, because j the valleys were so deep that the .not gain in altitude at the end of each day's march was small. Rivers and creeks were mostly torrents, and their normal state was one of flood. Edie Creek, oa which the field is situated, is a tributary of the Bulolo River, itself a tributary of the Markham Biver. l A GLOWING- ACCOUNT. j The original prospectors found their way to the field by steep native tracks from village to village. In some places it waa necessary to climb 150 ft for a net. gain of 15ft. Tho two men responsible for the discovery were "Bill" Park (known, as "Sharkeye") and Jack Nettleton. Park, about three or four years ago, working from the Markham River, came across the Bulolo Biver and found. gold, but not in payable quantities for a single-handed prospector. Among the prospectors who followed in. his wake was one named "Bill" Royal, and Royal camped on Edio Creek.' He found gold, but could | not work the ground owing to the torj rential nature of the stream. He traced the ground for some miles, and was at length stoppod by a waterfall, at the end of which he found gold on the edges of a pool.' Eoyal found his way up beyond the falls, which descend about 2000 ft dn a mile. There he came upon the present field, EdieCreek, at an altitude of about CSOOft. Royal and his party pegged out six miles of the creok frontage on. dredging and sluicing leases. It was a veritable El Dorado. "I have never heard or read of anything anywhere of such phenomenal richness," said.Mr. Hebbard. " The owners have not been in a hurry to send their gold out, and at | least 50,0000z is stored on the field, I probably awaiting better and safer transport. Judging from what I saw, the field 3s yielding at least IOOOoz a day on the labour of about 100 native boys. I saw one washing, from the labour of not more than 10 boys, who could not possibly handle more than 1£ cubic yards a day, which yielded 2700z."

While giving this glowing account of the field, Mr. Hebbard issued a grave warning against inexperienced and poorly capitalised prospectors going to the field. Severe restrictions and inspections are made of would-be prospectors by the New Guinea authorities. The difficulty of securing native labour is also a problem. He thinks that a prospector should have at least £700 before attempting to go to the field. In the meantime the Federal Home and. Territories Department continues to isaue strong warnings against inexperienced men trying their luck on the Edie Creek field. They quote a telegram from the Administrator of New Guinea, stating that most men who are going to the field are going to "certain death."