DISCOVERY OF OIL

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1937, Page 10

DISCOVERY OF OIL

PROMISING TESTS EVIDENCE OF LARGE FIELD (By Telegraph.) • (Special to the "Evening Post.") DUNEDIN, This Day. A discovery of immense importance to New Zealand, and to- Otago especially, if certain investigations at present being carried out by the Government are successful, is the discovery of oil near Milford Sound, which may be. a modern parallel in-wealth to the finding of gold in Otago. The oilfield is situated in a huge faun extending nearly 20 miles -fronv..Martin's Bay along the coast, and' from j documentary information placed at-the disposal of a "Dunedin Star" reporter | the Government will be prepared to control the entire production of oil should the potentialities of the field be as promising as exhaustive preliminary investigations denote. Three separate Oil occurrences have been located, the oil from the seepage being of such purity that it was used by the research party for heating purposes. The discovery of oil in the locality by the late Professor Black,' of Otago University, and a qualified, prospector dates back to about 30 yearsago. Professor Black was so impressed by the future possibilities of the field'that he put his thoughts in writing. His report js at present in*possession of the Government. Dr. Woolnough, the eminent geologist and adviser to the Australian Government, attended the Science Conference at Auckland last year, and publicly stated that New Zealand was definitely within the oil zone. He added that any indication of oil being found should be .thoroughly investigated. ' .'.'.-,, Presumably the Government .will install a pilot bore to test the ground at Martin's Bay. ■ •