THE GOLDFIELDS.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2082, 7 January 1870, Page 2

THE GOLDFIELDS.

As a preliminary to the festivities of the season, the miners on the various goldfields have been engaged washing up. The returns from the individual claims have not yet been made known, but judging from the amounts taken down by the last escort they must have been quite up to the yields of the previous year. As already reported, the water supply was running very short; in fact, serious apprehensions prevailed that it would failJ altogether. We are happy to state, that a better prospect now exists. A very decided change has taken place, and within the last few days a good deal of rain has fallen. This change was preceded by a thunder storm, which passed over the 1 midland goldfields with considerable 'severity. Along the banks of the Kawarau tho ground at some of the claims was a good deal shook, and hanks of earth and heavy boulders were detached. There is a report current that a shock of earthquake was felt, hut if so it must have he«n very slight. Between the Duustan and Cromwell .a portion of the road was cut up,

and the heavy traffic slightly delayed. At the Mannherikia, similar damage was sustained. The approaches to the punt were destroyed, and one of the principal head races broken down. Lower down the countr} 7 , a similar change in the weather has taken place, although no damage is reported to have arisen from the storm. The rain has done a vast amount of good. The races are now tolerably well supplied, and although little or no work is going on, where practicable, energetic measures have been adopted for storing up the supply. For agricultural purposes, it has come too late to be of general service ; still the later crops will derive considerable benelit from it. So far as the holidays celebration can be taken as a criterion they certainly do betoken a healthy state of affairs in the goldfields. Here racing is the chief feature of the day, aud the amount of money collected for this purpose is much in excess of any previous year. Moreover the various events have been adjusted ranch more judiciously than heretofore. The meeting at one place was arranged so as to follow the other, thereby enabling strange horses to be present at each without detaining them too long or pressing them too hardly. The Alexandra meeting took place on the 27th and 28th ultimo. The day was extremely hot, and the course in a wretched state of dust. Despite that fact the attendance was large aud a great deal of interest manifested in the affair. Each race was closely contested, and the results are said to have thrown some of the more acute members of tbe turf out of their reckoning. The district horses —at all eveuts tbe goldfields’ —have showed to very good advantage, and outsiders will require to produce better stock before they are able to compete with them successfully. Cromwell Races took place on the Thursday and Friday following, and the most of the horses that run at the one place competed at the other. The course was in excellent condition, and at the outset deep interest was taken in the results. Circumstances soon transpired to damp the ardor. One of the horses, Pasha, which had commenced the season under the most promising circumstances, fell and broke his neck in taking a leap in the hurdle race. The rider escaped, but the escape was so miraculous that the minds of the spectators were to a great extent disturbed. Tbe proceedings of the day were got through, and within a few hours afterwards a gloom was cast over the whole community by intelligence of the untimely end of one of the stewards, Mr Garrett. The second day’s racing was got through somewhat hurriedly, aud a feeling was generally manifested to bring the sports to a close as quietly as possible. A large crowd of people from the outlying districts remained in town for a day or two afterwards, still everything was quiet, and no attempt whatever was made to get up outdoor demonstrations. The next racing event will be the Wakatip, which takes place at Franktown fiat in about .a couple of weeks hence.