REPORTED GOLD DISCOVERY AT WAITAKEREI.

Grey River Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 527, 3 June 1869, Page 4

REPORTED GOLD DISCOVERY AT WAITAKEREI.

(From the Auckland Weekly Herald, May 22.) A report was prevalent on Wednesday last, in town, that gold had been struck by accident in cutting a road atWaitakerei, and that the quartz taken o\it was richer even than that first found in Hunt's claim at the Thames. Of tlie truth of this report we have no positive proof. It was, however, very generally believed in, and accordingly a prospecting party of three who had received the information as to the exact locality of the find, took a trap from Messrs QuicVs livery stables, and started at once. This party intended to only proceed as far as Wallace's Hotel, on the Great North Road, on Wednesday night, so as not to excite suspicion, and then to proceed through AVaikohiti into the ranges next morning. The trap was ordered to meet them in three days' time at Wallace's Hotel. Although every endeavor was made to keep the matter as secret as possible, these facts leaked out in the course of the evening, and caused considerable excitement. That gold-bearing quartz exists in quantity in the Waitakerei there has for some time past been abundant proof. In Waitakerei East it has been found on the property of at least half-a-dozen settlers, and from quartz taken from Mr Huston's farm, Dr Aitken extracted gold at the rate of soz. to the ton. - If it be as reported that rich gold-bear-ing quartz has been found at Waitakerei in the cutting of a road, it will, in all probability, turn out to be the case that the locality is Waitakerei East, as there is at the present time a road party at werk on the top side of the block, .and there were several deep cuttings to be made on that line. There is a considerable quantity of Government land in the. immediate vicinity of the supposed locality of the discovery, and this adds to general interest taken in the matter, for, should gold really have been discovered, the unsold Government land would, doubtless, be declared a gold field and be opened to the public. The spot on which the discovery is said to be made is not more than, twelve or thirteen miles from Auckland.