PROPOSED WATER-RACE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 727, 15 September 1870, Page 3

PROPOSED WATER-RACE.

A project is now on foot to bring a large water-race from Lake Hochstetter to Tryagain Terrace, Nelson Creek, Germau Gully, and Callagaii's. It has long been known that all the terraces in that vicinity, and,, it is believed, the whole length of the race, are auriferous, and will richly reward any company bringing water on to them. ; ; It is tp be hoped, therefore, that the scheme will be carried out, and that, when the shares are placed before the public, they will be eagerly taken up. A survey of the line of the proposed race has been made by Mr Woolley, District Surveyor to the Nelson Government, aud wo make the following extract from his report to Mr Warden Whitefoord :—

I left Nelson Creek with the intention of proceeding to the lakes at the head of the southern branch of the Ahaura River, but having taken the dividing ridge between Nelson Creek and Callaghan's until (at Bar Station, 32) all the ridge 3 terminate in one large swampy flat or terrace ; at this point, on the south, lies Lake Hochstetter, being a sheet of water about two miles in diameter, and of great depth. The bed of the Ahaura at this point appears to be some 700 feet below the ridge and 500 below the lake. Tho country at the head of the lake through to the Ahaura at the junction of the Kopara, appears to be a large flat terrace not rising more than 50 or 60 feet above the lake, haying a low range on the south, and running north and east until it falls abruptly into the Ahaura, so that I saw it was useless to try to obtain a supply from the Ahaura or its tributaries, as it would not be possible to get it more than 50 feet higher than Lake Hochstetter, and would have to go at least 30 miles to get it sufficiently high to start. I then proceeded round the edge of the lake to its outlet at the west end. The country in the south is a large swampy flat, which in wet weather is covered with water ; but at this time was frozen over, so that we had co trouble in getting through. Having arrived at the outlet (which is some, 30ft wide and 2ft in depth, with shingle bottom, but very sluggish, having a fall of Iftin the first, mile), I pitched camp, and proceeded with one man to follow down the stream to ascertain its course and distance, and to get a fresh supply of provisions. I struck through the; bush in a southerly direction from the mouth of the lake, and came to the stream in about two miles. The stream here is running very rapidly over large stones, containing apparently thirty or forty heads of water. The terraces here are 120 ft high, and extend some distance from the river banks and. to the edge of the lake, but are cut up by severaHong deep gullies which would reqnire'fluming. I followed down the stream hi a westerly direction to the junction of a large stream known as tho right-hand branch, and from thence north, next to Hatter's Terrace, about three miles. The distance from the lake to Try-Again Terrace by this route will be abtfiit fifteen or sixteen miles, it having taken five hours to walk it. ' ■"■ '

Having calculated the different heights by the barometer, I found the height of the laKe so near that of the point of the delivery that I did not feel satisfied with the result ; so that I determined to cut a line from the outlet of the lake, bearing west, to ascertain- the distance and character of the country. This line was cut straight for about four miles, but it was intersected by so many small gullies with perpendicular walls, that it would have been an endless undertaking to have proceeded with it. I therefore took advantage of the stream known as Nelson Creek proper, /&nd-to6k the levels and distances down it, which will give the same result as the straight line.

Tho straight line will give a very fair idea of the character of the country, and the manner in which it is broken up. The result of the survey was— The top of the terrace at the head of Dry Gully, Try-again Terrace, is about 10ft lower than the lake, as shv>wn in the accompanying plan, which gives a fall of 625 ft from the lake to the bed of Nelson Creek, foot of Dry Gully, and 617 ft from that point to the head of Dry Gully, so that there would be sufficient fall to wash any ground or terraces on a level with the point called Paddy's Look-out, which is about the highest pointthat ground has been worked ; and it is the opinion of most of the miners that all the water thai could be supplied would be taken up before it arrived at this point. The distance on the plan, in a straight line, is about seven miles ; but, from .the broken nature of the country, it wuuld take at least 16. miles to head the numerous steams and gullies that intersect the country to convenient places for flaming them, which will have to be done for ahorb distances!, as they generally terminate in deep, narrow gorges, ot from two to three chains in width, ar.d from 50ft to 150 ft in depth, with perpendicular walls. Before undertaking to flume these places, I think i*. would be advisable to ascertain the price and strength (if the papier-msiche piping, which I believe they are using extensively in Melbourne. If they could be got of suflicient strength and size, they would be far more convenient and less expensive than fluming, as they might be suspended across the small gullies by means of wire rope 3, which would do away with the expense of building scaffolding for the support of the flumes, which, from the .damp. qature of the climate, would not last more than three years.

There would also require. to be tunnels cut through the spurs and ridges, many of which run fdr miles with nearly the same level, so that cutting through some narrow places would save some miles of race-cutting. The hills are principally made ground, or alhwial deposits, consisting of Bandstone and gravel drift, which are cemented together into a solid mass, and has the appearance of being a fine gold-bearing country— which at present has been very little prospected— and would be well worth opening up ; for I believe if it was once started a large portion of the water would be employed within a few miles of the lake, by which means it would commence to pay for itself at once. I should recommend that the company proceed at once to get the levels taken for the race throughout its whole course, as it would be impossible to form anything like a correct estimate of either the distance or cost of construction withont haying been over the actual course of the race ; by the data in the accompanying plan you will see that there is sufficiently high ground to bring the water to Paddy'*s Look-out, Nelson Creek, or into Callighan's, by tunnelling through the ridge at 8 or 9 if required.