GREY VALLEY GOLD FIELDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1394, 18 January 1873, Page 2

GREY VALLEY GOLD FIELDS.

» WATER SUPPLY. [continued.] (feom our own correspondent.) NAPOLEON. To understand the importance and extent of this district when taken in connection with any comprehensive scheme for supplying the Grey Valley gold, fields with water, it must be remembered that by '• Napoleon," the workings comprised merely within the boundaries of the sub-district of Napoleon Hill are hot solely meant. The district of which Napoleon is, or was, the centre includes the extensive and long-established workings of, to the northward, Noble's Creek, Duffer Creek and its tributaries, Sullivan Creek, Rowdy Creek, Teviot Creek, HalfOunce Creek and its tributaries, besides the Wellington, Belfast and Coffey Terrace Leada. To the south-west are Cariboo, Mosquito, Orwell Creek, Topsy Creek, Deep Creek, and Back Creek Leads, and all the gold workings along the northern bank of the Ahaura River, from Starvation Point to the town of Ahaura. In speaking with reference to a water sui ply, Napoleon is mentioned , first, sinr-;ly because ifc is the point of greatest elevation, and therefore the point of termination and future distribution of any large b,ody of water brought ! in to supply the whole district. Several , attempts have been made to obtain water ( for the district of Noble's and Napoleon, : but, as in the case of Nelson Creek, the , probable cost, as calculated from the re- , suits of preliminary surveys, far exceeded the means of any private association t formed for the purpose. A flying Burvey f was made in 1868-69, by Messrs Coe and i Hurst, at the expense of a company , formed at Greymouth. The plans of this j survey are still carefully preserved among the archives of many another enterprise having a bright and sanguine commencement and a gloomy and unsatisfactory conclusion. By the line of direction laid off by Mr Hurst, it would, it seems, re- i quire an amount of capital and time to c complete the race sufficient to make t Brogden himself stand aghast. The race s would be between 30 and 40 miles in t length, with an almost incalculable amount F of flntninsr. A survey was afterwards made c by Mr Woolley, and this gentleman ex- t plored: a course which would bring the C water to Napoleon from the best prac- I ticable source in eighteen miles, allowing J for detours rou.nd gu.Uies and spurs where a Burning would be too expensive or im- w practicable. By Mr Woolley's survey 'A Mid calculations it would be necessary at T me part of the race to erect a stretch of B burning from 80 to }00 chains, or more Cj than a mile, in -length, to be supported- at ri

n elevation, in the centre, of 100 ft. The ace would then run for a distance of bout one mile, to a ridge dividing the watershed of the Ahaura and Waipuna Jfoble's) rivers it is supposed three (riles of cutting could be avoided at this toint by taking a tunnel 20 or 30 chains n length through a narrow point of the lividing range. The making this tunnel rouldjhave the recommendation of being nore^ economical, besides husbanding a :ertain amount .of. -elevation .obtained by naking the drive, in case other obstacles ihould come in the way between that joint and the terminus of the race. The vater would then be carried round the nain range, on the Ahaura watershed, to Napoleon Hill, where it would command he head-workings of Noble's, Duffer's, )rwell, and . Mosquito ' Creeks, with the rast extent, comprising more than twentyive square miles, of payable auriferous ground lying in the valleys and along the ■anges on each side of these water-courses. Most of the country through which the 'ace would pass is, according f 0... Mr liVoolley, alluvium, or made ground, so ihat there would not •be any rocketting ikely to impede tunnelling. In consequence of the exceptional incit>mency of ihe weather, and the difficulty of obtainng provisions when the survey was made, t was, unfortunately, found impossible to make a minute examination of the range ilong the watershed of the Ahaura, but :rom observations taken at various eligible points, the only place where it is doubtful [f the water could be carried, is a small dip or depression in the range about the head of Mosquito Creek, which could at a small extra outlay be flumed if required. It will from the foregoing be seen that the scheme is practicable, and next comes the questions of cost and the probability of the race becoming remunerative. Fifty 9luice-heads of water is the maximum quantity which could be delivered on Napoleon Hill, supposing the source of* the race to be at Randairs_Cree_k -The chief difficulty and expense would be in crossing the depression near the flource of the race, where the long and high reach of fluming would be required. The Provincial Engineer, in his; report .on this race, recommends that instead of fluming this depression should •be crossed' by . means of an inverted syphon, made of iron, it is to be presumed. The choice of '' means or material in making the aqueduct is a matter entirely professional, but the adoption of the principle of the syphon would save the great expense and danger of construction of the fluming, besides doing . away with difficulty and cost of keeping fluming at such a great elevation in repair. The total cost of bringing in the race is set down at L 25,000, and the revenue derivable from the sale of water, taking the lowest calculation, viz., 50 heads sold once at LI per week, would come to L 2500 per annum. These calculations were made at a period when the now proved auriferous resources of the district were comparatively undeveloped. Since that time, the great rushes to Napoleon and Half-Ounce have coins and passed away, leaving very little behind them but the positive knowledge that the richest of the ground is above, the reach, of auy water at present available, and consequently valueless to the mining community. The highly situated terraces along Duffer Creek, such as Fireman's, Gladstone's, Hayes's, Boland's, Henderson's, Venus, and others^ have since been , discovered and worked out, as far as they would pay under existing conditions; The washdirt from most of these high terraces had to be shot down hundreds of feet to water where the gold could, be extracted from ifc. There, are millions of tons of auriferous drift yet remaining which would not pay for so much trouble, but yet will pay well. The Teviot and Brandy Jack's terraces, with the rich ground at the head, of Duffer and HalfOunce Creeks, have been tried and found ripe for sluicing operations- whenever water is to be had. The miners of this extensive district are very badly supplied with water, being chiefly dependent on the rain, and, as a natural consequence, no poor ground can be worked. The diggings are situated in alluvial hills, which rise from 200 ft to 500 ft above the, level of the surrounding country, an 4 contain leads of gold throughout. The chief workings have been hitherto in -the creek beds and low terraces adjoining, on to which the creek water could be raised, but little or none of the higher ground has been worked, except those leads in which the washdirt was sufficiencly rich to pay for driving, and washing during rainy weather with water collected in small reservoirs. Such was the : position of affairs when Mr Dobson made hfe report three years ago, and so it is still, with the exception, perhaps, that the higher terraces are a little better prospected and proved to contain payable gold Besides the scheme of water supply, the outline of which isj>fc» given above, another has been mooteaP/. which, if practicable, would give an un* limited and never-failing supply, capable of washing away all the conntry' lying between the Brown Grey and' the Ahaura Rivers. The originators of this scheme propose to raise the water from the Brown Grey itself, and they argue that the extra cost of construction of the race would be compensated for by the increased and permanent supply of water. But as we, have a plan of bringing, in the water already perfected alid guaranteed to. be practicable by professional men, who, speak from personal examination of the country, we need not go outside their recommendations as to the best means of performing the work, no matter by which mode the water is to be brought in, the opinion of the Provincial Engineer still holds good, that "there is not the lightest doubt that the demand will coninue, for many years to come, for as nuch water as can be supplied at high, evels in the Napoleon district," NO TOWN. This district, although not inferior in mportance, resources, or population to lither of the other two chief centres of he Grey Valley gold fields, is not on the ame footing with the others with respect o the water supply, because no definite, dan has yet been devised by which it ould be supplied. The district includes, he workings along the course of No Town, Jreek proper, the Left-hand: Branch, Eddy's, Bell's, Big Bill's^ Steel's, oyce's, Abe's, Jarman's, Maori, Bough nd Tumble, and Black Jack's Creeks, ith the terrace workings at Cockney, berdeen, Sunnybank and Sunnyside 'entices, and the workings at Stewart's [ill, all of which drain into Nelson 'reek. On the watershed of the Arnold iver are Candlelight, Maori No. 2

Portuguese, Menschikoff, Greek's, Swiss and numerous other creeks and ter races, all of which have been par tially worked and found payable. Be sides the workings mentioned, the ex tensive gold field of Red Jack's Creek it also included within the boundaries of the district, as well as the mcc recently dis covered working's at Dead Man's Creek. It is a popular illusion that the watei from the Lake Brunner could be broughl to bear upon the highest workings of th« No Town district, but that idea is not yel borne out by the opinion formed from the actual experience of any competent professional man. The greater part of the auriferous ground lies at a considerable elevation, and is of the same character as that described at Nelson Creek. Water is very scarce, and a demand for at least 100 sluice-heads would be found in No Town Creek itself, provided it was at a sufficient elevation.' What is required is the introduction of a large body of water at Paddy's Gully, from which point smaller races could be run to Red Jack's, Dead Man's, and No Town Creeks. Whether it is possible to obtain a sufficient supply of water to pay for the cost of the necessary works for bringing it in can only be determined by actual survey. The greater portion of the auriferous ground lies very high, far above Lake Brunner or any neighboring lake or stream of any size, but there is a probability of obtaining sites for reservoirs between . Paddy's Gully at Bell Hill, at a sufficient altitude to command the whole district. The extent of auriferous ground, almost totally destitute of water, is so great that any works for bringing in water, which did uot cost more than LSOO for every head delivered, would pay remarkably well, and there is ample room for the profitable. employment of as many men as can possibly be supplied with water. The above is the opinion of MrDobson, the Provincial Engineer, and it can be confirmed by every resident of long standing in the district. Seeing that it must be by a system of reservoirs that this district will be supplied with water, there ia a better opening for the investment of private capital than in either of the others. TJiat there are suitable spots to be found, which to form capacious and safe reservoirs, the works of Messrs Porter and Gun, at the head of Big Bill's Creek, will show. This company, after a long search, found a place admirably suited to hold water. It is a natural depression on the veryßummit of the range dividing the Arnold and No Town watersheds. They have constructed a reservoir capable of holding a sheet of water acres in extent, at sufficient height to command all the workings on either side of the range, and the natural conformation of the ground was so suitable that. there is not the slightest danger of accident, except through carelessness. It is said by practical explorers that almost 15 miles from the township a place exists in the valley of the main creek, where a dam could be safely built, which would hold back sufficient water to supply the whole district. Whether this be the' case or not, the existence of such a site is worth while searching for, because most assuredly the first company, be it public or private, that succeeds in bringing iv a sufficient supply of water to the district of Np Town will reap such a return for the capital invested, that it will be a cause fqr astonishment the enterprise was not taken in hand years ago. (To be continued.)