Gold-Fields Intelligence.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 546, 6 February 1868, Page 3

Gold-Fields Intelligence.

THE KAEAKA HOLD-FIELD. (From th« Correspondent of the New Zealand Herald.) Feb. 7, 1868.

Some rich specimens were yesterday | brought in from a claim called Two* 1 finger claim, in the Waiotahi. The ‘ stone was placed on view at the shop : of Mr T. A. Hick's, in Grey-street, 1 and attracted very general attention, the names of the men who struck the gold are Shaw and Gibbon. While examining these specimens a fact came to my knowledge which I think well worth stating. Some men in the course of last week brought in some blue stone (granite quartz) from a claim situate about a mile beyond what is well known to many of your readers as Mundie Reef in the Waiotahi. There was no sign of gold in the stone ; but it was carefully roasted or calcined and tested, and the testing gave a result of twenty (20) ozs. to the ton —or a certain yield, according to the gentleman who tried the stone, of ten (10) ozs. as an average yield. Of this same stone many thousands of tons have already been thrown away. The circumstance itself reminds me very forcibly of what I saw up the Karaka during a tour of the claims which I made a few days ago. In three of the claims that I visited, there was a clearly defined and unmistakeable “ reef,” while the men working the claims were searching for leaders, leaving the reef for. some one else, I suppose, to work ; I have heard it said; within the last day or two that there are a great number of claims lying abandoned. In my rounds I saw but one abandoned claim, and although some twenty persons were said to have tried and abandoned that one claim, there is no doubt gold in it. The reported opening of the Upper Thames country seems to have arisen . Rom some misunderstanding. A prospecting claim has been applied for at a place called Puririri, about ten miles ! from here, and Mr Mackay went there yesterday to look at the ground. The prospects are uot much as yet ; but in •my case that would have nothing to ■ do with the opening up of the Ohiuemuri Creek.

Scanlan and Ellis's machine has made a private trial, but is not yet at woilc. Gibbons’s machine will be ready in a day or two. Stone’s machine is engaged ernshing si nil for the I All Nations’ claim. j 4.45 p.m. The Tauranga and Enterprise are both just in. The Eterprise has come up to the landing, but the Tauranga has touched the mud bank, and is stuck.” (From another Correspondent.) February 8, 1808. The coming week will test the paying qualities of these diggings; three crushing machines are now in order for working, one started on Saturday, Mr Gibbon’s will start on Monday, and another, King’s patent, will also start early. Great anxiety is felt as lo the result, and which is looked forward to as either the rise or fall of the diggings. Three natives, one a chief, arrived here and informed some friends that they had discovered what they knew to be a new and good reef, twelve miles up the river. The natives with their white friends immediately started for the new field, the result is expected here with some interest.