The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1913. GOLDFIELDS REMINISCENCES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 June 1913, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1913. GOLDFIELDS REMINISCENCES.

A Hastings printer iiaiiie<l A. A. George writes in The New Zealand | Bulletin an interesting account of | some of the "roaring days" of the Otago gohWielcls. He recalls that at the time of the robbery of the gold escort, near the Clyde, he was living in the Government Camp, a space enclosed with sod walls. All the buildings wore constructed in America, sent out in sections, and then hoi ted together. There is 110 bush within a hundred miles of Clyde. He lived within fifty yards of the cells from which the gold was stolen and saw a lot of it recovered from where it was planted under big stones along the road between Clyde and Cromwell simply because Ronnie's old hack, that lie had ridden from Arrowtown the day before (Sunday) could not stagger any further under the burden. The Magistrate at the time was the late Vincent Pyke, M.H.R., who also lived within the camp enclosure. Mr Pyke took groat pride in his garden, and his performance when the police dug up the flower 'beds in their search for the missing gold which wasn't there was something to be remembered ; also the patrols, who could be seen and heard from Gentle Annie to the Roaring Meg and back to the to]) of the Xovis Hill, were supposed to be on the lookout for the thieves, but their way of doing it will live long in the memory of those who sa'w it. He knows of two ladies 111 Napier now who were at Clyde at the time of the robbery. The AVaikeri Valley was one of the first portions of Otago to be cut up into blocks of 340 acres and sold by the Government 011 the deferred payment system. The present Minister for Public Dorics owned Ernsclue station, on the opposite side of tlio river at that time, and A. A. Georg* has a clear recollection of taking some live rabbits from Dunedin. which afterwards got out of their compound and were some of the pioneers of the rabbit industry. The only tiring to be had was lignite and 1 buffalo chips.