THE GOLD LURE.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 January 1931, Page 2

THE GOLD LURE.

NEW GUINEA WORKINGS

SCHEME TO DEVELOP THE MINING AREA.

Life is mostly, a. matter of collecting experiences and, while Air Frank Austen, ,an Australian miner 'now in Christchurch, lias not cornered them all, hfe has crammed more into his tony odd years than ten dividuals. His latest venture, Mr Victor Carmine, a New Zealand radio- operator, is to float a-company to work a portion of the New Guinea goldfields.

Mr Austen' who lias knocked round the world all his life, was born on tlie Bendigo goldfields, and ever since has followed the quest for gold, with breaks occasionally when he went into the tin mining business or engaged in search for other minerals. Mr Carmine is not far behind him in the matter of adventures. He has spent many years at sea as wireless operator, was blown up on several occasions during the war, and holds several records for telegraphic transmission. “Practically every ship that 1 was on was-I'blffwii; Jiip or. in some way, ? [tol’d a reporter, “so much so that; I! gained the 1 -name ' of v ‘S.O.S. Carmine.?;'’ ■ Tins adventurous pair have a‘ scheme in hand to purchase an aeroplane, after raising the necessary capital, and • operate,-on the. New -Guinea goldfields .' with! - Edie Creek, at a{] 'spot Approximately; j!LSO miles - from .Salamoa jjayVdne oicilie coastal centres] fof New> Aerial transport is rendered necessary through the | mountainous nature of the country . making the interior all Unit inippenetrable. In the ordinary course or v.' events it would take a party seven days to traverse seventy odd miles, £ while an aeroplane would do the dis- ■ f tance, at a quarter of the cost and in much greater comfort, in three. ’ quarters of an hour or less. Mr Austen has just returned from a twoyear stay there, his departure being hurried through an attack of fever, a complaint very common in those parts. Prior to that he was under engagemenb • with' the' 'Wo'odlObkf' Milling 1 'Company.

the goldfields

“Most people have heard of the New Guinea goldfields,’’ he said. Cif not, the mention that an English company now starting operations tliere has -£lo,ooo,ooo’s worth of gold in W v * ew two , huge-;dredges,.they P are putfmg'oii should be sufficient to attract their attention to ‘it, There f|C are thousands of acres of unexplored country in the vicinity of the maini Workings at Edie Creek. The ‘Big -. S'*’ Who discovered the gold in this «r«a were getting .TOO ounces a day from Edie Creek) at|the;;end-.of ; development work Has been .gpiiig'i W ever B i nce then. At first all their £ foodstuffs and supplies had to 'be packa ed* in % fiative, boys'' through the p most cUfficuljj triple* engined Junker aeroplanes fafe l|"' ting now an'cf have solved 4th© trarfs-': I port problem. These aeroplanes ai'e fey (being used to take over the parts of ,V. the two dredges which are being asi, . sembfed on . the JEdie ; ;,Cijeek plateaq,.] j t ■ 6,00f)i feet above <sear= level. 5 A ’*■ - VfZ' “Practically all the leases at that particular area have been consolidated for dredging purposes, which means that the ordinary miners have sold their interests and the dredging is Ibeing undertaken on a huge scale, .pffy’v Testing shafts have been sunk at difp&y ferent parts through th e country that Bptt: is to be worked and it has. been esti£g||§p mated that, millions of pounds worth iffis of gold will be recovered. |jfc DIFFICULT C OTTNTRY. If “Ypu could not wish to find rougher ) country anywhere than that to be swnV met with between Saiamoa Bay and. |p) ; ' - Edie Creek, the eighty miles which &}§;' isolate the goldfields. The mountains ||| rise“‘Sße'er up for thousands of feet and %ie drop on the other side is ■ just ae sheer. When the goldfields W. ’'tvefeK? first discovered an Australian transported a drove of mules- to Salamoa Bay with the idea of making his fortune by packing in the prospectors’ goods, but the country was found to be too steep even for them. They could ascend the all right but could not make the descent at the" other side. They had to be' shipped back to Queensland. Then on top of this there are swamps, reeking with fever, 'to bo negotiated, rivers to ford and boggy country to contend witii, in addition to mosquitoes and the venomous flies. The aeroplanes hive got over tlie necessity for this arduous trip. “On the plateau itself, 6,000 feet above sea level, the atmosphere is humid and very wet. The nights are exceptionally cold and fever is rife. I had a -touch of it myself and was the reason why I had to come back sconer than I anticipated. “Our scheme is to purchase an aeroplane, thus making ourselves independent, of outside sources, and establish hc-adquarters some distance beyond Edie Creek, for there are hundreds of acres to choose from, at places where I have already prospected. I am an experienced mining engineer myself, Mr Carmine is a wireless operator, and as -a third member of the party we have a pilot in view. We will thus be running no unnecessary risks. “No there are no other dangers to face than the fever,’’ said Mr Austen, replying to a question. “Many of tho

tales which come from these parts of the world ar e . wonderfully stretched. In fact tho fever is the only danger. The natives are very friendly and will, ing workers in most cases. The headhunters we never hear anything of. You in New Zealand probably hear more about them than we do. “I have never had any trouble with the natives, ibovs,’ as we call them out there, and there is no necessity to go armed as would be imagined. At one time I was in charge of forty boys working underground and I had not the slightest trouble with them. It is a strange thing that if the boys are all from one village you may ns '~H! try to work a team of stubborn donkeys, but tho recruiters get some from a, dozen or Half a dozen villages, and they then work together admirably. They are connin' l :, often lazy, slow, but very adaptable and intelligent. These iboys are paid at the rate of £6 a year and £1 is taken off that amount to keep them and provide them with the neopco-iyjpo and a few o? the luxuries of life. They are en gaged for work under the direction of the Commissioner, or Magistrate of the district, to which they belong, and their interests are safeguarded.”