PUBLIC MEETING

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1933, Page 4

PUBLIC MEETING

MINERS’ ASSOCIATION FORMED. %> A public meeting was held at Woodevock on Wednesday evening,. about seventy persons- being present. Mr N-Wr-rren being voted to the chair. The chairman, i n opening the meeting, said that the Prospecting Association. dealing as it did with prospect,, ors. discovered that if the interests of j mining were to be safeguarded, it was j necessary that the miner? themselves - -combine in. an Association. The present meeting was called for the purpose y' giving those eng'ged in the industry’an opportunity of -deciding whether \ t-hey w-anted an Association or not. By invitation, IMir J. O’Brien, M.P.. was present -and he would a»sk Mj- O’Brien to address the meeting.

Mr O’Brien, on rising to speak, was applauded. He stated he had attended a) meeting \>f combined Prospecting and Mining Associations at Reefton the request of the Hokitika District Prospecting AJi-sbciation That meeting were gravely concerned, bec:aii;e if the tion passed by the Grey Valley Farmers’ Union, and sent on to the Dominion Executive of the Farmers’ Union, urging that the proclamation the Grey, Black writer -and Inafigahua rivers and their tributaries to. ;b« fdudsre channels, be revoked. The miners working claims on these streams were gravely Icohoerned, ebc-ause if the proclamation were revolted their livelihood would bo-taken away. Mr Brad*, j ley, a member of the Farmers’ Union in question, had attended the meeting and .explained, that the" 'farmers conearned -did not intend the resolution to ho enforced. They did rot object to | sludge going into the streams,, but- (lid ! object to tailings being sluiced in, thus raising the ibedp of the streams, and turning the water on to good farming land, which would thereby . jbe rendered useless. , . .. Mr O’Brien went on to state there were (about .250 miner? receiving • subsidy in the 'Grey district, and up to 100 in Westland.. It wr*r - estimated that, nearly 200 were, digging for gold r\ in the Grey district who. were not rereiving any subsidy, and it would,.b« a conservative estimate to say that nbunt 150 were digging in Westland ~■***" who were not receiving any assistance. There were 40 men on the WiaUiroa; -River and only 25 of them were subsidised. It was thu/?. apparent that some 700 men were either, getting .a living, or -attempting, to get. one, in - -■ jv the gold mining industry, and "it would : .v be a serious matter if they-. were pre- . - vented from working. Th-e speaker strongly advocated the formation of a •Miners’ Association to prefect the in- .- ; • forest of gold miners in Weetl .nd. - -yC. It- was unanimously decided that „ an, ; fT- •; Association, to be known- as the West- o'-- f land Miners’ Association, be formed, / ' •.> and that branches formed in other centres may link up with the central '. organisation; the subscription to Association to be ?s 6d per annum, -, the committee to have power to levy members to the extent of. 2s 6d annually. -N The following were elected -as the committee to control the liew Associa* • ti-nn:—Messrs H. Su-rgenor, J. Tocher, , John McQui'ken, P. Webster, 8. Hyn-d----m-an. A. Muir, A. ' Anderson, J.' Tim- -'V pson, J. A. MoQu’ilkin and N. Warren, Air A. yMu’r was" elected president and Mr N. Warren secretary. Fifty-five members joined the .Association. Mr H. St. Bauc-ke addressed the rr<f-etjnc p-nd stated that a Miners’ Association rfready existed at Rimu, which did not get the support it deserved. That Association, with the assistance 'Of Mr O’Brien, hadfrequently -brought before the Government the restrictions placed cm mining, particularly a-! fa* a? the Forestry De- ; Hi partment w-a? concerned. v : "scKUtt It uvus -resolved to telegraph the ■ ■Ministers of Lands and Mines, protest- '- l r ing against any alteration?/of exist- ••••/,>r,.>r ing conditions on stream? declared sludge channels. A hearty vote of t-hankg to Mr 1 o.Brien for his attendance and addres,? and a vote of thanks to the chair, brought a urnst succes.-'ful meeting to a close. '