NEW GUINEA GOLD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5186, 3 October 1927, Page 1

NEW GUINEA GOLD.

NUGGETS BROUGHT TO SYDNEY.

A DOCTOR’S £lO,OOO.

Twenty or thirty ounces to the ton ! Speculators and practical miners know what this means in gold-bearing country. It is the basis upon which big companies' are about to attack the auriferous highlands, of Bulolo (New Guinea). “It’s going to be one of the biggest in history, and the actual wealth of the field is not guessed as yet ” remarked an optimistic miner who returned to Sydney by the Montoro after twelve months on t,he field. Other passengers, confirmed the reports of the wealth of the; field. They have golden nuggets and substantial bank balances as further proof. But all have not been so fortunate. They showed the effects of hardship. The (hardiest had the tired look of over-trained athletes; Two were so weak that they required assistance to the wharf. Mr A. M- Johnson, of Toowoomba, after a visit to the field has returned to dispose of (his local interests, to stake the lot upon one throw on the goldfields. The field’s latest sensation is the discovery of a big reef on the Day Dawn property. It is known to be rich, though there have been no assays. Specimens are described by returning miners as “wonderful.” Big veins are coming t,o light as geological survey proceeds. But city-dwellers tempted to rush to the El Dorado of the tropica should heed the warning that the alluvial flats, where the values are compara-' tively small, have practically worked put. Those worth having now are in occupation, and mostly under offer. For a lease £lO,OOO is a common purchase figure. ' Apparently the opportunity for the pioneer has passed. The field is u proposition for big companies now. Operations on the rich fields require costly machinery and capital for development. One or more aeroplanes need to be part of the equipment. The goldfield is to have its hotel, and Chinese carpenters are being sent to Bulolo to build it. Two additional aeroplanes have been ordered for the Guinea Gold Company, .and the service- conducted by Lieutenant Parer. Miles of country have been, pegged out, and the Bulolo Exploration Company is a ready buyer of all leases on offer. Mining engineers say- that the gold deposit runs' through a series, of dykes, which criss-cross the whole extent of country. Dr. W. H. Cornford, medical officer of the field, and his assistant, Mr A. C. Wyndham, were among those who returned. Mr Wyndham has been out there for a year. Apart from the gold which he brough back as luggage, he has a lease which is under offer for £lo,o'oo. Conditions on the field have improved considerably, from the; medical point of view, Mr Wyndham says. Dysentery, which scourged the locality, has, abated, but beri-beri i s prevalent. It arises through food deficiency mainly due to diet of rice, and to combat it a ne,w Government regulation prescribes extra biscuits, peas, and beans in the ration issue.