EUMARA.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 74, 28 September 1877, Page 2

EUMARA.

Dolman, tcwvn. n sii-hu rb- of Kumarn, lias now become of sufficient importance fop its intpvests to be qnioUy snubbed, and its trade made to suffer- by dtelay in •making and repairing mads. Its situation is niv an elevated frit, op- plateau, in the iramediale. neighbourhood of the diggings* and from' nn adjoining terraoa an 'extensive view con be obtained of the striking scenery,, caused by river, forest, jbiid snowy. oJad mountains * from fche iTwipo in the vicinity, to. far up the valley ■'of 'the Grey. To the 1 north tlie Moon« Mgbb ranges and the Piiparohe range are plainly seen. Before this place assumed the. appearance of a town, a roadway one chain, in. width. wa& surveyed, and a i narrow track, made, along the centre, 1 passed through it from Kumara, and on Ito the end of the leadv .This bus. been the extent of road malting. True, two or three hues of road have boon surveyed to avoid the present heavy grade between it and Kumara, but the Board is delaying as long as possible which route to adopt as there are some claims for compensation, to settle, evidently under, the impression that a good road to. Dillm.in's means' injury to Kumara. The County Council, I believe, have now taken, the matter in hand, and authorised' their surveyor to lay oft' a new lino of ro»d, but good roads or bad Dillman's from its position must improve, though it would be a great con* venience to -the inhabitants to have a good track under font. The ground on either side of the street was formerly held and occupied by miners as tent ground, most of thrse H'es arc now covered by substantial weatherboard buildings,, many of them private resi-

dences, the larger ones are devoted to business, the whole forming a town that would be c mside.-ed largo in any of tho Grey Valley centres. The street, for some; distance, passes close aloni.' the outer edge of the Hat, so close that some of the buildings are perched many feet in the air ; immediately below are the mouths of tho tunnels nnd their paddocks, and lower still we got a view of thebroal stony beaches, and the river winding its way throuji thorn to the sea. In and around Dillman's th «ro is a large population, atul the inhabitants haye lately petitioned the authorities to establish » Post Oftcu here ; whiolu considering the growing importance of the place, can hnrdly be refused. Besid-s the track already spoken of> various tramways that form excellent thoroughfares end, cross, and intersect each other within sight of the town. There are claims having tramwojs leading from their incline shafts to their paddock*, and trimways coming out of the bush on which are conveyed timber for mining purposes, an I supplied at so much per hundred ; but tho two main lines are those leading to the mills of Cornl'oot and Blake. From the steam saw mill of the- former. «t the south end of Kunwra on tho Hokitika road, the tram passes through the bush to the Shamrock lead, and term- nates clcwe to Dillman's, something over a mile in length, well laid, and funning a pleasant walk to Kumara as it avoids the- hill, and is almost lerelthroughoi.it; the othfrnms in the opposite direction for about twothirds of a mile to Blake's sawmill. The terrace leading from the Kipitea tunnel over which tho main ditch of the Government race has been cut here terminates abruptly, and its waters have a fall of over forty feet to tho Clit below. The power thus afl'irlod by tho fall, and constant supply of water, Ins been utilised by tlxo erection of a turbine for driving a circular saw, work for which tlio turpine seems well adapted from its speed, smoothness, and economy in working, Timber from the mill is delivered sit 19s pet" hundred, from Corn foot's at 12* There is a third largo mill on tho tn.iin road to Kumara, and all of them are kept steadily employed. In rniniua, matters nrc pr weeding steadily, everyone who in connected with a payable claim considers, himsolf safo for a long job % builds a comfortable hut or cottage, and solt les dawn to eujiy as much of the sunshine of life as possible. Nothing new has transpired of lite, most of the claims on the HM are- in. goo I working- odor, and padd-w&H tire fillo 1 and emptied with a groat Kogiihrity that Kh.iuht if there- is any iiu;>ro\'e;iunt to be Hindi*, ml.l ommljr.ihly to. Liv mmtlily yield of gold. The oilier side- of the niver kt-epfl nvnon on the alert for there have been lVeq.ic.nt rushes in. that locality., and somo g"ul cl;iim» have been, oponnd up. The g>ld. though found so t'iir ly.in^ '»• patches' of n few claims in ex'ent is ucnornlly miH'h rich.-r tluiiv on lhi* li«'ld, mid for that reason pr<ispcc:it.g Unioro in favour in that r fi uarter» 'Hie present rushes are not udvanced onou^li to ilietermine what they will he Jmt there- is every probubilify of a largo population, settling down in that neighbourhood..