QUEENSLAND GOLDFIELDS.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 106, 7 March 1868, Page 8

QUEENSLAND GOLDFIELDS.

Since the discovery of the Mary River goldfield itself, we have not had more startling intelligence to announce than we have to-day. Our townsman, Mr. George Curtis, who has a claim on Sailor’s Gully, at the head of Nash’s Creek, was at work yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, when he had the good fortune to drive his pick into a monster nugget, the weight of which was reported to us to be variously 701b5., 75ibs., and SOlbs. We at first refused credence to the report; it seemed like one of those wild rumors alien set afloat nowadays; but after making enquiry we found the report to be correct. There can be no mistake about it. We had it on good authority before, but our last authority is Mr. Pockly, the manager of the Commercial Bank at Nashville, who writes to the manager here that the nugget has been lodged in the Bank, and he estimates that it contains about 1000 ounces of gold. The claim in which the nugget was found had been worked and abandoned when Mr. Curtis took possession of it. Since he has worked the claim it has never yielded more than £3 to £4 per week, and he had some thought of leaving it and trying his fortune elsewhere. Lucky for him he did not. The nugget was found but a few inches, we understan, below the surface. There was great excitement on the discovery becoming known and in a few hours every inch of the neighboring ground was pegged out into claims; and from our impressions of the spot we should be surprised if a large extent of payable surfacing— nuggety and patchy —is not found there We should have said that Mr. Curtis is Scab Inspector for this district, on leave of absence. It is a singular circumstance that Mr. Goodchap, the discoverer of the Caledonian Reef, which has yielded so many rich specimens, was at the time of the discovery in the Government service on furlough.—Maryborough Chronicle, Feb. 7. The Queensland Guardian mentions that the party of gentlemen who started overland to the Gympy Creek diggings from Brisbane, last Wednesday week, for the purpose of endeavoring to find an available road from this town to the goldfield, have returned, and their efforts have been successful; a perfectly available passage between the range and the river having been discovered by cutting through a small scrub. The distance by the proposed route is estimated at about one hundred miles through a well-grassed and watered country. The escort which arrived at Maryborouh on February 11th, brought 3481 ounces of gold. The s.s. Alexandra left Sydney on Feb. 14th, with over one hundred and fifty passengers for the Maryborough diggings, Queensland. A new goldfield has been discovered about fifteen miles from Brisbane. The prospectors brought in five ounces.