SKETCH OF THE THAMES GOLDFIELD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 81, 6 April 1871, Page 3

SKETCH OF THE THAMES GOLDFIELD.

BY THE EEV. JAMES BULLER. From the New Zealand WesUyan. The winter of 1867 was a very trying time in Auckland. A period of fictitious prosperity had preceded it. This was due to the Maori war. But that was also the caus'j of the terrible adversity that followed. It was according to the irreversible law of Providence : " They have sown to the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." The advent of soldier?, the demands of the commissariat, the influx -of settlers driven from their farms, — all these things, together with a tide of immigration setting in from the mother country, swelled the town into undue proportions. For a while money was plentiful, trade Avaa brisk, and profits were large. Property suddenly acquired an enormous value. Building lots were sold to an extent which would have made Auckland "an exceeding great city." But now the war had collapsed ; troops and government officials had gone elsewhere ; and " the nakedness of the land " was exposed. There was a terrible reaction. The large Maori trade, which had been a great support to Aucklaud commerce before the war, had all but disappeared. There was utter stagnation. Trade languished; property was valueless ; bankruptcy was common. Crime trod upon the hills of poverty. The Provincial Government was burdened with the support of multitudes; skilled artizans were breaking stones on the roads for Is. 6d. per diem ; and the fire-beH^'ere in daily use because of the infamous iucendiary. Universal ruin was staring both Government and people in the face. !S T or was there any visible means of relief. The country was devastated; the town Avas ruined; the people were demoialised. It was in this extremity that four young men resolved to " try the diggings." They came to the Thames. It seemed but a forlorn hope. A few years before a noise had been made about the Coromandel diggings, which had been given up as " a duffer." The names of the young men were White, Hunt. Clarkson, and Cobley. Providentially, they were led to the mouth of a small creek richly clothed wii.li vegetation, where they soon found some " specimens." This was in the month of August, 1867. But few would credit it. They had no mnn^y, nor would the banks advance any. Two bank clerks, however, were persuaded to venture one hundred pounds each for a share in the concern. They were soon and amply repaid, for within a short time, by dint of perseverance, these young men had extracted specimens which yielded, in one month's crushing, more than ten thousand ounces of gold. Each of these young men had good sense to marry a wife, aad take care of his money, and they are now men of wealth. This was in the "Shotover" claim. Their great success inspired the public mind witli confidence. The Government, through its Commissioner, made arrangements with the native owners for the use of the ground within a given distance. The agreement was made hastily and indefinitely, and has led to many complications and vexatious lawsuits. The town of Shortland was laid out in leasehold allotments. The site has been a native cultivation, and is mostly flat (being at the foot of a lofty range of hills), part of it a swamp, and the rest a peach grove, with here and there a cluster of Maori huts or a sacred burial ground. It was soon covered with tents, which soon exteuded up the sides of the hills ; and these were, ere lon£, superseded by wooden houses. A great " rush " set in. The little cutters gave place to steamers, which were daily filled with eager passengers. Auckland was excited. Hundreds of empty houses were taken down and rebuilt at the Thames. Capital was unlocked; the country farms were deserted; aud all were " off to the Thames." The auri sacra fames took possession of the public mind. The forest was levelled; the hills were burrowed; machines were erected; and an army of sharebrokers were ready to victimise speculators. Maoris were receiving/ at the rate of many thousands per anuun/ for "miners' rights." Men reckoned their worth by the number of their "interests " at the Thames. Building lots ran .up to fabulous prices in. Shortlandj and (-private enterprise eclipsed its glory by forming a

larger t#vvn and erecting a wharf on a tract of land leased from the natives, and to be thenceforward called Grahamstown. That is at present the main place of business. Crowds of people thronged the newly-formed streets, which, in wet weather, looked more like the " slough of despond." For a while a decided monomania prevailed. This could not last long. Bubble companies, scrip fever, "quartz on the brain," — all must soon run their course. At last, the sad reality came forth. Numbers were ruined. The Thames was at a discount. There had been a few prizes, but many, many blanks. The great mistake had been made of substituting the pen and ink for the pick and shovel. Shares that had been reckoned as fortunes became not only unsaleable, but no one would even accept them for the fear of the "calls." Companies were wound up. Blank disappointment sat on men's faces. They repaired to the bankruptcy court to avoid the exaction of their debts. The reaction had fairly set in, and. the Thames was thought to be nothing but " a huge swindle." Thoughtful -men knew better. They wrought on, and now the results are beginning to appear. Great as was the richness of the Shotover, other claims have proved much richer. The Caledonian, for instance, which during the three years has cost the shareholders about £18,000, has more than recouped the whole by the proceeds of only ten days. Even during the depression which is now we trust passing away, there has been an average yield of nearly £30,000 per month from this field. But for this, Auckland must have fallen back upon the woeful condition of 1 867. It is the principal source of revenue to the Government, if we shut out that proceeding from the suicidal sale of intoxicating liquors. And now that there is at least the dawn of the revival of commercial prosperity, it is to be hoped the community will profit by the costly lessons of past experience. It is the belief of practical miners that this is the richest gold mine ever known, and that it extends throughout the entire promoutory to Cape Colvillo in the north, and to the mountains of Ohinemuri in the south. There are no alluvial diggings. Capital and skill are required to develop the riches of these hills. The best finds are discovered at very low levels. Those of the Caledonia are 100 feet under the level of the sea. At Tararu, at Coromandel, and in other places, success is rewarding the efforts of enterprising men. It will doubtless take time to recover the effects of the late crisis, but there is every reason to believe that a very promising future lies before the Thames. The rush has long since ceased, and the population has greatly fallen off. There are perhaps from .10,000 to 12,000 people now on the field, of whom about one-half of the number are in and about the town, for Shortlaud and Giahamstowu now form one extended town. Many batteries worked by steam are constantly going, and these will be multiplied greatly when the waterworks are ready, by which means a less expensive power. will be available. A wise Government would not have left this so long neglected. Tramways have been laid up four of the creeks for the transmission of " stuff" to the batteries, and all the apparatus of a large mining district reminds one of Cornwall. There are many good buildings, and a multitude of showy For remainder of news see fourth page.

shops in the town. Two of the best residencea are owned by natives. streets are yet, for the most parr, unmetalied. But Pollen-street, one miL/and a half long, is well made, aud plied with 'busses every hour of the day. Two passenger steamers, the "Golden Crown" and the "Royal Alfred," — either of which would do credit to any port, — ply daily between the Thames and Auckland. The passage is from three hours to four hours and a half, and tho scenery delightfully romantic. The geographical position of the Thames, as -well as its mineral wealth, points to a great future. That far-seeing circumnavigator, Captain Cook, said that if New Zealand became a colony, the Thames should be its capital. It is the natural highway to the South, via Tauranga, Maketu, Taupo, &c. It must be the terminus of a trunk road throughout this Island. It is separated from the Waikato district by only one range of hills, not very broken ; and Waikato is the most, if not the only, valuable territory for agriculture In the North. There is an admirable tract of country for settlement on the Upper Thames, which fine river is navigable for fifty miles and more. At present it is locked up in the hands of the natives, and ■will be while Government agents tease or coas them. Let them alone, and in time they will be willing to sell it. It is marvellous how little the Government of the country seem to have understood native character, if we are to judge "by their policy towards them. Vested interests in and about Auckland, and the action of that absurd local centralism in the form of an effete Provincial Government, will stand in the way as long as they can, but will not always prevail. Auckland has no outlet, and little country that is of any use. The North is well supplied with water communication and fine forests of timber ; but the land is for the most part very poor. Charming spots for residence may be found anywhere ; but scope for farms, pastoral or arable, is very limited. The "railway " scheme will, like that of the " Auckland and Drury," prove an expensive abortion, for it can lead to nowhere. The most fertile stretches away along the south-eastern coast, and joins the Waikato. The harbor of the Thames is spacious and sheltered, and the time must come when — supplied with wharves, and the adjoining country settled — it will be the emporium of the North, the overland terminus from the South ; and Auckland will retire into the shade _ |