TOKOMAIRIRD AND THE WOOLSHED. NOTES BY A MIXING REPORTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 66, 31 January 1862, Page 2

TOKOMAIRIRD AND THE WOOLSHED. NOTES BY A MIXING REPORTER.

January a;)th, 1862.

I'.ly usual communication was not forwarded for your'hist week's issue, us I had been visiting the coal mines on the "Tokomairiro" plain or rather on the ;,o. uiinal brows of the isolated woody ranges that skirt that cultivable and undulating stretch of country. As the ijuestion of " what may happen to a man in New Zealand" —is one of some moment to the mining population, and particularly so to the denizens of the " Vv'ooished," as it is termed, I think a description of the locality in which the " mines " are situate will n:;fc prove uninteresting. We will should your readers be kind enough to accompany me, start from the " Water Vv heals " on the river Tokomairiro : and after fording it a little below, where tiie last working

"minors" claims are lining stripped, we come in sight of Cameron's wuolslieil. J list .skirting tlie plains some very line sheep ami cattle, amongst wliicli numbers of excellent milch cows may lie perceived, are either grazing iaziiy w bleating and lowing melodiously on every side. As yet, except iu what may be called the dim distance, for the atmosphere is not always " deeply darkly beautifully blue." no farming operations appear, a;id how such a source of certain handsome remuneration as '20 or CO acres of potatoo,-; would be, at the threshold of the diggings so to speak, could have been overlooked is a matter of surprise to me, as there is an enclosed paddock of good iand there, evidently formerly used for agriculture. About half a mile further down we come to Cobb's large stables : next pass on to Alujor Uroker's residence, an oasis on the plain, green and glistening, and by several lesser farms and holdings seemingly well cropped with promising cereals of various kinds, tinged now with harvest's golden gleam ;so we trudge along till we arrive at the liridgoeud, whe/e we leave the main road and pursue our course by another that branches off ou the right-hand side. The scene now is beautiful. Towering up into the j--;rey sky is the wooded range previously mentioned. iSo sharply does it stand out in relief, and so clearly and minutely are its angles, gullies, ravines, and precipitous ascents visible, and so charming do they appear in their dense mantle of dark-green foliage, such an unusual sig'at in this portion of New Zealand, that the eye is-fixed in admiration. The hills of the range are of every conceivable fantastic shape ; some sharp and culminating in perfect eonicality, others rounded and gradually swelling, but ail partaking of the characteristics of the mountains great or small about here, deeply furrowed with innumerable ravines. At the base of this range is the Kirk, an unpretentious, though neat and sufficiently commodious edifice, the school-house, manse, snug farmhouses, and buildings of other kinds, surrounded by cultivated land in all directions, splendid wheat, oats, potatoes, and most varieties of culinary vegetables, gladden and variegate the landscape with their jjuy liveries, cheering the husbandman and charming the traveller. By these woods, and through these farms rolls' swiftly on like a silvery serpent the Tokomairiro, now widening to a stream of d'.vmt magnitude—we ford it twice within a distance of a mile and a half, and still wending by the green hills, arrive after a journey of eight or nine miles from the point of departure, at our destination the coal mines. There is nothing very striking or suggestive in their appearance, the coal can be seen cropping out of the bank iu many places, iu a distance of iOO yards or so. Where the coal is being obtained, and the only pla-je opened, the seam is about 7 feet thick ;it has more Uie re-;einbla,.ce to a quarry than to a mine, as t!ie seam is in fc:to hill-side, and partly worked from an open "'face" —a drive has been put iu a length ot :_> feet; two men are all that work there—rather a small amount of labour to employ at such work. A kind

of bastard fire-clay underlies the coal, while a coating of grey loam 4 or ;> feet thick, is all thai separate!; it from the sward above. The coal clips at an aiyJo of 30 = or so, and 1 think would be found to be not of immense extent; but suUiuient. for present roquiroweiits. it is not bituminous, but of a nature similar to that of the " Tasinanian coal beds ' —a:ithracite—it burns very well, bin has an unpleasant elieuL on persons of delicate olfactory organs, a.i it emits a sulphurous odour auring the time of combustion. Ton shillings per ton is Uie charge at the pit, but tin's seems an out-of-the-way price, when the easy manner in which it can be obtained is considered. The usual geological indications ot' coal are not to be seeu ; freestone, one of the rocks generally accompanying coal formations, U not to be found ; but there is no doubt of the auriferous nature of the country, it would be a great boon to the digger were payable gold found in the neighbourhood, as fuel would bo very handy to him, and lie would not liave much apprehension for the winter. It would also furnish nim with easy access to the woods for props, slab.*, or timber required tor mining. Tlie road 1-. a cross country one, iind like nearly all roads iu New Zuiiian.l, "metalled with nnul." A bridge should span the river at the ford, and some improvements hi: elfcete.l, or in wet weather the journey would not bi; pleasant for man or beast. A portion of it is, I believe, on the property of Mr. Gillies, who is one of the lessees, holding- a Icuse of the mine from the Government. A good team might bring- a couple of tons of coal to tlie Woolslted Digging.;, and I darosay it would sell readily at a reasonable rate. We ai\; going on very snugly up here, most are making good wages, are contented, and contemplate sticking to it Our population is about the same. It is surprising that your " special correspondent," erstwhile, fell into the ludicrous mistake of stating in one of his epistles that lie saw about huif a dozen tents on the Tokomairho, anil that he thought it was highly auriferous. His observation couiu only ba equalled by his sagacity; for to my knowledge it yielded, during the last three months, more gold thiiu is raised by many another similar population ofaOO, and there'have been very few fcs timn tiiai number located here during- the period of my residence hercon. We have room, too, tor three times as many more, and would giadiy welcome them. Some new ground has been opened down the river, at the junction of the river and a tributary. It will give good £4 per week. It is very wet, And rather deep stripping. The party have cut a race a mile long, and are now flaming- it across thd river: there is live or six feet of wash-dirt. Our diggings have been overlooked during- the vice-regal and secretarial progresses,—but we arc of more importance tliiin they imagine; and iu my letter of next week I shall show that we have brought more skill, capital, and ingenuity, to tlie furtherance of the development of the auriferous resources of the Tuapeka, than other more pretentious neighbourhoods. Besides, 100, our workings arc of a different nature to those of other places, and I will show by and bye that they must be specially legislated tor. Your comments on the reported mining- amendments are not unsatisfactory : I shall revert to some of them also.