FROM DUKEDIN TO HIGHLAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 172, 4 June 1862, Page 5

FROM DUKEDIN TO HIGHLAY.

—i*lYt'BoM OUR Si'ECIAI. KEPORTEi!.)

1 lift Dunedin on one of those pleasant mornings that tend to reconcile" to their new homes those who have sunny Victoria fresh in their memory. The water was placid as a lake, and through its green depths, the shells and seaweed were distinctly visible. As we gently steamed towards the Heads, it was impossible not to admire the darkly-wooded sides of the hills that hem in the river, and gaze with awe on the bold peaks that, " robed in a garment of untrodden snow,'' towered behind then). Outside the Meads the sen. was smooth ; and the voyage to Waikouaiti wa.s accomplished in some four hours, ami without any of the sensations which are snggestive of ' Steward! basin!! There is no pier on the sanrlv '■'■nit on which you have to land ; and, in consi-i ■syneo, the steamer is compelled to anchor about half a mile fro'• the shore, which is reached by means of whaleboats, owned and worked by'a party of Maories, who have a settlement here. The fairer (?) portion of the tribe appear to do the largest portion of the work; and it was most amusing to hear their shouts of encouragement to the sterner sex. as they urged them to renewed efforts, wliile personally they tugged at the oar with a vigor and skill worthy of Thames watermen. Nor did their work cease When we touched the beach. Bags of sugar, boxes pf msrcb'nndis!.', and diggers' ?V /ags, were carried by them from .the boat with an rase and rapidity tlwt would havo done credit to any drayman. T'we are several accommodation tents on the Spit, ln>t nt the township, known as II nvkesbury. and d:stsynt about threu miles fro:n the phice of landing, there are two Hotels, at either of which the traveller can be supplied with the good things of this life. Along the beach, and as you approach the townsh'p, there is ample evidence that the place has been originally a whaling station. Huge bones arc strewn on the shores, witli hero and there ii potion of tho spine or backbone of the whale, of the thickness of the nave of a cartwheel. The entire township oi' Ilawkesbury and most of the land in the neighbourhood was, I believe, originally owned by John Jones, Esq. hut he hnr, I am info, mcd, disposed (if some portions to bonajide settlers on xery liberal terms. In the township there are twenty-five to thirty houses, occupied principally by persons engaged in agricultural pursuits, who are nuw looking: forward to a change in their mode of life consequent on the large influx of diggers, and the probability of its becoming a flourishing pnrt. This latter is, however, not likely to be the case, from the fact that the roadstead is but partially sheltered, nd the mighty waves of the I'aciiic break on the shore with a noise that can be heard for miles. Under the hospitable roof of host Beal, I remained for the night, and on the following morning, accompanied by Scigcant Major Biacken, whose duty led him to pay the supposed diggings a visit, I started for I-lighlay. The road for the first few miles is metalled, nnd, until you reach the Hat through which runs the Pleasant Stream, is comparatively good. The flat is somewhat swampy, but the Government have bridged most of tho small rivulets of water, and, in consequence, it is comparatively passable, f-kirting the conical hill known as Pukatapo, the road winds into the valley, through which runs the Sling Hivcr, £o called from n species of duck known by that isnrr.e, and which frecueuts its banks in" large numbers. This river, which is shallow end r;'.p'U\ has to be crossed four times beforfi reaching the station of Hamilton and "Wayne, at which point the track diverges to the left. The lied oi tin- river is composed of gravel, and is very firm ; dinys, thcifibre, have no difficulty in passing over it. Shag VitliYy is one (f the finest portions of ccujillSiJL'itJii.T for agricultural or pastoral pur--6iiflP|Pv,;l have seen in Kew Zuiiand. for more IIW a dozen niiies you rii.'e over a level country clothed with luxuriant grass, and surrounded by gently slcj-iiig ranges, backed again by high mountains whose serrated peaks kiss the clouds. It was impossible not to envy the lucky owners and wish ior the time when it will be studded with orchards, ami waving fields of corn. The Shag lUver has been tested at various points, said on each occasion gold was found, though not payable. The ground worked was on the edge of the bank ; the parties who prospected

it did not consider the prospect. Fiitiieient to induce thasn to turn the river.

At Hamilton and Wayne's station mutton is being supplied to the diggers ;it 9d. ptr lb.. and tl.nu% at 5.1., while, with considerable good nature, the proprietors are allowing thjm to* sleep in their woolsho.!:! anil outhouses, free of charge. Personally, i received from Mr. Wayne, who was on the station—Mr. Hamilton being absent.—the utmost attention, atr.l I ho re desire to record 1113' acknowledgments.

After passing this station tho difficulties of the road bagiii. For about live miles, and until you reach what is known as the Cutting, tiie course of the track is a continuous ascent over hills covered with ptU'hci of snow. From this point o.iwnrd thy road is comparatively level, and running parallel with Highlay IXill, v.ntil you reach D_"jp jDeil, when, by a scries of abrupt descents, you arrive at Ilopkinsou's statio-.i, the diggings boing n;iu' distant about ton miles. Leaving Jlopkinson's, you pass eio.se to Saxton'.s home suitio'.i and ascend a high range, the sides and summit of which, when I passed ■ over it, were covered with about two feet of snow. Prom this t) Timbrell's Guiiy the road is veiy heavy, intersected by small ravines and treacherous bogs, to

avoid which a considerable detour has to be niiide. I was vain enough to iumgiiic I had discovered a short track, and, in endeavoring to follow it,fbnud mvsclf in a ravine, " 'mongst darksoma rocks, wiicncc icicles depend," and further on managed to land the horse in a boy. up to the pars in snow and mud. As may be imagined, nfter this mishap I tiok care to follow whatever track I could fiml, being painfully aware of the fact that I had scarcely sufficient time to try another short one In Tiinbrcll'sGully Ilbuiid about 60 men at work, engaged in sluicing. The first party I accosted (Parsons and mates) were four in number, nnd had been on the field for about a fortnight. They stated they could make about 15s. a day pur man, but that the frost uni snow bad bean so severe as frequently to prevent them from working. Moreover, they were of opinion that it would require at least two days of the week to gut timber, and, as one of the party added, with a somewhat violent expletive, " it was no joke feeling through two fi-.et of snow for firewood." I may hero mention that the tuiuioi' obtainable is found on Highlay niomitaia, and also in soint: of tha guilico--running from it. It appears to be a species of cedar, is about ten inches through, and is found at wide intervals lying on thu ground. It appears to be paitially .eliuned, and may either have been destroyed by lire or by' the growth of thick grass which feeds on and sometimes destroys tlw roots of trees. I was informed, by a gentleman on Saxton's station, that about four miles on the other side of Iliglilay from the diggings there was a quantity of bush with tress of a sufficient thickness to saw out a, board a foot wide. Parson's party were hard at work whau I visited them, aud at my request kindly run the sluice dowa in order to show me what kind of gold they were getting. They had scarcely tunsed on the water when two pretty heavy specs about II quarter of a pennyweight each, became visible. Tue flow was immediately stopped, and I was thus unable to ascertim "Jiuit amount of fine gold might have been in the riffles, as the result of their day's work. 1 obtained from them a simple of the gold. It is rough and angular, and ha:; all the appearance of having been beaten out* of quartz. Passing through the gully I came across various other parties ac work, one of whom infjrmed me " it was no good, and he intended to hook it.'' Another thought he • could rub along," and believed there was gold in the gully, while a third, although very cautious as to actual details, ottered me about 10 oz for sale, but weuii/i neither say how long it had taken them to get it, nor whether they had obtained it from Timbrell's gully. The sample- I saw was uf the same description as that I received from Parsons and party.

Timbrc-ll's (iully is very tortuous, is several miles long, anil does not exceed SO yards in breadth at the bottom. The sinking is very shallow, se dom exceeding live feat, through alluvial black soil, clay, and drift, composed of rounded pieces of slate, intermixed with a little quartz. Tiie bottom is a soft, blue, sandy slate, containingl large quantities of mica. There is not much thickness of wash-dirt, but those at work appeared to be putting through the sluice everythiug they could find in the shape of gravel, with the result I have before mentioned.

Leaving Timbrell's by a narrow gorgi, I proceeded, under the guidance of an obliging miner, to the quartz reef where Mr. Bailey'has taken up his claim. There was no one at work on the reef; indeed, in'many places it was covered with snow, but I managed to trace it for over a mile. Jn some places the reef is nearly three feet thick, solid, and is what would be termed in Victoria " likely-looking quartz," but as no work has been clone on it save the smashing of a few bits on the surface, it would be foolish to attempt to determine the probable value of the discovery. I was informed by various parties that they had obtained gold from the reef, and I saw several specimens of quartz said to have been broken from it, containing specs like pin-points. These I endeavoured to obtain from tho minor, who had them in his possession, but as he somewhat churlishly refused, and had " just a wee drop in his V 1 gave up the attempt. The reef runs nearly north and south, and apparently has an underlay to the west. In my eagerness to follow its course, I quite forgot the distance to be tr; - veiled before I could return to where I had tied my horse, it being utterly impossible to get into Timbrell's on horseback ; it got quite dark, and there was nothing left but the pleasant prospect of passing a , night among the suo'.y at an elevation of two thousand feet above the level of the.sen. Fortunately, I managed to come across s.mie friendly draym-.n, and, with their assistance, to pass through a somewhat miserable night. There was a cold, cutting wind blowing from the south-west and but for this rencontre your correspondent might have been numbered among tho things that were. By the first streak of dawn I was in the saddle, and, reaching Saxton's, was hospitably entertained, and ai'ieTwaids accompanied by a person from the station to the diggings in Deep Dell. Here I found collected at one point some 7 or 8 tents, and was informed by the miners that there were over too people scattered up and down the ravine. .As it is over 7 n'iles long, nnd in some places so crooked, that when you think there is no one at work, j\u suddenly come ac-ross two or three tents, I have no doubt the number is mtlu-r under than over-estimated. The work going en here consists of washing the bed of the creek, which has been in some ph'ces turned for this purpose. The persons at work thought they could make wages, but I could extract nothing definite from them, save that the grid was wiiterworn, and differed cansiderably from thai obtained in Timbrell's, and that they had only come over to Deep Dell becarise they could not stand the cold in the former gully, ljecp Deli lies considerably lower than Timbreii's, and is, there.ore, wanner. There is a, very rapid stream of water running through Deep Dell, and the wash dirt is of the same description as that found in Timbrell's. On ascending the only practicable opening by which it is possible to get out of Deep Dell, I came across a well defined quartz reef. In some places it was over four feet thick, and was in ap penrance precisely similar to ninny of the auriferous reefs of Victoria. Returning" to "Wuikomtiti, I met large numbers of diggers all eager to obtain information as to the new gold fields. My replies to their queries I will now give, a3 it will enable me to nan ate. the conclusion at which I arrived, as to the difficulties of working and the probable Dai able character of the Highlay gold field.

In the first place the road is, comparatively speaking, a. good one for Otago,—the distance from Waikouati to Highlay is from 40 to 50 miles, and there are various accommodation tents at intervals on the track. These will have to be made, for there is not a bush visible after you leave Waikouati.

Provisions can lie obtained at the various stations, and there is v store already erected in Ximbrcll's gully. In addition, I passed four drays hcttvily laden with provisions m;d stores. Firewood is obtainable with great difficulty and loss of time, from the fact that the ground is covered with snow. The weather, so far as I could judge of it, is intensely cold, freezing the tailings as they are thrown from the sluice box into a solid mars, in an amazingly short time. Of the numerous chnracterof the field, judging fiorn the yields obtained by those on the Highlay, lam most favorably impressed. If Victorian experience be worth anything in New Zealand, —

which is perhaps doubtful—then'the'1 country around Ilighlay is a more likely looking gold field th-.ni'either'Puapeka or Wiiittihuna.

Notwithstanding these favorable indications, no person ought to gothere who is not prepared to endure any amount ot hardship and stink to work, instead of doing us many have i.'one, take ;i look at the suow-clad mountains and then return. In the spring, I have no doubt, there will bo ;i large rush to Highlay, and that a permanent and payable gold field will be developed: