THE NOKOMAI DIGGINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 229, 13 September 1862, Page 6

THE NOKOMAI DIGGINGS.

(TROai OUtt OWX CORRESPONDENT.) InvercargUl r sth September 1562. I mentioned in my last that a new Gold Field was supposed to be discovered on the east bauk of the Nokomai, but had not time to give full particular?. Last Saturday it was rumouied that a large parcel of gold had been brought to town the night before from somewhere in the vicininty of the Whakatipu Diggings. The parcel of 2 lb. 4 oz, 2 dwts. and 14 grs., which had been deposited in the Bank of New South Wales, was shewn to a member of the Government under promise of secrecy—the finders not wishing to divulge the locality until having obtained a prospecting claim from the Otago Government; one of the party, Mr. Lamb, starting on Monday for that purpose.

The Government have, in order that some authentic information might be afforded to the numbers proceeding to diggings somewhere (though as to where seemed a secondary consideration), informed Mr. Lamb that it would afford himself and party as much protection as possible, in keeping their prospecting claim, pending the diggings being taken charge of by the Otago authorities, on which Mr. Lamb made a clean breast of it. It appears Mr. Lamb's party had been prospecting for some -weeks, both in this Province and Otago, obtaining gold everywhere, till crossing the Nokoniai, they entered a gully with a creek of large size, called the Moa Creek, running through it into the east bank of the Nokomai. The prospect was so" promising, that they despatched one of their number to Invercargill for Lamb, an old Victorian digger; in the interim they obtained the two pounds weight odd. The only implements they had were one pick, one shovel, a tin dish, and torn made out of the hollow trunk of a tree—time spent, not quite three weeks—the depth of sinking, three to four feet, being at the side of the creek, the bottom a rotten slate, similar to the old Whakatipu diggings on Mr. lingers' station. The gully is about three miles long, running north and south, with the Moa creek running through it into the east bank of the Nokomai, with a large patch of some twenty acres birch bush at the head of it. There are several gullies of crood size falling into this one. Distance ftv.v- Mr. i liogers' homestead, about nine miles. Tin.-1 best road to it is to follow the- dray track ,ioiii | the former to Mr. D. A. Cameron's station—a j very fair one, from which going in a N.W. direction over a range of hills, the present diggings are about two and a half miles; i going round the foot of the range, six miles. I Sinking at present wet; pumps will be requi- ! site, tin ones are recommended for lightness of j carriage, but as summer progresses the ground will become drier. The gold is by far the rincs!; specimen I have seen in this colony—all. coarse and nuggety, more like Eureka or l-Jen-.j digo gold, some six little nuggets weighing half an ounce. The largest piece I saw was from three to four pennyweights. The gold was pretty- bright in color, and water worn. Lamb says that all the adjacent country looks equally promising, and has great faith in the Nokonmi turning out well—indeed, the present expected field is on the tail end of the same slate ranges which run north to the Hartley diggings, and will lead to the thorough prospecting of the country -for-"miles around, when no doubt the original Whakatipu diggings will prove a remunerative gold field, offering paying employment to many thousands of diggers for a long time; this sample looks wore like "lead" gold, and not patchy. The chief surveyor and chief commissioner have been prevented by the weather (which has been singularly bad for the last six days) from going up to explore the road to the Clutha, which now that we have diggings so much closer and easier of access is not of much importance, particularly as from the report of Corporal Morton, of the police! force hero, it would appear that the prospects ! of the Hartley diggings arc not particularly j brilliant, He was despatched to find if possf- | hie a road from the Clutha diggings to Mr. Rogers' run on the Whakatipu "Lake. He, Avith a trooper, crossing the Mataura at the long ford, proceeded via Power's, Roberts,' Chalmers,' Musgrave's, and Anderson's stations on to the diggings—a distance which he calculated to he 135 miles from Invercargill. He arrived there on the 27th ult., at which time there were between two and three thousand diggers. Available claims for upwards of twenty miles were taken up, from the junction of the Manuherekia to the Kawarau, the then extent of the diggings. Claims being worked consist of small bars in the river, takings not easy to work out. The river was rising, and seemed likely to continue so. The banks, he thinks,* will be worked with great difficulty without slabbing, the nearest timber being distant more than thirty miles—no firewood, except manuka scrub; provisions exorbitantly high; numbers returning. They attempted to come back over the ranges to Rogers,' but owing to the depth of snow, and their horses being knocked up, they could not n:;inage it. so returned the same way they went. The chief commissioner, Mr. Pearson, starts on Saturday, I believe, to inspect the Moa Creek diggings. Parcels of gold are finding their way to town. There is about seven pounds weighit lying in the banks here, purchased during the la3t three weeks. Eleven of the runaway sailors of the Flying Mist gaye themselves up, being starved out. They were tried for desertion, and got twelve weeks hard labor. At the adjourned trial upon the loss of the Flying Mist, held at Invercargill, the Bluff Officer was exculpated, and nothing fresh seems to have been elicited to clear up the mystery in which the matter seems to be enshr.nrka. I have heard from one of the passengers .; it those of the crevy who did not bolt, cannot account for it; it is evident that the vessel rode out safely two tides with a strong breeze, and dragged during a perfect calm, that there was no watch on deck during the night, and that the rudder was lashed at dusk, while in the morning it was loose. One suggestion is, that she was brought up" broadside on to the tide by some one at the shore. There has been a disastrous fire at Riverton, the stores of Mr. J. R. Neills being burnt to the ground—nothing saved, not even the books. Part of it was occupied as a temporary custom-house, everything connected with which department was also burnt. There seems to be no way of accounting for the fire, which broke out first in the drapery department, r j v .

The Provincial Government has "received a present of four Tasmanian Brush Kangaroos from Chritopher Bastian, Esq., of Hobart Town—t tfo bucks and two does—one buck unfortunately got out of the cage while at the jetty, and made tracks for the bush, and has not been caught as yet. It is intended to turn them out on some run in the hope of their breeding, and a few years hence forming a source of amusement to lovers of the chase.

Vessels iv the New River—Content (hulk), Mary Ann, Balmoral, Almeida, Eucalyptus, and Pilol (entered to-day), and the Fanny from Stewart's Island, with dried fish, from Mr. Harold's fishery. The Guiding Star came in last night. The Eobert Henderson, from the Clyde, with emigrants, entered the Bluff

yesterday. The steam tug Aphrasia went round this morning to fetch up passengers and luggage. The Airedale entered the Blufl yesterday. The weather, which has been very boisterous from the south-west, indeed blowing a gale, for about six days, cleared up last Wednesday,— bright sunshine and gentle breezes have snccccled, to welcome to oar shores the late arrivals. The Robert Henderson sighted the Bluff on.the Ist iast., bati; was blowing too hard to admit o! the Pilot boarding her, f-he being ten miles otf. The Pilot went out and tried tor two hours to reach her, getting very ncdily swamped.