Southern Cross Petroleum Company.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 221, 28 August 1884, Page 2

Southern Cross Petroleum Company.

The half-yearly meeting of the Southern Cross Petroleum Company held on the 14th inst., was attended by seventeen shareholders, the majority of whom agreed to the adjournment of the meeting until Thursday, September 11th.

This concluded the business of the meeting. The shareholders, however, had a chat among themselves on the state of the Company’s affairs and the Chairman during the course

of the evening mentioned that a telegram had been received stating that the bore was down 450 ft., and everything was proceeding satisfactorily. lie read the appended report, which is to be submitted at the next meeting and in enlarging upon it explained what had been done and how far operations had proceeded :—

Since the last report the special pipes ordered from America have arrived at the works, and no further supply is expected to be required; the cost of these pipes has been about £l5OO. The Directors have had the tools and machinery shifted from the site of the original bore to a position on the flat» about half a mile away. The experience gained at No. 2 bore showed it was much better that boring should take place on the flat ground, rather than on the hill, as originally started. In No. 2 bore the tools were unfortunately lost, after having been supposed to be finally recovered. Under the circumstances the derrick was shifted twenty feet, and a new bore will ba put down alongside the last. This was commenced on July 26th. The ground at this spot is now known to a depth of 600 ft, and the bore at date of last advice (August Ist), had reached a depth of 180 ft, and was progressing satisfactorily. Within the last few days the Directors have received an offer to put down two bores by contract. The proposition is now under consideration. It had been a great dissapointment to the Directors that the bores are not in that forward state they were expected to have been at the present time. The reason of this is the unfortunate loss of the tools. The Directors are still pleased to see that the shareholders have equal confidence with themselves in the ultimate success of the undertaking. One of your Directors will probably leave to inspect the works in a few days, and make all arrangements for vigorously continuing the boring. Mr. Spackman during the course of his remarks mentioned that the Directors had the same hopes of success now as when the Company was floated. There were two bores down which would very soon determine whether or not oil was to be had.