WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 48, 26 February 1864, Page 3

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

(From the iEnquirer, 26th January.) No intelligence has been received from tho extreme North, nor do Aye expect to receive neAvs from that quarter until April next. When the proper season arrives, more stock will lie shipped to the Sherlock and De Grey, not only by our oavu colonists, but most probably by speculators from the other Australias, private advices informing us that much attention has been paid to that countiy as a field for emigration and settlement. With reference to the Glenelg territory, the last mail has brought news that the Victorian party, originally designed for this quarter, Avill be much enlarged, and tliere is every reason to hope that before the end of the year, there Avill be a strong party established in the neighborhood of Camdem Harbor. An expedition is also in course of formation, to sail from Ereemantle, for the same locality some time next month. This trip is undertaken for the ostensible purpose of verifying the statement of a prisoner in the Establishment, Avho declared that in 1856, Avhile mate of a Dutch ship lying at Camden Harbor, he landed, and in the space of 2| hours collected Slbs. of gold nuggets, Avhich he afterwards sold to a biulionI dealer in Liverpool for £416. The man's name, or alais, is Wildman ; he is a foreigner, and his tale is credited by those Avho have inter- ! rogated him on the subject It is, lioav- ! ever, not generally accepted as true, nor does it appear probable that he Avould, for so long a period, have maintained secresy Avhen it is considered that Camden Harbor is an unsettled place, Avas merely visited on this occasion to repair damages, and Avas not likely to be visited for any other purpose. Ths only prospect he had of again returning to the spot Avas by confiding the secret to those Avho would have assisted by sending a vessel to Camden Harbour, either for the sole purpose of securing the metal, or the passage to or from other ports. He says that the crime for Avhich he was convicted — forgery, AA*as committed in order to raise funds to charter a vessel ; but even had he been successful he could not have concealed the object of his voyage from the creAv ; sooner or later they must have knoAvn it. We content ourselves with saying that the tale being considered by some to be true, and by others, probable ; being vieAved moreover in connection with the recorded opinion of Sir George Grey, that gold will be found near the Glenelg, and with the fact that in some old charts this part ofthe islandcontinent is described as Provincia Aurifera, it has been determined to despatch a party to the spot. Some seven or eight individuals i AAdio have either been gold diggers in the other colonies, or take an interest in the pursuit, have chartered a vessel of about 100 tons burthen, at an expense of about £200, for the trip, and Avill sail for the north as soon as their arrangements can be completed. They have collected subscriptions to the amount of about £150 cash, besides contributions of stores, &c, and expect to receive much more before they are ready to starV .Mr. Panter, of /the police department, will be the leader fof the party, and the man " Wildman " •will be taken to point out ' the spot. Much interest is taken in the matter,

riot/ sb/'ririiclL an kccount of an alleged goldfield as froiri a desire to havefuSer information respecting the country ; which/ will; be -vasiteaVby the/party. ; ■ Thej JvTew Perseverance, the vessel charteredy will probably bring news of the arrival of the emigrants from Victoria,: : 'Bespecting settlement in other quarters we have merely to report that a Mr. Tumbull of Yictol-ia, applied for arid.pbtairiecd a lease of Dirk Hartog's Island in Shark's which "he; will stock with sheep, and that the Messrs, . Browri Have moved, flocks/to the Peninsula/ at vFrevcinet's * T^bpi-ialso/in; Bay, sbthat the country connect' ingtheMurehisondistrietwith Bay territory* is gradually becbriiing settled, /To the Southward we learn that Mr. Larnach; a New South Wales settler, is about to occupy Middle Island, and that he. will either stock that island or form some establishment on the mainland. ; y Our supply of labor . has been augmented by the arrival of the T)alhousie on the 28th ultimo; with two hundred and seventy.; convicts. These men have been distributed throughthe different working parties, but the number is too small to produce any appreciable effect, , and we gladly' hail the intelligence conveyed -by last mail that another corivict ship will betaken up and despatched about ; this date. The emigrants per Tartar were speedily employed, and these more than counter balance the emigration of which we complain. We have no changes to report in 1 the state of our markets, which are on the whole fully supplied with all articles of general consumption. Our harvest has been most' abundant, and notliAvithstanding the destruction of grain by fire on the Greenough, it is anticipated that the supply of breadstuffs produced in the colony will be equal to the consumption. The following is the gold discoverystory, aboA r e alluded to, at greater length and fuller detail : — About three Aveeks since a prisoner in the Convict Establishment made a statement to one of the officials to the folloAving effect. In January, 1856, he left Rotterdam as chief mate of the Maria' Augusta, a ship of 1200 tons burden, - bound to Java. The ship lost her rudder, and Avas obliged to put into some bay on the northAvest coast of Australia, to cut timber to replace the rudder, and Avhile she AA r as at a.nchor in this bay, a period of twelve days, the prisoner picked up in two and ahalf hours, 81b. of nuggets of gold, AA r hich he subsequently sold to Mr. Johnston, a bullion merchant, in Liverpool,- for £416. lie was alone Avhen he found the nuggets, and never communicated the discovery to any one, always intending to charter a small vessel to go to the spot again. The man states that he left with his Avife some memoranda on the subject, but that he has none Avhatever in his possession. He refused at the time he made the statement to divulge the latitude and longitude of the bay, admitting, hoAvever, that the longitude Avas less than 129 deg. E. lie required in return for giving the withheld information that a small vessel should be chartered to convey him as a prisoner to the spot, and, in the event of his tale being found correct, that he should obtain a remission of his sentence of 15 yeai's penal servitude in 1861. During a subsequent conversation he gave the name and address of the bullion broker to Avhom he sold the nuggets, \ r iz. — " Mr. Samuel Jones, Waterloo Road, Liverpool, near DuCosta's shipping office." It Avill be observed that on the first occasion the broker's name is given as Johnston, and it is material to know Avhether the discrepancy is the result of misconception on the part of the hearer, or of misstatement on the part of the informant. He stated that he sold the gold in September, 1856. As a purchase to this amount would be recorded, measures have been taken to test the truth of this part ofthe story by enquiries on the spot. It appears that the Governor did not think it advisable to agree to the terms proposed, and the j>risoner, feeling assured, Aye presume, that if his tale Avas true he Avould be entitled to and receive some reward, no longer maintained silence. He said (on 24th inst.), " The ship was anchored under Avhat is marked on Stanford's maps of Australia (I860) as Champagny Island but Avhich is only a shoal lying between tAvo islands, the three, together being designated as Drilligenge (or Triplets) in his, a Dutch or German chart. The latitude of the extreme or northwest point of the. northern of these is 14 deg. 58 mm., and that the extreme point of the southern one 15 deg. 18 mm. These islands are off Camden Harbor, on the north-west side of the Peninsula, which is * bounded on the north by the Prince Regent River and on the south by tke Glenelg," or -very close indeed to where Sir George Grey landed; The man says the nuggets were found some way up a river which enters Camden Harbor. In an extract -of a letter from Sir George Grey,' which Aye "published a week or so back, it will have been observed- that the writer speaks of the Glenelg country as likely to yield gold and so far the possible truth -of the incredible tale ; of* the prisoner is supported, but it must be borne in mind that the love of notoriety has a great effect upon these men, and that to become a person of some importance among his prison associates, to have, as he would have had, did the Governor entertain his proposition,- comparative liberty during his passage to Camden Harbor, with the .chance after." all that his surmise might prove correct^/ would be sufficient' : to stipiulate the inventive faculties of many of the inmates of the

pbnvict Establishment. Still the storyis plausible, and except for the position of the narrator might not be altogetherdiscredited. Should any search be made by private parties, for the Government will hardly do so, for the purpose of testing the truth of the statement, perhaps * the man will be sent in custody to point out the exact spot, for if his tale oe true, he cannot fail to be able to do so ; if he fails in doing this, increased punishment, if it can be inflicted, is his desert* . if he does what he .professes to" be able to do, he is deserving of reward. -' The above narrative, we rest assured, how« ' ever worthless, will cause a search .to be made, if not by our own colonists, •-■by those of the -*- neighboring settlements. The prisoner's name, is not giyen. He is a young man, a foreigner, and described as a 'seaman "in the prison lists. He appears tb be capable of the secresy which he alleges he has observed, by withholding from the knowledge of his messmates the knowledge of the nuggets. .He seems a determined young fellow, not '.very scrupulous, and capable of lying rto any. extent; We cannot help regarding it as a more than suspicious circumstance that the man should' have concealed the matter so long, when the sale of such a secret would have benefitted him ; ' while it does not appear possible that he had the means of visiting the spot himself between the time of the discovery, and the.'date of his conviction and transportation some four years ago. The Government have offered to assist the Camden Harbor- party by the loan of such arms and equipments, &c., as can. be spared from the public stores. The prisoner, Wildman, will be permitted to go in the capacity of servant to Mr. Panter, and urider that gentleman's charge. Mr. Panter Will lead the party.