EL DORADO

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 490, 20 October 1928, Page 24

EL DORADO

| OLD MINER FOLLOWS “HUNCH” TO NEW GUINEA 1 AND RETURNS WITH OVER I THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS

WEALTH OF EDIE CREEK

AN O and a-half years ago. when fossicker C. M. Williams left Victoria for the New Guinea goldfields, he had a struggle to obtain the

necessary passage money. The other day he returned on the Montoro richer by £30,000 in assets, and with two nuggets 3400 z and 210 oz respectively in his travelling kit. After chasing svery gold rush worthy of the name in the Commonwealth for several decades, W illiams who always had a hunch that New Guinea would turn u p trumps followed in the wake of the pioneers of Edie

Creek field. The claim he worked, with F. Hunt, from Queensland, had been abandoned in despair by several holders when they arrived on the scene. Remained They felt like following suit two years later, but they remained optimistic, and decided to build a roomier shanty to see another season through. On digging the first post hole 'for their new home, according to the Sydney “Guardian,” Fate turned the scales of "fortune in their favour. Williams’s pick hit something hard —and valuable. It was the £I,OOO nugget (210 oz in weight) which he carried ashore from the Montoro in his suitcase. Shortly after Williams located a bigger nugget (3400 z), worth a large sum, but not as valuable as the smaller one. Both were promptly planted and their whereabouts IjCept strictly secret. Then came the discovery of the long-sought reef which made them affluent beyond their wildest dreams. Within six months it yielded them over 12,000 ounces of good quality gold, which realised £30,000 in Sydney. Despite his windfall possession, Williams is not going to retire on his means. He is going to see the Melbourne Cup, have a peep at Blighty and a few other places—and then back to his holding in Edie Creek for more adventure.