REV. J. E. TENNISON-WOODS ON KIMBERLEY.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 179, 20 November 1886, Page 2

REV. J. E. TENNISON-WOODS ON KIMBERLEY.

IN an intcnicw with a rcpoitci of the " J3risbanc Courier, 1 ' the Rev. .T. 7C. Tennison-Woods, speaking with reference to tho Kimberley rush, stated that though ho lias not been on the field itself, while in the Northern Territory, lie fell in with a large number of returning; d-igi:< ro and from what, ho could gather from them is of opinion that, there must bo a tair amount, of koUI on tho held, though not perhap-> to wan ant mi extraordinary rush. Judging from ffardiiKin's maps the character of tho count it fit Kimberley is similar to that of the Northern Territory, though he does not tbmk that it can be as rich as the latter district. But the Kiinberley diggings, he said, can only be really tested when the rainy season comes on and all'ords abundance of water for washing the dirt. Even now, although there is suflicient water for drinking purposes, there is one stnt^e of GO miles in which no water is procurable. Most of the men he met had never got as far as tho field itself, and manj of them had never got any further than Derby, whence they returned disheartened by the reports they heard. Ho does not think it likely that there -will be much distress on the field as most of those he saw seemed to be fairly well to do, and to have taken at least as much money with tlicm as would pay their passage back. .Some of the returning miners obtained work on the railway, but they did not aecm to ccuc for it iwn.li, totlabour of that, kind in the Northern Terntoiy is very trying; for Europeans.