COROMANDEL. REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD DAYS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 283, 21 July 1888, Page 5

COROMANDEL. REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD DAYS.

Many old Auckland identities will, no doubt, recollect some thirty yeais ago, when this happy (to many unhappy) miningground was first proclaimed a goldlield by the Acting Governor, Colonel Wynyard Desultory prospecting and "fossicking' had been carried on here for m^y years before that period ; and as early as the year 1844, a Mr Spike was reported to have discovered the precious metal on the ground now owned by the Coromandel Gold Company, Limited (formeily the Union Beach). Coromandel may therefore claim the honour of being the place at which gold was first discovered in the Southern Hemisphere. When Mr Charles King returned from California, he carried on successful mining operations in Driving Creek, and afterwards Messrs Jerome Cadman and Hugh Coolahan were well repaid by working a rich patch on the ground now known as the Conquering Hero. Among the names of those who were associated with the tield in its early days, that of Yon Tempsky will be well remembered. Poor Yon had been among the "forty-nineis " in California, and the early diggers on the old Victorian fields. He had great faith in the future of Coromandel, and, although often down to " bedrock," financially speaking, he stuck manfully to the di=?tiict until the outbreak of the Waikato war in 1863, when, led by his military spirit and love of adventure, he offered his services to the Government of the colony, and threw aside the pick and bhovel to carry the sword and revolver. The progress of Coromandel has always been of the blow and steady kind. In its annals there is no chronicle of those sudden bubbles of prosperity known as "rushes."' It has pursued the even tenor of its, way without any startling changes., and the man who dared to assert that it was of mushroom growth would accuse Rider Haggard's " She '"' of precocity. It must not, however, be imagined that it has always been plaiu mailing on Auckland's oldest goldfield. From time to time mining operations have been conti acted through want of capital, the yield of gold decreased, and numerous employees found their occupations gone. The existence ot such a state of affairs in a community living, directly or indirectly, by mining, had its natural effect in all business circles, and a few jears ago complaints of the dulness of the times were almost as numerous in the chief highway of Coromandel as they are in Queen-street, Auckland, in the present day. There is no doubt that the commencement) of a long period of stagnation was owing to the Green Harp swindle, perpetrated some sixteen years ago. An immense amount of goM was afterwards taken from the very ground that was used as the means of carrying out the fraud, but the intent of those who oi-ganised the swindle wa& ne\ertheiess fraudulent. The Green Harp leader has not yet lost its notoriety, and it will, in all probability, again appear before long in a very ia\ ourable light. There is at present no remarkable briskness in the general business of Coromandel. The stores and hotels are ample for the requirements of the inhabitants and visitors, but commercial dealings of all kinds are carried on upon a sound and satisfactory basis, which indicates a healthy tone and permanent solidity. As an instance of the beneficial efiect of such a state of aflairs, it may be mentioned that it would be difficult to find an unoccupied house in the whole settlement. To the investment of English capital, thatgreat factor in enterprise all the world over, is almost entirely due to the existing prosperity of the district. It is scarcely necessary to state that English capital is, as a rule, not blindly invested, and that it should be so largely placed in the chief mining companies here speaks well for the reputation of Coromandel as a payable field for the outlay of money, either from at Home or abroad. Should the mines continue to be worked with profit — and there is every indication of the yield of gold increasing — a further influx of English capital may be expected. It is probably in anticipation of a demand for auriferous property that so much ground has been recently " pegged out.' Such extensive and almost indiscriminate location of claims cannot, however, benefit the locators or the country in which they have located. The days in which the public could be gulled by unsupported representations have gone by, and the man who loses his money by speculation in a "duffer" or "wild cat" property simply deserves to suffer for his want of sense. It is well-known that a large proportion of the ground recently applied for is wanted solely for speculative purposes, and not for legitimate mining. That the speculative tendencies of some would-be " smart " individuals will be nipped in the bud seems, fortunately for the district, almost certain. Warden JSTorthcroft is to hold his Court here on the 19th mot. That gentleman ha 3 already shown in an unmistakable manner his determination to refuse all advantages in connection with grounds for mining purposes to those who cannot satisfy him with regard to their boimjides in acquiring holdings, and, in all probability, he will, with his usual discrimination, refuse many of the applications to be placed before him on Thursday next. Favourable reports are in from Manaia, the Tiki, and Preece's Point. Full and reliable information as to mines and claims cannot be obtained without more inspection and careful inquiry than can be made in a brief sojourn, but full accounts of the strikes in the abovementioned places will appear in future correspondence. The Coromandel Gold Company (Limited), the Kapanga, Tokatea and lloyal Oak are widely known an the chief mines of the place. The two first-named properties arc managed by Captain Hodge. Under his direction and supervision the substantial and extensive buildings of the Coromandel Gold Company, which stand out so prominently to the eyes ot visitors entering the lovely little harbour, have been erected. The old machinery was found by Captain Hodge to be next to useless for further operation in sinking, pumping, etc., and he speedily set about placing more powerful engines and gear in position., That his mode of proceeding was a wise one, is made manifest by a calculation showing that, by saving in fuel and the greater amount of work done, the engine and plant will in two years repay the outlay expended upon them. The most important underground work in this mine is the sinking of the shaft to cut the Green Harp leader. The &haft is now down about sixty feet below the 180 feet level, and may be reasonably expected to strike the coveted leader in about forty feet more. Extensive preparations are being made for the application of further pumping power, and in the general management of this mine there seems to be nothing wanting.