A FORTUNE IN A BUCKET.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1716, 27 March 1888, Page 3

A FORTUNE IN A BUCKET.

About 16 years ago, on a small bill about three miles from the place wherr the Ironbarks (N.S.W.) railway station now Btands, some tremendoos finds of gold were made. On one occasion a bucketful of stuff returned £SOOO. This took everybody by storm, and a company was formed to work tbe marvellously rich ground. They worked for a time, and at last could not make it pay, so gave it up. nad* they worked on for another sft., it is said, they would bare hit one of tbe richest and most wonderful Datches of gold ever found in tbe colonies. They did not do this, bowe\er, and « mining experts " bare laughed at tbe idea of payable gold being found in tbe Ironbarks district, until about six monthp ago when one of tbe old miners, John Charlton, was put in charge of about 20 acres of the land, now known as tbe Golden Gully, by some gentlemen who

bad reason to think it worth while to watch the place, and had accordingly taken it up. He looked at the place nnd formed an idea to get into tbe menkej ■haft at the 80ft. level of the PriDce Bully, intending to get on to the clay vein. The shaft drive was cleaned out, and witbin two or three weeks of this being done several rich reefs of quartz,

limestone, mispickel and (last of all) t, lode of decomposed ironstone were discovered ; and tbe latter is said to have gone at the enormous rate of 44440 z to the ton. A number of specimens have been taken and a company formed. The

specimens are peculiarly rich, and as * tangible proof of the yield from the ironstone a pretty cake of gold is shown

weighing 4oz. Hdwt. 6gr., which was obtained by a Sydney assayer, from a

Wishing (not by assay) of 21b. 6oz. of atone. The quartz specimens are smothered in gold, and the mispickel is in some ewes almost hanging together by the shining metal. The incredible part of it all is that so many reefs of inch. marvellous richness sboald have been discovered within 20ft, ofeacboiber. The specimens are simply unique, and

the find, if it continues, will do for mining in New South Wales what Mount Morgan and Charters Towers hare done to Queensland ; and mining experts State that the main reef has not yet been ■truck, '