Early Days of our Goldfield.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3500, 13 March 1880, Page 1

Early Days of our Goldfield.

A contributer to the Saturday Advertiser fires a very fair description of the early days of the Thames, and refers to incidents known only to onr older residents, and which may be interesting to those who are comparatively late arrivals. Speaking of the depressed state of Auck>. land'in 1866, he says.— - '; A sndden change of fortune, arising from tbe country's innate resources, was all that could be hoped for to Kfl the place out of its dejection. That came in. the discovery of a payable goldfield at the Thames, and the aspect of affairs at oaee changed. People forgot to talk of "their misfortunes. and '1 uraaL «<k theirluck; smiling hope entered ourTffonf— door, and sad despair vanished at its ap» A proach. Everyone became seized tfilk ■'. a desire to be horny-handed. At one * and tbe same time, the nnmber of men ■- (not knowing a cradle from a blasting rain), who assumed an awful acquain-_ tance with the mysteries of goldmining was .wonderful." Enthusiasm reigned supreme. All the retail stores aotually bloomed with implements for digging— such as cradles and crowbars, pickaxes and spades, tents, by the hundreds, and all requisites for camp life. A general stampede took, place, and one good effect of the-change was. that the new .field absorbed the loafing element of society, '-.' andy indigent "swells" from the: old country—a most prolific class in Auckland during the early days—and whose ranks were swelled by ex army men, to whom the profits of war bad been rery small;, The first township on the Thames was Shortland, consisting principally of tents and rudely constructed stores, the Shortland Hotel, a huge barn, being considered a magnificent edifice; and for the post office a Maori whare of raupo did duty. This publio office occupied an isolated position on a mud flat, opposite tbe site whereoaJJutt's Hotel and the American Theatre subsequently stood. Of tins stage of tbe Thames history and its subsequent career, the writer knows something, and recollects many characteristic .scenes, which, told by a graphic scribe, would form very acceptable reading. Tbe. first attempt made at a theatrical performance occurred when Captain Butt had built hit big hotel, which still stands. Adjoining tbe hotel, be bad constructed a tolerably capacious hall, with a staging at one end, relieved by a rustic effort in the way of a proscenium. Here I saw tbe first "genuine" performance given on the Thames. Concert hall manifestations and stcp'darcing appeared almost simultaneously with the arrival of the first shipload of pioneers* But these, were, of course, a cut below the legitimate, and Butt's shanty, as above referred to, introduced a new era. The opening performance took place in the afternoon, and.; was announced to the public by a gentleman called "the Doctor," an ancient., disciple of JEsculapius, who had forsaken the medical profession for the free and independent career of a bellman; and wonderful to relate—of a town crier—he was a temperate man. I went to that performance. It was certainly the most remarkable I had ever seen then, and nothing so unique in the line has ever appeared to me since. The orchestra consisted of a concertina, a tamboarine, and a tin whistle, the effect of which combined may be imagined,- but. certainly not described. They gave us an overture of half-anhour's duration, such protraction of our misery, being : . rendered necessary through the nou«punctuality of a performer, who, after being ■ interrupted in the discussion of a dogsnose, in Butt's back parlour and brought to the hall, had managed in his bast* to rupture an unmentionable article of attire, the repairing whereof caused considerable „ delay; eventually, however,,the blankets rose. . Here I can imagine myself .inters ruptcd with tbe query, ""Why blankets P" The question is no doubt called for, aid I

hasten to explain tbafc the blankets rose, became in the absence of proper material, resonree was had to bedclothing, and as I am relating facts, it is correct to be particular regarding detail. But there now arises a difficulty, which has not presented itself to my mind for the first time. I should like tn give an account of the entertainment which followed, but, inasmuch as I can still remember the fearful bewilderment that took possession of me during its progress at the time, the •Sort it has since cost me to clear up the hideous mystery of its plot and the complicated characters of the dramatis person*, 1 do not feel equal to the task.. The Doctor, who was a sort of animated vocal playbill, never' even told the public what the piece was called—it had never had a same; and all I can recollect of the inci-' dents was that four murders occurred in the first act. and two marriages in the ■econd; that the " exits and the entrances" were too frightfully numerous to be tallied, and that the whole was interspersed with songs and dances, in the which latter, I recollect, an old member of the 18th Royal Irish, with questionable looking tights on, took a very active part. It was he who bad dolayed the commencement of the play, and thereby inflicted upon the audience, that orchestral calamity aforementioned. But see how quickly the scene changes under the mighty influence of gold. The pioneers did. their work wonderfully well, and with a rapidity that would be considered almost magical in the world; a thriving township arises, and adventurers flock to the prosperous field of industry. By adventurers is here meant sot the worthless class of humanity to whom that appellation is frequently applied, but those wanderers over the earth's surface who are attracted in the general advance of civilisation to new countries, carrying their credentials with then., and filling their natural places in due course. And of such is the theatrical corps. Very soon a transformation took place in the ball I have above described. Its new form was that of a highly creditable house of entertainment, having boxes, dress circle, pit, and stalls, and was called the American Theatre, which, by the way, Mr John Hall made celebrated by his long and highly successful season of burlesque. Rich harvests of gold were rewarding the labor of the hardy digger. Another township had arisen, which, being formed under the auspices of Mr Graham, took his name, and the land, it is not too much to say, flowed with milk and honey. The day was a day of pleasurable toil for all and .sundry; tbe nigbt a round of pleasure and excitement.