A Trip to Te Aroha Goldfield.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4659, 10 December 1883, Page 2

A Trip to Te Aroha Goldfield.

(By oue Special Bepoeteb.)

;■•■; Te Aeoha, Friday evening. The growing importance of the Te

Aroha Goldfield, and the interest mani

fested in the mines,,espeoially those which 1 have been crushing for tHe past month, induced the Evening Star proprietors to make arrangements for Securing a full repert of the district and the work being done in the mines, which will no doubt be read with interest by our readers. Of the journey to Te Aroha, and the* settlements passed on the way enough has already been said in previous accounts. I found | the road in fair condition, the worst por«

tion being between Kopu and Puriri, and hero the contractors Lave a large number of men preparing metal to put on when opportunity offers, so there should soon be no cause for grumbling on this score. Even the famous Koniata swamp road, about which so much has been said, was quite passable for wheeled traffic, there being only one or two bad bog-holes, and even these were small. The Komata Creek is as dangerous a place as any on the whole route, and the numerous accounts of nar<. row escapes from drowning while crossing it in a fresh are conclusive evidence of the urgent necessity fcr a bridge being erected. Between Paerqa and Rotokohu Gorge there are some bad spots where the road crosses the swamps, and the same may also be said of the stretch just before reaching Te Aroha. The extent of ground under cultivation, as observed from the road all through, is not lar-ge, and it is especially scant after passing Paeroa. At Warahoe a good deal of land has recently been taken up, and had it not been for the unfavorable weather the crops put in would by this (ime have been in a forward state. Mr .Wight's farm at Komata looks well. The township of . TE AEOHA is situated on (he western side of the mountain from which its name has been taken It is close to the bank'of the river Waihou, and a visitor approaching it, cannot but be struck with the sijse of the buildings, hotels especially, all of which would compare favorably in appearance with those on the Thames, though Te Aroha is only Syeargold, and it would be diffiba.lt indeed for any there to surpass the splendid hotel known as Walker's.. The town has a healthy and clean appeatance, and 19 growing rapidly, new houses, chiefly, however, for dwelling purposes, being in course of erection everywhere, though the chief number appear to be on the northern sjde, or £owa?ds where the railway bridge will span the rjver.; The town boasts of a roomy school, public library, neat post and telegraph office, and the Government Court and Police Buildings,

just finished, are very creditable. One of the sights of the town, I might almost say the principal one, is" the hot water springs. These are situated on a reserve of five acres on the eastern side, and, being free of access to the public without charge, are a great boon. Their curative properties are well known, and several i instances have been related to me of per* Bons receiving relief from complaints which the doctors were unable to cure. It is about time, however, that the authorities saw to the building of a comfortable bathing house, the present structure, I refer to the one over the highest spring, which is the best one, being anything but creditable. A local industry, the manufacture of bricks, is in full swing, and it is satisfactory to note that the quality of J the article turned out by the proprietor, I Mr Bue, is so good that he supplies nearly all the orders wanted. The railway bridge referred to is for the Hamilton to Te Aroha railway, and is situated some little distance below the centre of the town. The contractors are making good headway ; a portion of the shore end is complete, and preparations are now beings made to put in the large pillars which are to support the swivel portion of the bridge. While this work is going on the larger steamers, such as the jKotuku, Patiki, and Waitoa, will not be able to pass, so the goods sheds erected at the old landing are to be removed to below the bridge, which will probably become the permanent landing place. There seems to be an impression here that Te Aroha is to be the business centre of the district, on account of its superior position, although WAK>EONGNMAI, situated about three miles distant, is rapidly, springing up. The road between the3e two townships is in a terrible state, and on the coach running a special trip yesterday the passengers had to alight twice when it became bogged. The township is close to the battery, and though not so large as Te Aroha, can show two fiae buildings in the hotels of Messrs T. Lawless and Killien, while a Post and Telegraph Office and public school have also been opened. It may be worth mentioning here that Mr Firth has, at his own expense, erected a telephone wire from the battery manager's house to his estate at Matamata, a distance of 20 miles. THE BATTERY is of course the main feature in the town, and there now being no restrictions to prevent my entering, I was shown round this fine plant this morning. It is situated just at the foot of the range close to the mouth of the Waiorongomai Creek, and consists of 40 head of stamps and 12 berdans, though the directors of the Battery Company are about to erect 12 more berdans, those at present in use not being nearly sufficient to grind the blanketings. The stampers are driven by two turbines, one by an American.firm, and the other by Price Bros , while a third turbine—a small one, raised some distance above the others—works the berdans, the waste water from it supplying the tables, <fee. The stampers are very heavy ones, and are driven at a rate of about 60 tons per minute. Each five bead is supplied with a self-feeding apparatus, which I was informed worked admirably. It consists of a circular disc, on which the quartz slides down gradually, connected with a rachet. A small rod is placed under the cam of the second or fourth stamper in the box, and when the stamper has crushed nearly all the quartz under it, it strikes this rod, which moves the rachet; the disc revolves, and drops the quartz into the boxes. By this means one boy can superintend the feeding of the whole battery with ease. The floor of the mill is of concrete, and the whole structure has been fitted up so firmly that the vibration of the stampers is scarcely noticeable. The hoppers are situated be~ hind the stamps, and are capable of holding an immense amount of quartz. As each truck load is tipped in, it falls on a screen formed of heavy iron rails, placed a certain distance apart. All the fine dirt goes through this at once, but the stones which require breaking roll down and form a heap on a floor for the purpose of catching them. Four stone-breakers are employed here one shift per day to reduce the lumps to a size which will allow of their going through the screen.

Owing to the large quantity of rain which has been coming down all day, I was not able to visit the mines, but hope to go through some of them to-morrow.

The Werahiko will stop crushing shortly, and the Battery Company have wisely determined to reserve five head for the treatment of trial parcels from other claims on the field. This will give an opportunity to those claims who have dirt on hand to get it treated without the necessity of taking it on to the Thames.