THE ROPER DISTRICT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 243, 26 September 1872, Page 8

THE ROPER DISTRICT.

The following letter relative to the auriferous chaiacter of Northern Australia appeared recently in the " Bendigo Advertiser, and will be read with interest : —

"Sir, — Since mv return from a three years' sojourn in South Australia, I have been frequently asked if I knew anything of the gold discoveries in the neighborhood of the Roper River and Port Darwin , with your permission I will here tell what Ido know. The first authentic report of the discovery of gold in the Northern Territory was received by the South A ustralian Government about the cud of 1870, and this was conjoined by despatches which were subsequently received from Captain Douglas, the Governor resident at Port Darwin, and by officers of the telegraph, survey parses,, A sm,all

(juirtrtifcjr^of gold, which was shotty and waterworri, was brought to ' Adelaide by Some of Messrs. Darwent and Dalwood's employes in June, 1871, and and several of these gentlemen told me that gold was obtainable in payable quantities at no great depth from the surface. An official despatch from Captain Douglas about this time, spoke most glowingly of the prospects of the new goldfield: Encouraged by these reports, Mr. John S. Westcott, an old Sandhurst digger, formed a prospectidg party, got a capital of £2000 subscribed, and started fully equipped, with horses, tents, tools, and everything necessary for making a thorough trial of the El Dorado. ' Letters have been received, even by the last mail, from Mr. Westoott and some members of his party, but they dp not write very encouragingly or satisfactorily of the reported goldfields. It is. true that one party of six men are reported to be getting 4oz: of gold to the load of alluvial dirt ; but I think' if this were the case, Captain Douglas would have heard of it, and would not fail to communicate the fact to the G-overnment of South Australia. I am therefore surprised at tho excitement that prevails here on the subject, when all doubts upon that point might be upon enquiry so easily set at rest. Even supposing that such was the case, does it necessarily follow that it is worth while for any man who is earning good wages," and .enjoying the comforts of life on Sandhurst, to rush away to the tropics with a certainty of having to endure great hardships and privations, and perhaps, like the dog in the fable, lose the bone in grasping at the shadow? I have travelled a great deal in the tropics, both in. the East and "West Indies, Borneo, Central America, and very recently in New Caledonia, and in none of these conntries can a man do a tifche of the work he gets through in Australia, even if he is fortunate enough to escape sunstroke, fever, and ague, elephantiasis, and a few other evils that flesh is heir to in those climes. In Borneo, I seen women standing up to the middle in the Sarawak Eiver, and scooping up the sand from anywhere about their feet, wash 2dwts to the dish, and yet neither European nor Chinese can stand the work — both have tried it. In Batavia, Tanna, and other islands, gold is abundant, but the Dutch can't work it. In the French penal settlements, at Cayenne, the prisoners are made to work sluicing the surface, and I was informed by the late director of convicts there that the average daily produce of two men's labor was 300z. of gold ; but it kills them. Now. Cayenne is in latitude II deg. ; and the goldfield at Port Darwin is said to be in south latitude 13 deg. ; the difference of the mean temperature cannot therefore be great. I fe&r that I am trespassing too much on your valuable space, but I wanted to point out that there is plenty of gold in many countries. The only question is, is it worth fetching? — Youre, &c,

" Arthur. Boyle."