MR. M'CREA'S EXPLORATION PARTY.

West Coast Times, Issue 291, 29 August 1866, Page 2

MR. M'CREA'S EXPLORATION PARTY.

As it is a recognised fact that Westland's future prosperity mainly depends upon her gold produce, which is of course regulated by the extent &nd fichneas of the Working and the number of men employed thereon, the efforts now being ny de to develops 1 the yet untried portion of, the countryespecially that strip between the coast antl main ranges, Will be regarded with interest; and the result eagerly waited for. When Mr Mporhouse was last in Westland, the desirability that prospecting parties should be equipped and despatched to test that extensive area of untried country in which all tHe rivers In this section of the p"r6vin'cb : take their rise, was urged upon him, and received his cordial assent ; and be promised that the Government should s-upple-ment by a sum of £200, any public subscriptions collected for the purpose. Accordingly the public were at once appealed to, and very readily, responded to the call; and, under the leadership of Mr M'Crea, a gentleman of much mining experience in Victoria and, elsewhere, a party was organised and despatched, the . field first chosen for their operations being towards the head waters of the Hokitika and Kanieri rivers. The expedition left town several weeks ago, and until yesterday no tidings of its progress had reached us, in consequence of the difficulty of communicatiug with men so far removed from th.c settlements. The unexpected return of Mr M'Crea has, however, enabled u8 to report progress ; and although we are sorry to say that no very substantial results have yet accrued, there is a wide margin left for hope that future researches will be more productive. After leaving town, the party followed the course of the Hokitika river until the gorge was reached, which is situated at an estimated distance of twenty -six miles from the junction of the Hokitika and Kanieri rivers. The intervening country is de- | scribed as low and swampy, the river valley in some places being of great width, tortuous in its windings, and extremely difficult to travel, through the jutting spurs and terraces which form points, falling sheer down into the fatream, compelling tedious detours td get round them. On their way up, Mr M'Crea and his companions closely prospected the river bed,' ' and, as far as practicable, the adjoining country, hut it was not until a point Was reached seven miles from the gorge that auriferous indications were met with. Here the valley widened out, forming dreary drift flats and terraces, and it is estimated that the extreme width between the wooded terraces on either side is but little less than seven miles. In this extensive basin many attempts were made to ' bottom shafts, but through the superabundance of water in no instance was a greater depth reached than three feet. The gravel, however, yielded gold — several specs out of every panful tried, but nothiug like payablt prospects were obtained. This basin extended close up to tbe gorge, and wherever tried gave the same meagre results. Attempts were made to penetrate the bush on either hand, but the swampy nature of the ground rendered them nugatory. The gorge is described ! aB : be'ingp formed by walls of granite rock rising to a height of fifty or sixty feet, and through it the river rushes — a blue pellucid stream — with astounding force. By the aid of euch appliances as the party had at command, an attempt was made to ascertain its depth, which is roughly calculated at sixty feet, by a width of about thirty. The country above the gorge is of a granite and basaltic formation, and intersected with gullies and terraces formed by spurs running, down., from the snowy ranges. This section of the country was well prospected, and gold was everywhere obtainable, but in very small quantities only. One terrace which was tried yielded some four or five grains of exceedingly find gold, the proceeds of several dishes of wash-dirt. Nine miles above the gorge, the river branches, and here the granite formation gave place to a blue basalt, upon which the overlying drift was found perfectly barren of gold, as not the color could be obtained out of the many prospects tried. Feeling certain that any further re&earches in this direction would . be unproductive of good, the party returned to the main camp which hadbeen formed at the confluence^ 1 of the Hokitika and Kokatahi rivers below - the gorge, and Mr M'Cra'e then started alone to examine the country towards- the head of the Arahura and Waimea rivers. There he found that slate and sandstone formation predominated, the slaterock being intersected with small quartz veins— a very good indication of 1 gold. Ascending a high- boomerang range, a fair view of the surrounding country was obtained, and from its appearance/-nbrffi-wards,Mr M'Crea is ofopinion that payable gold will be found there, and purposes giving it a thorough trial. On the journey up the Hokitika, and previous to reaching , the large basin above alluded, Mr M'Cfae noticed a high range in the back country J to the right hand, and determined to ex- • plore it. For this purpose, heJ selected four of the party, and cut a track fourteen miles through the bush, for the dense, r scrub was otherwise impenetrable. ' The ( range was reached, and is supposed to lie at the head of the Totara, but no gold was found there. A large quartz reef was, however, discovered on a high terrace. This reef is two feet and a half thick, and ' runs nearly due east "and west, and the stone is described as very "likely looking," although gold was not visible in ijU Still it may be considered a fair indication , that others of a richer nature exist in the" neighborhood, which only requires close searching to bring them to light. After returning from his search towards the Arahura, Mr M'Crea started for town to report progress to the Government, leaving hii party at the main camp, We believe that he \\mfo rejoining thim to*

day or to -morf oo s and this time his absence will extend over six, weeks. We Understand that he has collected numerous specimens of recks, which are. to be for waffled to ttle Rev. W. B. Clarke, the eminent geologist in New South Wales.