THE TEMORA GOLDFIELDS.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1280, 11 September 1880, Page 2

THE TEMORA GOLDFIELDS.

The sensational reports which have appeared m s ime of the Austialian papers regarding the new rush at 'femora, has beou the means of drawing crowds of anxious fortune seekers to the giound, and not a few ot thc-o fiwn iS"\v Zoil.md. The fever has iv idled Hamilton, and we hear of sever. il families, about bieaking" up their homes to liy their luck? In orler to place mitteis ele irh/ before them we publish an extract from a letter received from an eve- witness, and caution people a gainst lea\iug Waikato for &o gre.it an uncertainty : — ''The iu>h t" T'Mioia was occasioned by the oiiginal p^ospectois, Paiker and paifcv, who h.ild a bloi k cl nm of 700 feet, and who took up tho ground on the 17th of November, 1579. These men, who weie old and expeiinnced miners, were induced to go to Temoi a upon the information fch.it thoie weie gold - bearing reefs in the distiiM, and ju.isonably supposed that theie must be some rich alluvial deposits in the Mine neighborhood. On the 30th February last, they hoisted a red fl cx — -.i nonfij iti >n that payable gold had been di>coveu-d. This caused tho rush, but tlinse who (a me disbelieved that the piospectois li.nl obt. lined payable gold, and demanded tli.it a prospect should be wit-luil. A small washing only I'ave the (olmn. The miners became e\!spoiatel, and said they liad been tooh'il, md toie dnwti 1,1 il 1 flair. In tho meantime Ijl iomfi"ld and paily, as well ts the i>i cv • nits ot other claims adjoining, w ere wni !v'im - aw 13 , < onu'dent of succe.ss. The red t\ ig was agun hoisted by BloomheM, who \\ is follower] m quick .succession by w\i'ial hillt claim-holders. i \v,is infoimcd that, sever il of these mmeis •■ illetod gre it pi nations in their cndc<i\ oil's (o de\( lop the lcsoui ties of the pl.u c, and lfe is to be hoped their arduous l.ibouih will be c.ownel with success. '"The township at tlie lower lead is very bu-y. Tr nles and Imsine.ss of all devmpiions iloui i^h h* re. It is astonishing to notice in what a good line the business p"op\; have placed their houses, co'iii'lorhm this lia.s been done wirli'iut the aid of a surveyor. Business, like every otli t indu&tty on the goldfi"ll, se"i i ft to be getting over-done. Theie are by f a too mmy of every cla^s n the gold-field, Theie are too many mincis, unless of cour-e, tliey intend to .strike out a coiu'i<? for theni'solvcs, and piospeut new ground- Altogether, I estimate that theie. no not more than .500 miiieis actually engaged at uoik. This will be seen to be a \<'ry small proportion of the whole population, \i/5., nearly 1)000 people. '• A most astonishing thing to my mind is th it no efioi t i> made by tho miners th'Mii-elves to utilise the rain which has fallen 111 the nciqlibourhood. hi replying to some enquiries ,se\ ci al said, 'The ({overnment "\\ill have to make us dams.' Ifc is amusing to lie.tr with what authority some speak, I am of opinion that the Government will da nothing of the sort. It is within my leeolleetiou in Victoria T,hafc when a rush broke out almost the first thing minors did was to make a couple of dams, one for clear water, the other for sludge. There are enough men walking about at the rush to make a huge dam in a few days, and though no signs have been made in Uii.s direction they will find it will have fco come to it yet. They have no yet had a ' roll up' probably when they get together to protest against something, measures may be adopted for the securing of a good supply of water, for without which the rush may be a failure. Water at the lush is a penny per bucket, and the vendois are not making a large prone even at that price, for the water has to be carted for over two miles. Beef which hold at 3d per lb. at the commencement of the rush is now ,">d, J>ut it really is of a splendid eh.i7 i acter, full of juice and groat fliivoui. This fact may be interesting as showing 1 that M'heu cattle are killed on the spot, tho meat retains its flavour, whereas when the beasts arc driven hmnhvds of miles ami then con. fined iv a railway wa^irou for another 200 miles, they anive at their destination in a fevered condition, not 111 a fit state for slaughter. Piovisions ai\? \cry leasonable at Temora, and may be piocurcd as cheaply as in Melbourne. Clothing, too, is- also very le.isonable; iv fact, at this oaily stage* of theiush, from a needle to an anchor c in be procured readily. ''To summarise matters I would stiongly urge young men not to leave their

situations to go to Temora, I have already given my reasons, so that it is not necessary to repeat them. This I say, that Temora will prove a vast goldfield if water is secured, and from the want of this element there will, I fear, be great tUsteejis in the course of a few months. If;* Jfaonger party of miners po and prQMct • for themselves they will in all probability be eventually successful, but prospecting for a few months means the expenditure of a lirge sum of money. There are plenty of places in Victoria which, if prospected, would perhaps prove ns remunerative as Temora. The public have already been cautioned against a too heavy stampede to the ne«r goldfield, but if they will insist upon going and they meet with misfortune, they have no one to blame but themselves. Hundreds are still arriving daily at the rush from all parts of the colonies, and a contingent of miners arrived this week from Auckland. The roads are lined with drays and waggons of all descriptions, on which may be seen painted 'Melbourne,' 'Sandhurst,' ' Echuca,' and ' Ballarat.' The roads between Junee and Teraora on the one aide, and Coot&mundra and the rush on the other, are very heavy, and numbers of drays get bogged." I met a miner here whom I knew many years ago in Victoria, an industrious hard-working fellow. This man's experience will show young men the j absurdity of throwing up good appointments to go $0 the Temora rus-h. I met six smart-looking youths, averaging from 18 to 24 Seeing them rcll up their swags, I put the question — "Does not the, rush suit your pux'pose?" And the reply I received was, " If we had £50 .in our pockets apiece, it might do so, but it is no use to stop here. Nothing but starvation is before us, and we a^e off before matter reach that climax." As the winter is so far advanced, however, there seems only a remote chance of the much needed water being received. Few of the storekeepers give credit, so that a stranger, if he has not pot the means to live on till he can get his dirt irashed,he will have to leave the goldfield."