THE FITZROY DIGGINGS.
FROM OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER
No. 1.
THE Yarra Yarra, in which I had taken my passage for Rockhampton, was advertised to
sail precisely at three o'clock on Thursday, the 16th September, but it was nearly six
o'clock before she got clear of the wharf, and it was almost a miracle how she managed to
get away even then. It was nearly two o'clock before she came alongside the wharf, by
which time such a crowd had assembled to meet her, boarding her, and crowding her
decks immediately on her hauling up to the jetty, that it was astonishing how, through
such a compact mass of human beings, so much cargo could be taken on board in so short
a time. In fact, none but your regular rough sea-dogs, who could elbow their way without
distinction of parsons, knocking down women and oversetting children, could have
accomplished such a feat. There could not have been less than three thousand persons
assembled to witness the departure of the good ship. Of these, the larger proportion were
women, many of them with children, come to take a farewell of brothers, husbands, or
sweethearts; added to these were friends coming to see the departure of the adventurers;
loafers, idlers, and itinerant merchants of oranges, lollipops, and the various small wares
usually found on sale in a crowd, as if the vendors knew by instinct how to find the spot
where people most do congregate. Through this complicated mass of confusion, tears,
laughter, farewells, oaths, and wishes of luck, the cargo was put on board in an incredibly
short space of time. Then came the inspection of the tickets, from which the unfortunate
clerk of the Company who performed this disagreeable duty, came out such a rumpled,
tumbled, heated, and flattened mass, that he was barely recognisable, and in which he
would, doubtless, have disappeared altogether, but for the stalwart arms of two policemen
who protected him, and occasionally fished him out from a denser rush than ordinary.
Then came a warning from the bell -- then a rush or two to the fore hatchway, as some rival
claimants to a berth settled their respective rights by an appeal to fisticuffs, then a sudden
silence from the steam, that had been roaring out its hoarse adieux through the waste-pipe,
then a heavy splash or two as the paddles revolved, and then broke out from the dense
crowd that lined the wharves and shipping a cheer so loud-so hearty -- as to send a thrill
to the heart, and to sound as the very augury of success. The excitement everywhere was
immense, and I must say that I was astonished to find it so widespread. Every vessel as
we passed gave us a hearty cheer which was on each, occasion, responded to with interest
by the human freight that crowded our decks; and, as we passed the Artillery barracks,
the band which was at the time playing in the balcony, struck up "Cheer, boys, cheer,"
gave us three cheers, and wound up with "The Girl I left behind me." All this was very
gratifying, no doubt, but when I came to ask myself the why and wherefore of all this, I
was fairly at a loss to account for it. Under ordinary circumstances, a shipload of
individuals starting on such an expedition would have been laughed at as idiots instead of
being cheered on as heroes; and yet I saw grave men -- men whom you would have
thought nothing could move catching up the excitement, cheering like boys, and then, no
doubt, feeling heartily ashamed of themselves.
A smooth sea, and a light but favouring breeze followed us to Newcastle, where we
remained for the day taking in coal. The passengers of course spread themselves over the
town, and for once Newcastle actually appeared to be wide awake. Some indistinct notion
of danger to be apprehended, or of profit to be made from the red-shirted barbarians that
had poured into their town, had the effect of making the good citizens open their eyes to
their fullest extent, a feat that had not been accomplished by any one of the inhabitants
since the period of his Excellency the Governor-General a last visit, when it was
generally affirmed that happy consummation had only been arrived at by the thundering
of the one gun of Newcastle, and the consequent dread of mothers, sisters, and children of
some fearful accident to the gallant gentlemen of the Volunteer Artillery force.
We quitted Newcastle towards the evening, amidst the cheers of the crews of the various
vessels lying there, and the enthusiastic outbursts of the citizens, who would have,
doubtless, rested well that night by reason of their having been roused for one day at least
from their accustomed somnolency.
From this the voyage was one of more than ordinary pleasure. The sea was smooth, the
weather fine, and the passengers agreeable, whilst clear days and bright moonlight nights
gave us a continued view of the bold heads or low sandy shores along which we coasted.
I am not a nautical man, and cannot therefore pretend to give any description of the
ever-varying panorama of bluffs, sandy beaches, low hills, and scrubby flats, presented
to our view. Sufficient then for me to say that on Tuesday we made Moreton Island, passing
close under the high wave-worn Cape, on the summit of which is erected the lighthouse
marking the entrance to Moreton Bay. On the following day, Facing and Curtis Islands
were reached. At the southernmost end of the former island lies the entrance to Fort
Curtis. Coasting along the eastern length of these two islands, a distance of some forty
miles, we came to our port of destination, Keppel Bay, and, running some distance up,
cast anchor under Green Mount, a projecting point of Curtis Island. As the bay is entered
a very interesting scene is spread before the eye. Islands, some of them of considerable
extent, and crowned with lofty hills-isolated rocks and long jagged reefs lie scattered here
and there, sheltering the bay to the northward and eastward, whilst the north-western part
of the bay is formed by the giant ranges of the mainland which sweep round in a graceful
curve towards the north east. On looking round from the spot where we anchored, the line
of islands which encircled the entrance of the bay was distinctly visible, some looming up
grey and indistinct in the distance, others, from the dark rocks of which they were
composed, seeming to frown down black and threateningly at the unwonted intrusion
upon their hitherto peaceful domain. To the southward, again, low muddy flats,
overgrown with mangrove, interspersed with swamps, and having innumerable creeks
twining in every direction through their midst, extended for a distance of some twenty or
five and twenty miles to the base of heavy ranges, which in this direction formed the
back-ground of the picture.
Up to the time of our casting anchor, everything had gone favourably; but from this point
our difficulties commenced. In 'the first place, I should have said that immediately on
opening the bay, the peculiar colour of the water was a very general subject of remark, so
yellow, thick, and muddy was it The reason for this soon became apparent, the whole bay,
with the exception of a good channel of nine fathoms running through it, having very
little water over a muddy bottom. This being stirred up by the wash of the sea whenever
the wind sets in to the bay,-gives this muddy appearance to the water. On Wednesday
evening, a boat, in charge of the chief mate and manned by six volunteers, was
despatched from the vessel in order to discover the mouth of the river, and to proceed to
Rockhampton for a pilot. On Thursday, at daylight, Captain Knight set out, taking
soundings up to the entrance of the river. He returned before noon, having traced the
channel some distance into the river, and shortly after midday, we again got steam up,
and leaving the bay entered the river, which formed a fine wide stream somewhat about
the width of the Parramatta River at Kissing Point. It maintained this width for a distance
of some 17 or l8 miles that we steamed up it, carrying generally 4 and 5 fathoms of water
with occasional shoals of 2 and 2½ fathoms. At the end of that distance we again brought
up a little before sundown, near a little round island, close to which we were all but
aground. A boat was once more sent out to take soundings ahead, and returned in about
three hours, bringing a favourable report of the depth of water for the next three or four
miles; and on the following morning at daylight we once more started. In the meantime,
however, we had received no intelligence of the boat which we had sent off on
Wednesday evening, and some uneasiness respecting it began to be manifested.
We had not gone far, however, before the stream narrowed so sensibly as to cause
suspicion that we were not in the right track, and we once more brought up, and again a
boat was sent out to explore. The result of this last expedition was that the vessel's head
was turned round, and we reached the mouth of the inlet, just in time to see the Samson
tug boat that had accompanied the City of Sydney from Newcastle, entering another
channel, the true Fitzroy River, we having gone by mistake into Blind Creek, a stream
which, to use the language of an individual who pretended to know all about it, ended
nowhere. We now cast anchor for the night off the mouth of the Fitzroy, and on the
following morning at daylight were boarded by the mate, who brought with him
the long-looked for pilot. Steam was up by this time, and we made another start, with the
certainty this time that we were going in the right direction. The Fitzroy winds after some
four or five miles of mangrove swamp, round the "base of Mount Broad, and at the foot
of the range that joins on to it. The country on the right bank, or that nearest to Mount
Broad, consists of a fine open forest of gently undulating and richly grassed land, up to
the base of the range, which rises up rather steeply from the underlying country. On the
left, or southern bank, low, lightly timbered land interspersed with swamps and lagoons
give variety to the scene. The river is certainly a noble stream, though the same
muddiness of water that characterises the Bay takes off from its picturesque appearance,
though the eye is more caught by the banks, radiant with many coloured flowers and
verdant with abundant grass than by the yellow waters that roll silently below its gaze.
We turned and twisted amongst some sand and mud banks, scraped over others, and
avoided others, until at last we finally reached our destination, the much talked-of
Rockhampton.
Rockhampton is situated on the southern bank of the Fitzroy River, about 30 miles from
its entrance into Keppel Bay, and consists of a public-house, a store, and four huts; one of
the last is untenanted, its owner being away at, the diggings, and the other three being
occupied respectively by a butcher, a shoemaker, and a bullock driver. Such was
Rockhampton only a week prior to our arrival, whereas, the morning after our landing,
some fifty tents were to be seen grouped in every direction round the few original
erections of the place. The advent of so many vessels, in so brief a time, carrying so many
passengers, has taken the unsophisticated inhabitants of the place completely by surprise,
and they ask with wonder what are the accounts that have been received in Sydney to
justify so extensive a migration. Now and then a stray digger has come down here from
the mines, bringing, of course, not very flattering accounts of the diggings, though not
one has said absolutely that gold has not been obtained; whilst others again declared that
the gold is there, requiring only water to, be made available. I have conversed with
several of these men, and the particulars which follow are the result of the information
obtained from them. The diggings are situated on a wide flat of about 70 or 80 acres,
formed by a bend of the Canoona Creek. Of this about 60 acres have been dug over, the
actual work having hitherto been confined to surfacing. Deep sinking has not yet been
tried, in consequence of the water coming into the holes at a depth of 12 feet, and there
are no pumps on the ground to clear them, and I presume that the diggers now on the spot
have not the experience that would suggest, or the handiness that would construct a
California pump. Stores are beginning to get short on the diggings, owing to the great
difficulty of procuring carriage for the goods arrived and arriving daily, at Rockhampton.
The number of diggers on the ground is between 300 to 400 and it is said that there are
now between 1000 and 1200 ounces in their hands awaiting purchase. I give this
statement on the authority of four different persons. The storekeepers at present on the
ground either cannot or will not buy gold, though they will take it in payment for the
purchase of goods. I have it on the very best authority that the amount of gold actually
sent down from these gold-fields, and either arrived in or en route for Sydney is very
close upon 400 ounces, including that sent by the Jenny Lind, the Eagle, the Uncle Tom,
and 97 ounces carried overland to Brisbane by Mr. Ramsay. This has been the produce of
some 200 or 300 persons, all inexperienced in digging, who have congregated on the
ground, from Port Curtis, Wide Bay, and the interior of the country. The prevailing rock
is serpentine, intermixed with schist. There are some few quartz reefs, but their auriferous
qualities have not been tested. I am also told that there is a peculiar white limestone very
plentiful in the neighbourhood. A report has just come in this (Sunday) evening, that the
ground hitherto worked upon is now used up, and that the, diggers are searching for a
new spot upon which to set in.
The whole of the above information, I would again impress upon you, has been obtained
from persons who may be credible enough, but for whose veracity, not being acquainted
with them, I am not prepared to vouch, except in the cases where specially remarked. t
Since, the above was written, I have conversed with a very decent German digger, just
come down with his mates, a party of four, from Canoona. He has been only five days on
the diggings, and has washed three loads of stuff, besides what they carried themselves in
bags down to the water, about three loads more. The Washing of this gave them 24 dwts.,
or 6 dwts., per man. For the stuff that was carted they paid 6s. a load cartage, and one
load only turned out two pennyweights. The party are on their way to Sydney, and say
that these diggings are no good. They are not new hands at the work, but have been for
some time on the Turon, where they were pretty lucky.
Cartage from Rockhampton to Canoona, a distance of forty miles, is up to £25 per ton, in
consequence of the great demand for drays to convey goods. There is, no carriage by
water, as the landing-place, beyond which boats cannot go, is twelve miles from the
diggings. There are only two carts at Canoona for carting the washing stuff, but there are
some dozen horses that are used for carrying it in bags slung across a saddle.
-- I am just about to start for the diggings.