Sydney Morning Herald 17 March 1859

A VISIT TO THE WESTERN GOLDFIELDS.

BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER

No. 19.

Extreme beauty of situation, and fertility of soil, seem insufficient to tempt the mining population on the Upper Meroo to engage in any species of agriculture. They possess few gardens and vegetables, and all farm produce consequently realised extravagant prices, always 50 per cent, in advance of the Sydney market. A few goats and fowls constitute the whole of their stock, and beyond the acquisition of those they have made no effort to render themselves independent of supplies brought from a distance. Hutton's Gully, on the north bank, opposite Murray's public-house, has its source amongst the ranges, and, after a circuitous course of three or four miles through the mountains, discharges its waters into the flat, a nugget, weighing 24 ounces, has been recently found near its head, and every portion of its channel contains payable gold, to the point where it spreads over the plain. This stream has been a favourite resort for diggers, to whom fortune has been impropitious elsewhere, but the Chinese have laid it under the heaviest contribution. This water-course is chiefly remarkable for the number and extent of the quartz reefs to be observed in the mountains on either side, at its source, and crossing the various ravines that empty themselves into it. They abound in auriferous indications, but have been seldom visited, and never prospected. Some person in search of a stray goat amongst these ranges, will one day light upon a nugget after a thunder shower, and then there will be a rush. The discovery of payable creeks here generally result from accident. The mountains are of great elevation, and are chiefly composed of the courser clay-slates, with occasional belts of trachytic rocks, and micaceous schists, more or less transmuted, through which the stream has worn a deep channel. The upheaval appears to have taken place at various periods, and to have occurred with great irregularity, as the dip of the strata varies; in some instances it is vertical, in others it does not exceed 20 or 25 degrees. Returning to the Meroo, we now find the banks much cut away on either side, and that the auriferous detritus has been followed into the deep flats as far as practicable, driving being both difficult and dangerous. A little further, and you arrive at the mouth of Married Man's Creek. This watercourse falls from the southern ranges, receives the drainage of the central portion of the valley, conducted by various shallow ravines, and, crossing the widest part of the plain, pursues a winding course between low ridges, until it forms a junction with the main stream. This creek, with its various tributaries, and every depression lending into it, has been exceedingly rich: verdant banks slope to the margin of the water on each side, and these present a continuous line of rich surfacing through their entire length. The eastern bank is said to be private property, and a large sum is reported to have been offered by the Chinese for permission to work it, and refused. Between forty and fifty men still find remunerative employment, reworking old claims; and one puddling mill is in operation, and another in progress towards completion. This creek and its locality is looked upon by the diggers as a dernier ressort, as there they can make a subsistence when all else fails them. Proceeding onward, the swelling ridges maintain the same auriferous character, and clusters of diggers' tents line the banks of the main stream, which here makes large detours through the flats, which have become more extensive, and in which many ancient channels may be traced. Where bars occur they have been broken up, but in other parts the depth of the debris brought down from the ranges prohibits mining operations. You now reach the mouth of Mudgee Gully, similar to Hutton's Gully in its general character, but as yet unworked; and opposite to it Quiet Corner, a secluded spot, where much work has been done and a considerable quantity of gold procured. Here a few men still find occupation. The precious metal is now found in leads seldom exceeding 18 inches in width, and these leads are irregular, and defy all rules and calculations as to their position. As you proceed you pass several parties of Chinese scooping out the banks, all apparently satisfied with their earnings. Still following the margin of the river, and passing over deep alluvial flats, you reach the point of a long, low ridge: here you find a party of Victorians employed sinking in search of obliterated watercourses. They are mainly guided by the character of the timber and a varied success has hitherto crowned their labours. Their average earnings for the last four months has been about £1 a week each. They entertain a high opinion of the auriferous character of the vicinity, and say that they have proved that the flats cover heavy deposits, but that it would take 500 men to work them, and that if a similar district existed on the other side it would have been turned upside-down long since. The truth is, that auriferous lands of this character can only be successfully worked by extensive combinations carrying out some settled plan of operation. I may add that these men were forwarded to the Meroo by the committee in November last, and do not appear to regret their journey. Above this point, for a mile, the banks of the river become the property of a Mr. Spicer, and have been under a species of rude cultivation. This property consists of 960 acres of the choicest auriferous lands, and since the abolition of the 30s. license has not been worked. Here the diggings upon the Meroo at present terminate. The Victorians were the highest party of Europeans. Crossing the private land you arrive at the margin of a dismal swamp, and, beyond this, a lofty precipitous range, running north and south, shuts in the valley. At the western base of this range Red Bank Creek, coming from the south, pursues a course of nine miles, when, passing through the swamp, it falls into the Meroo. Turning your back upon that stream, and following the margin of the creek for three miles, you pass over magnificent undulating plains, increasing in fertility as you advance. Limestone debris becomes abundant, and trappean outcrops break through the bright green sward. A few diggers' cottages now heave in sight, and you find that the channel of the creek is silted up to a considerable depth, and becomes a narrow low flat, through which every flood forms a new course. Here a vast number of shafts were attempted to be sunk, a few were bottomed, and the rock reached with incredible labour, the water rising everywhere to within five feet of the surface. Tunnelling was impossible. In every instance gold was obtained -- in some cases an ounce to the bucket -- but, notwithstanding that vast deposits of the precious metals arc known to exist, the place is generally abandoned. A few men still hover round, and now and then make a fortunate strike; the highest party on the creek are reported to have been making £20 a week to the hand recently. Their reply to my enquiries was that

"if they could manage the under-current and springs they had no fear about the gold."

The same answer would have applied with equal force to any portion of the Upper Meroo. Leaving the creek, you now pass over a beautiful swelling plainland, crossing a low ridge, arrive at the base of the main range, and commence an ascent both steep and toilsome. Having made your way over masses of trachytic and other trappean rocks, you next encounter tremendous masses of clay slate, intersected by veins and aglomorations of quartz, on the summit of which your further progress is impeded by a stupendous wall of mountain limestone, resting upon a coarse conglomerate of rolled quartz granite, and schistose pebbles, which itself, reposes upon the points of schistose rocks in vertical strata. The lime formation consists of a vast moss of calcareous deposit in horizontal strata, varying in colour from pure white to buff or orange, and rising in successive layers to a height ranging from 150 to 200 feet, each layer of fine alluvial deposit, separated by a band of pebble concrete, from 6 to 12 inches in thickness. These pebbles are, for the most part, quartz or siliceous or jasperiscd schists, and are similar in all respects to those usually found on a sea-shore. The whole is crowned with the wreck of a lofty superstrata of sandstone, impregnated with calcareous matter, and presenting the same appearances in its stratification as the inferior limestone. The face of these rocks is perforated with caves and caverns, containing stalactites and stalagmites in every possible shape, and many penetrate far into the mountains. This calcareous wall follows the trending of the range to the eastward, and in its course presents some of the wildest and grandest rock and mountain scenery in the world. These rocks, by the action of both wind and weather, have assumed fantastic shapes, representing spires, churches, towers, castles, and a thousand tilings, only limited by the powers of imagination. By the ceaseless disintegration of these rocks they have fertilised the adjacent valleys, and as they gradually retire be- fore the elemental warfare, and finally disappear, the gold bearing formations will become exposed, lower ranges, and new valleys, and new alluvial deposits will be formed. Many points of this formation jut out upon lofty spurs trending towards the Macquarie, and as they gradually melt away they may be traced to the last fragment found resting upon a clay-slate pinnacle. Turning to the westward I saw that all the ranges and table lands were lower than the range on which I stood, by the height of the limestone stratification, and I recollected that I had observed traces of the same formation on many of the highest summits that I had passed over. Ascending through, a narrow breach in the wall of rocks, you are now astonished to find yourself standing on a plain. A black sandy loam here produces the richest grasses, and a most luxuriant and varied vegetation. This plain is from half-a-mile to two miles in width, and is of an unknown length on whatever side you advance to the margin you find a precipice, and the gaps are few in number, difficult to approach from below, and more difficult to discover. From the vale you have no indication of the existence of this rich plain; there is nothing before you but the sharp outline of stupendous precipices. It should be named Macgregor's Paddock; at present it is known but to few. Descending from this plateau, you find many gorges and mountain streams falling into the valley; in one of which a narrow lead of gold has been followed up to the base of the limestone and worked out -- the others are in their primitive state. I have been thus particular in endeavouring to describe this splendid locality, in order to convey some idea of a belt of country of which it forms but a small portion, abounding in mineral and agricultural resources; and I have only to add that the sooner it is peopled by an honest and industrious yeomanry the more it will be to the interest of the proprietors of stock. Returning to the river, you now follow it up over flats and across low spurs for two miles, when it passes through the range. The auriferous indications continue up to this point, but the alluvial flats increase in depth, and the few old shafts which are occasionally to be met with prove that the diggers have never been able to reach the bed rock. Here the stream turns to the south-east; at this point, a party succeeded in reaching the bottom, and obtained 7 ozs. of gold in two square feet of wash dirt, when they were driven out of the shaft by water, and made no further attempt, The track now crosses the stream and passes a small farm, consisting of two paddocks, a hut, a family, and no cultivation, and soon ascends a gap in the main range, known as the Queen's Pinch. Descending, you find that the geo- logical formation of the country has undergone an entire change; you are surrounded by vast masses of rock of igneous origin, and the schistose or sedimentary rock has disappeared. At the base of the descent is a large creek, which has no auriferous indications, and which falls into the Cudgegong; and on the eastern side of this creek are steep ridges, consisting of a conglomerate, composed of large fragments of primitive limestone and a coarse red sand-stone. You have now passed the auriferous formations. Crossing these ridges an easterly course of about three miles brings you to limestone hills and undulating flats of unrivalled fertility, comprising several thousand acres, and beyond these you arrive at the property of W. Howman, Esq., on the waters of the Cudgegong. Retracing your route over the mountains, you descend again upon the Meroo where you left it, and, following the stream still towards its source, you find yourself in the centre of a district which was at one period the theatre of a tremendous convulsion. You pass a mountain capped with enormous masses of trap resting on the old schistose formation, the perpendicular strata of which has been rent into immense blocks, some of which lay at its base, others retain their up- right position, and seem ever in the act of tumbling over and threatening to crush all beneath them in their downward course; while more of these stupendous masses of stone retain their original place, and, crossing the mountain in a right line, recall the recollection of Stonehenge, but on a scale besides which the latter would dwindle into insignificance. Onward still, and you pass through richly grassed narrow flats, overhung by tremendous beetling precipices on the east bank; while the left slopes away to the summit of the parallel range that separates you from Redbank. Now the mountains approach each other, and you pass with difficulty through a dark chasm, towering rocks on either hand, and now the western bank opens out into lovely sloping flats of surpassing beauty, clothed with a bright green, and shaded by a majestic forest; but the eastern bank still retains its frightful precipices. Meanwhile two or three small streams send their tribute to the river, which still continues to be auriferous -- here filling long water holes to the brim, then disappearing under an accumulation of shingle, and again rippling along over sharp rocks in its journey towards the west, -- it is gradually becoming smaller. Onward yet, and it is still smaller; and now naked masses of clay-slate towering hundreds of feet upwards, are crowned with white limestone walls, illumined by the rays of a setting sun, piles of the coarse blackened conglomerate on which it rests have fallen to the base and obstruct your path. The stream now turns northward, you are rising to the top of the main range, and you begin to distinguish a large triangular flat; presently you reach it. This flat terminates in a valley, a sort of cul de sac; and, following the now diminished stream into that valley, it conducts you to a little spring at the foot of a gigantic gum, and then you are at the fountain of the Meroo.