A VISIT TO THE WESTERN GOLDFIELDS.
BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER
No. 21.
AGAIN we leave Richardson's Point, and, taking once more to the mountains, the valleys,
and the streams, pursue our way along the plain that stretches to the southward. On the
right, a continuous range skirts the flats, and ultimately connects itself with the Bogie
Mountain on the verge of the plateau; on the left, Long Creek, after receiving several
important tributaries, mingles its waters with those of the Meroo; and further still, two
ranges descending from the main chain of the Cordilleras, after a westerly course of
twenty-five miles, with a gentle declination, sink into the flats. These ranges, from the
points where the quartziferous schists emerge from under the carboniferous formations,
and assume a lower level, are all more or less auriferous; and as they decrease in altitude
they increase in the production, of alluvial gold. They are separated by deep parallel
valleys -- one forming the basin of Campbell's Creek, another that of Long Creek; while
a third stream, rising at the base of the Bogie Mountain, and falling from the tableland,
after a northerly course of eight or nine mile, empties itself into Long Creek. This latter
creek is most inelegantly named the Devil's Hole. As there is nothing remarkable in the
scenery, -- a stranger would be at a loss to know how it had acquired such an
appellation; the only solution to the enigma I could arrive at was the large number of
decayed public-houses that cluster round what was the main camp, and which are now
the only memorials of a once numerous population. These streams, descending from the
lofty ranges that separate the eastern from the western waters, receive the drainage of a
large extent of country, and, gathering force as they roll onward, have denuded first, and
then destroyed one series of rocks after another until they have reached the gold-bearing
formations, which in their turn are subjected to a ceaseless disintegration and
re-distribution thus forming extensive valleys, whose alluvial plains conceal treasures
concentrated by a thousand floods.
Having now formed some idea of the relative position of the main tributaries of the
Meroo, we will return to the junction of Long Creek with that stream. This point has been,
in times past, exceedingly productive, and, with the banks and plains on either side, has
given employment to hundreds of diggers, most of whom have now abandoned the
district. At present, a few men who know the ground are encaped at intervals along the
stream, and re-work the old claims with indifferent success: a considerable number of
Chinese also find their account in rewashing the detritus in the bed of the creek, which
appears to be inexhaustible, every flood bringing down a fresh supply of the precious
metal. Nearer the base of the hills on each side many ravines are yet to be prospected;
two or three small leads have recently been discovered, and followed across the flat on
the west side for a short distance, but no effort has been made to trace them to the
mountains, or the reefs from which they originate; the diggers say that "it looks too
much like prospecting."
Many patches of surfacing are also to be found scattered
over the flats and on the distant slopes, but those unworked are said to be too far from
water, and not rich enough for carting at the present rate of labour. Pursuing the margin
of the stream for a mile, and passing many small points, you arrive at the junction of
Campbell's Creek; this spot was amongst the richest in the Meroo district, and two or
three fine quartz reefs are in its immediate vicinity. Although it has been worked without
intermission for seven years, it is still a favourite spot, and a single square yard of
un-wrought ground is sought for with avidity. Chinese and Europeans work here
indiscriminately, and many make good wages, averaging£5 to£6 a-week each. One man,
who had realised £200 by a few months' labour at this spot, was drawn into the vortex
during the Rockhampton furor, was absent some two months, had the good sense to find
his way back, al- though penniless, and has, since his return, cleared £150, over and
above his expenditure, not through any particular piece of good fortune, but by
unremitting hard labour; nevertheless, a stranger here would work to a disadvantage, an
intimate knowledge of the ground being the secret of success.
Leaving Long Creek we turn to the eastward, and commence the ascent of Campbell's
Creek. The plains now become wider, the stream has repeatedly altered its course, and
many of the old channels are but partially effaced. On the left bank, large quartz reefs
descend from the central range on the crown of low spurs, and, crossing the stream, pass
through the opposite flats to the S.S.E. The lower portion of these spurs has yielded some
rich surfacing, and shafts sunk between the base of the rising ground and the streams
have all repaid the labour of the miner. On the right bank a large flat, extending
from the junction about half-a-mile up stream, has been immensely productive, and still
yields an ample subsistence to many families, whose neat homesteads may be seen
scattered over the distant slopes. Two or three puddling machines are in operation here,
and others are in progress, as all the ground will pay well for re-working, and now
passing onward you find that the flat contracts on the south bank, and may observe a
large quartz reef, which, crossing the stream, is concealed by the alluvium in its passage
under the flat, and reappears on the rising ground. This spot, known as the Doctor's
Mistake, has been long believed to contain large quantities of gold, but the depth of the
alluvium and water have hitherto presented obstacles which the diggers have been unable
to remove. Many attempts have been made to reach the bed rock without success, as the
water invariably rose to within a few feet of the surface with great rapidity. An energetic
party has recently commenced extensive operations, with the object of draining this flat,
with a reasonable prospect of success, but no sooner had they set to work than claims
were pegged out all round them by parties ready to take advantage of their labour and
enterprize, but unwilling to contribute towards the undertaking. To this dishonest mode of
proceeding may be attributed much of the indisposition that exists to undertake works of
this character, without which many of the richest portions of our gold-fields must remain
for ever worthless.
Where a party, by means of drainage or any other operation, succeeds in rendering a
piece of ground workable that would be unworkable in a natural state, all those desirous
of taking advantage of their labour should be compelled to pay a proportionate share of
the expenditure before they put a pick in the ground. There are not a few old crawlers on
the gold-fields who are constantly on the look-out for an opportunity of making a few
pounds in this way. They no sooner hear or suspect that a party is about to apply for a
plot of ground for a puddling machine, or intend to commence some other important
work, than they hurry off with their pick and shovel, and are to be seen busily engaged on
the very spot where they will interfere most with the works in contemplation, when they
must be either bought off, or the design must be abandoned. I recollect that when on the
Turon I heard one man boost that he had made £5 out of a party of Chinese, and £3 out of
some other victims, all in one week, by such a discreditable manouvre. With reference to
the party in question, it is possible the claim that they have selected may turn out the
least valuable on the flat, and, as they cannot drain one portion without draining the whole,
those who have done least may obtain most.
On the opposite bank, a similar flat, offering the same inducements to mining enterprize,
is in a primitive state; the creek now sweeps to the southward, when making a large
detour it resumes its north easterly course, enclosing a peninsula, which is under partial
cultivation. Following the windings of the stream for two miles, you find that the miner
has done but little, until you reach a wide plain, through which it pursues its sluggish
course, at the base of the northern hills; here, a few parties are at work on the various
points, and some half a dozen huts are sprinkled over the flat, each with its patch of
culture, a little further and you reach a large Chinese camp, where all is life and bustle,
and the celestials may be observed at their various labours, some sluicing in the bed of
the creek, others cradling, more excavating, while a long string of carriers, each with his
yoke and two buckets, in Indian file, keeps up a line of communication between the
cradlers and the excavators. And now, leaving the Chinese labourer to his toil, we press
forward -- the mountains begin to close in upon us on either hand, we are getting to the
southward of the Dogtrap Range, and crossing the track of those auriferous quartz reefs
which have already enriched the upper Meroo, are approaching what was the richest
portion of Campbell's Creek. Spurs from conical topped lulls, on each bank, descend with
long gentle declinations to the stream, forming points, all of which have been extremely
productive, but most of which are exhausted, and now deserted.
Shafts, holes, and cuttings now become frequent, interspersed with patches of surfacing
on the slopes, and as you advance you find one celebrated spot succeed another in rapid
succession. Miller's Point with the creek, both above and below it, has yielded a large
quantity of gold, but is now deserted, except by the Chinese. A little further and you
arrive at Blue Point on the north bank, at the base of a ridge descending from the Dogtrap
Range. Here some very rich, claims were formerly worked; it is also exhausted Further
still is Smith's Flat, and beyond that Brennan's Flat, both much cut up and nearly
abandoned, and then comes Doyle's Bar, also used up; and Here a small village survives
the fallen fortunes of the gold- field, and two public-houses, three or four stores, with, a
blacksmith and a butcher, still hold their ground. The mountains now recede, and a fine
undulating plain on the south bank extends a few miles to the eastward; successive
conical topped hills and ridges gradually rising on either side until they attain the summit
of the ranges, those to the northward separating the waters of the Meroo, and to the
southward falling again into the basin of Long Creek. Vale and mountain are clothed with
the brightest green, and groups of forest trees scattered over the whole, at intervals, lend a
charm to the prospect, and produce an effect not unlike the park scenery of old England.
Notwithstanding the general appearance of exhaustion and abandonment that pervades all
the diggings on this creek, once so populous, twenty families have settled themselves in
the vicinity of Doyle's Bar, and about fifty diggers contrive to make a subsistence by
fossicking about amongst the old claims. There are also three or four puddling machines
in active operations with average success, and ample space for many more, as most of the
old ground would pay for re-washing. The higher slopes and ranges here on either bank
present many indications of payable gold, and are worth the attention of the digger.