A VISIT TO THE WESTERN GOLDFIELDS.
BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER
No. 39.
THAT the Mullion Range does not now attract more attention must be attributed to the
erratic propensities of the mining population, rather than to the exhaustion of its golden
treasures, as up to the present date gold seeking has been confined to the few localities
discovered by the first adventurers. For a distance of sixty or seventy miles this chain of
mountains, with their various spurs and ramifications stretching from the crest of the
Canobolas to the junction of the Bell with the Macquarie, are intersected by veins of
auriferous quartz, while the area of the united auriferous patches yet prospected does not
exceed five square miles. To follow this range through its whole extent and indicate
every spot where a digger could direct his researches with any prospect of success is
foreign to my purpose, and would leave nothing to the enterprise of those who will at a
future day traverse these hills and valleys by hundreds in search of a wealth of which but
an insignificant portion has been yet obtained. We will, therefore, skim over the country
lying between Stoney Creek and the Ophir, merely calling attention to such places as are
worthy of especial notice on the route.
From the Ironbarks the road crossing Stoney Creek pursues a direction nearly south,
rolling over an undulating plateau, from which the lofty Vengoon Range rises to the
eastward, while to the westward a lower series of isolated hills send their richly-wooded
slopes down to the margin of the Bell River. The schists still show themselves breaking,
in long lines, through the green sward; and here and there the granitic and porphyritic
formations, exposed by denudation, are exhibited on the descents of the lower ridges.
Quartz becomes less frequent, and sterile undulations of the surface, covered with patches
of sickly-looking scrub, are succeeded by richly-grassed tracts of open forest, and plains
fertilized by the debris of the trap and limestones rocks of the mountains. The wreck of
fields of titaniferous ironstone may also be observed, forming small circular knolls of
singular beauty; and the soil contains a large proportion of ferruginous matter, derived
from this formation, and imparting to it a dark red brown colour. With the exception of a
solitary neglected-looking public-house, there are no buildings along this road, and the
absence of permanent water renders the district generally unsuited for other than pastoral
occupation. Crossing the dry bed of the Bobundra Creek, about twelve miles from the
Ironbarks, you reach the base of a low spur from the Vengoon, where the auriferous
indications re-appear, and fragments of quartz, derived from numerous neighbouring
reefs, again bestrew the surface. The road, passing through a gap, now descends upon
Cooper's Flat, rather an extensive plain, in which quartz is intermixed with a rich black
soil. You now pass the heads of the Nubrigyn Creek, falling towards the Bell; and some
two miles to the westward, eight or nine small forms border the stream, being chiefly in
the possession of tenant farmers, who raise luxuriant crops, and have the gold-fields on
one hand, and the flourishing town of Orange on the other, distant about thirty miles, for
a market. All the lands on both sides of the Nubrigyn, and those on the eastern bank of
the Bell, have at an early date passed into the possession of private proprietors, either by
deed of grant, or purchase, at five shillings per acre. These lands are so situated as to
monopolise all the permanent water, and thus secure the undisturbed control of a vast
extent of richly-grassed back country, stretching from the Currangurac ranges to the
mouth of the Cudgegong, and are uninhabited and unimproved, with the exception of two
sheep stations belonging to the only resident proprietors. This district may therefore be
said to be permanently closed against a rural population. On the western bank of the Bell
much of the land is suitable for agricultural purposes, and the water privileges are still at
the disposal of the Government.
Leaving the road at Cooper's Flat, and following a track to the eastward, you soon find
yourself again on auriferous ground; and winding along the base of steep hills you reach
the head of Shepherd's Creek, which presents all the usual indications of an auriferous
stream, but which exhibits no traces of the digger. Crossing this watercourse, and still
continuing an easterly route, and passing over several quartz reefs and low schistose
ridges, you arrive on the margin of Currangurac Creek, in which is a never failing stream
of water, and in which all the indications announce the presence of gold, with numerous
points and shingly bars favourable for its deposits. For some reason unexplained this
important stream, although known to be rich, has hitherto escaped the researches of the
digger; prospecting parties have frequently proved it payable, but have never fairly set to
work. I was informed that on one occasion as much as sixty ounces of gold was obtained
from a single hole by three men in ten days, and that others have worked for a few days
with proportionate success; and still no regular party have ever settled down upon the
stream; it is to this day a virgin gold- field. In the upper portion the sinking is deep, and
the water might prove troublesome, but the difficulties are not greater than have been
often overcome in places of far less promise. Following the windings of the creek, you
find high ranges alternating with alluvial flats on either bank; and these flats, like the
tortuous course of a stream, twist and twine amongst the hills, offering many small spots
suitable for cultivation, where they open out into plains of any size. They have been taken
up either by deed of grant, or by purchase; but there are still many snug, well-watered
glens, unappropriated. Four miles down the creek; you pass the pretty cottage of Mr. R.
Tredgett; and about three miles further, four families, with an unlimited number of
savage dogs, have made their homes amongst the mountains. Masses of syenite now
show themselves on the sides of the ranges, and the rich black soil of the valleys betray
the vicinity of trappean formations. Fragments of limestone conglomerates may also be
seen in the beds of the watercourses. Large quartz reefs are also of frequent occurrence,
bearing traces of copper, and ironstone is abundant. Every now and then you may observe
some short gulley, or ravine, crossed by an immense quartz vein, that ought to produce
gold, and that ought to have been prospected. But here the digger seems to have passed
blindfolded.
Following the Currangurac in its wanderings, you find that after receiving the waters of
several tributaries, about three miles more to the eastward the country falls rapidly,
becoming rugged and broken; and the stream, winding through deep chasms, and
tumbling over rocks and precipices, enters broad flats, through which it makes its way to
the Macquarie.
The track now, leaving the main stream, conducts you to the southward, through one of
those high valleys so often to be found on mountain regions. On the right a continuous
range, of great elevation, clothed with heavy timber, amongst which the pine is
conspicuous, stretches towards Summerhill, while the dry bed of a mountain torrent
meanders at its base through the valley. A few miles now brings you to the head of the
pass, when as you toil up a long ascent you find the schists disappear, and rounded
masses of iron-stone take their place. On reaching the summit a wide spreading plateau
lays before you. Here a dark brown ferruginous soil nourishes a luxuriant vegetation and
swelling knolls, crowned with clumps of forest, afford a pleasing contrast to the rugged
hills and rocks of the valley. This table land is composed entirely of ironstone to the
depth of from 60 to 100 feet. The road now leads you for three miles across the plain,
when you arrive at a deserted station, when the country again declines to the eastward. As
you proceed you find that the ironstone has been removed by decomposition from wide
slopes, and here the surface is white, with fragments of quartz, and quartz pebbles
derived from the conglomerate formerly described. The schist again begin to show
themselves in the beds of dry water-courses; a rugged scrub succeeds the heavy forest of
the plateau, and you reach a rude homestead, when a mass of broken ranges become
visible in front. The ironstone is now broken into patches, and may be observed forming
the flat crest of all the highest hills; while on those that attain an elevation some 200 feet
below the level of the plateau the quartzites again cover the slopes with their fragments;
and at an elevation immediately below the Ironstone patches of the quartose
conglomerate, all the pebbles of which are either round or egg-shaped, and in some
instances polished, may be observed. These pebbles vary in size from that of a boy's
marble, to the dimensions of a large pumpkin, and present unmistakeable evidence of
violent aqueous trituration or rolling.
That the conglomerate referred to should be composed entirely of pure quartz pebbles,
and unmixed with those of any other formation, is a most remarkable feature, the cement
consists of quartose sand, a large proportion of oxide of iron, and carbonate of lime; and
in the districts where this formation exists that have come under my observation, I have
always found it of nearly an equal thickness, covering large areas, and resting upon the
disturbed schists, farming a base for the vast fields of ironstone, of which but a wreck are
now in existence. The unmixed condition of these pebbles militates against the theory of
their having been shaped by marine action, and that they have been formed from
fragments of rocks, or veins, is also evident. And further, that they have been deposited in
their present position at a period subsequent to the general disturbance of the schists, and
anterior to the formation of the ironstone is certain; and it is also certain that they are
discovered running parallel to vast masses of primitive limestone. This suggests the idea
that these pebbles may have been derived from the quartz veins intersecting the
limestone; that they have been rolled and dispersed in caverns by the subterranean
streams always existing in that formation, and that the limestone has been subsequently
dissolved and removed by aqueous action, leaving, as a residuum, the superstrata of
argillaceous and calcareous matter, combined with the peroxide of iron, forming the iron-stone
referred to, with a substrata of rolled quartz pebbles resting upon the schists. I am
strengthened in this opinion by the fact that large quantities of pure carbonate of lime has
been found in connection with these conglomerates at the Little Ironbark Diggings; it
may therefore be presumed that the whole of the district to the N.E. of the Conobolas, at
least as far as Burrendong, at a given elevation, has been covered by a stratum of
limestone of some former period, and that its ancient position can be traced by the fields
of ironstone, of varied quality, which now exhibit themselves throughout the district.
The streams falling from the Canobolas and the more elevated part of the range, have
been the chief agents in the removal of the limestone, and in forming the numerous
valleys by denudation on either side.
You now commence a rapid winding descent, in some places almost precipitous, and are
soon deep in the auriferous formations, huge masses of quartz occur in every direction,
the stream is now in sight far below, when passing a dilapidated edifice on a projection
overhanging the water. A few hundred yards, still descending, leads you to the margin of
the Summerhill Creek, and you find yourself surrounded by two or three ruinous looking
hovels standing within a few feet of the spot where the Thoms, under the direction of
Hargreaves, first obtained Australian gold in payable quantities. And this miserable,
damp, gloomy spot is the world renowned Ophir! Here the last-surviving public house,
clinging with desperation to the sloping banks, struggles for an existence -- every rent
and torn sheet of bark proclaims the fallen fortunes of the gold-field; and higher up the
remains of what was once a neat little church, crown on eminence, a part of the slabs,
with the flooring, doors, and windows, have been torn up and carried off by some
unprincipled persons; and there it stands, a lasting stigma upon the population of the
district. It was to this part of the creek that the eager multitude first directed their steps,
and here they commenced their explorations when the astounding intelligence of the
discovery of gold in these waters first flew with electric speed through the country. Of all
that busy and excited crowd of adventurers, the solitary inmates of the
public-house are the last remnant. The rugged hills have been abandoned to their ancient
solitude, the dark pools under the shadows of the rocks retain no traces of the anxious
labours of the gold seeker, and the rippling stream pursues its wonted course, winding
along its rocky bed. As it was here that the digger first tried his apprentice hand, he
confined his researches entirely to the bed of the creek, from which successive floods
have swept all the evidences of his toil. It is said that much of the channel has been but
very imperfectly worked, but it would now be impossible to distinguish these spot from
exhausted claims without a great expenditure of labour. Few of the water holes have been
yet examined, and these will probably soon attract attention. The junction of Lewis's
Ponds Creek is about a quarter of a mile higher up, and on looking round you find
yourself encompassed with mountains, whose steep declivities fall precipitously into the
creek, flinging their long shadows over its troubled waters. Nothing indicates the
neighbourhood of the lovely district on the plateau, and there are no marginal flats. The
gold set at liberty by the breaking up of the enormous reefs which intersect the hills in
every direction, with that also derived from the conglomerates, is carried directly into the
creek, or in some rare instances may be found accumulated in the pockets of the rocks
that cross the little channels of the mountain streams.
At the foot of one of these iron-crested hills left of the public-house on a little bench
about 100 feet above the creek, where the rock shelves in towards the mountain, a man
named White about two years since, obtained about 47 lbs. weight of gold in a few days
-- this success created a sensation at the time and is now quoted as an evidence of the
unexhausted wealth of the neighbourhood. It is somewhat singular that I subsequently
met the same man camped on a roadside, after having rambled through all the Southern
Gold-fields without having improved his fortune; in truth, his description of the Southern
districts was gloomy enough, and he, was now returning to where he said he knew gold
could be had for the seeking; he appeared to have a theory of his own which I suspect,
did not include perservering industry. Ascending White's Peak you will observe an
immense quartz lode passing under its iron crest, which has been the source of the gold
obtained on the bench below. The pure quartz conglomerate is here well exhibited,
intervening between the ironstone and the schists; in fact examples of all the geological
features of the locality may be seen in this single hill, which is simply a fraction of the
plateau cut off and shaped by the action of the drain- age. The destruction of the
auriferous rocks in the vicinity has, been enormous, and the debris, borne by the resistless
floods that sweep from time to time through the chasm-like watercourse, has found a
resting place on the lower, levels near the Macquarie. Many deep shafts have been sunk
round the crest of White's Hill, penetrating the ironstone and conglomorates to the schists,
but the gold obtained was sufficient to render the operation profitable. Following the
crown of this range, which here overhangs the creek, and passing many spots where the
ironstone formations still exist, about two miles brings you to Murray's gulley, where the
drainage from the table lands has, by the disintegration of the schists, formed a
hollow of considerable area, through which a small stream passes to the creek. In this
hollow about thirty diggers are encamped, and at its lower extremity stands a circular
fragment of the table land coped with ironstone to the depth of sixty feet, the summit is a
perfect level of about two acres in extent, and is nearly devoid of vegetation. Twelve
months since a small nugget was found on this hill, and it was immediately rushed, and
several shafts sunk to a depth of from sixty to eighty feet, when on perforating the
ironstone, the conglomerate was found to be resting upon pipeclay, two or three feet in
thickness, On the surface of this pipeclay, or on soft arenaceous schists, gold was found,
but the quantity generally fell short of the expenses, a few claims proved remunerative,
and are still being profitably worked, some of the tunnels extending nearly through the
hill. The little stream winding round its base was very productive, but soon became
exhausted, The Summerhill Creek, sweeping round the eastern base of this hill, makes a
large detour, and perpendicular walls of rugged and disjointed rocks seven hundreds of
feet in height, cut off all access to the stream. On the opposite side of Murray's Gully the
same formation is continued at a similar elevation, and gold has been found beneath the
ironstone, generally diffused in quantities sufficient to remunerate the miner at the
present rate of colonial wages to labourers, that is, to pay him from 30s. to £2 per week.
Isolated patches of greater value will be occasionally met with, but at the rate specified
the stratum beneath the immense fields of ironstone in this district would furnish
employment to a large number of men for a long series of years. A mile lower down the
creek a party are engaged draining a waterhole, and beyond this it has been deserted,
notwithstanding that the descents from the ranges and the table land on either bank hold
out many inducements to the goldseeker.
Away to the N.E. a massive chain of mountains, stretching from the granitic formations
in the Bathurst district, interpose a huge barrier between the Ophir country and the
Macquarie; and the eastern fall from this range is said to give birth to many auriferous
streams, as yet unknown to the digger, amongst these is Possum Creek, which has its
source in an outburst of granite, and descending to the schists of the forehills has
produced several nuggets of from two to three pounds weight; it has been but little
worked, as the broken country and the difficulty experienced by the diggers in obtaining
supplies has caused it to be neglected.
Six miles above Ophir, at Summerhill crossing-place, a few diggers still contrive to
obtain gold enough to pay their way, and here and there a solitary digger may be
observed amongst the rocks silently pursuing his dreary vocation.
The Ophir district was the first discovered, the first abandoned, and is the least worked of
all our gold fields, although perhaps the most extensive; amongst the fastnesses of the
Mullions innumerable deposits of alluvial gold are still undisturbed, and many auriferous
reefs of immense value will hereafter be traced from the highest elevations to the points
where they are concealed by the wreck of the ancient limestones, when Ophir will indeed
be worthy of its name.