NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 13 April 1881, Page 2

NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA.

» ■.^, *.«■■* No XVIII. Having cotnpleteJ three "or four well* spent days at Stawell, we departed by the 10 a.tni train and reached Ballarat at 3 p.m., after a somewhat monotonous and faliguinc journey, for the day was excessively hot and the landscnpe,so eagerly* scanned o^n the "{, trip. 4M now lost the lshstaqf novelty. After a short halt at Ballarat, we were once more on the move for Sandhurst. The line strikes'alajost due north from the Western station, and yjßUna parallel with the old road to Oreswieks. until reaching the racecourse, wf-heje it 'inclined- to the/right, crossing Sulky Gully diggings on to GVeswicks proper. Creswicks was rushed in Becem* bef, 1852, and for fifteen years subsequently vied in richness with any of the out-fields of B tllarat. But the place has now almost ceased to be known as a gold•'jßeld, and is spoken of only as Creswiekshire—oile of the most prolific agricultural diatr'cts in the Western Division, wheat being amongst ils greatest pro* dusMions. Tljc population of the shire is

estim nted at 6000. Twelve miles further through rough bush country, involving some heavy cuttings", and embankments on tlffe line, brought us fo dunes, the seat oC'the first discoTefy of gold in Victoria. Here it was on the Ist day of July^iSSi, that Esmond made his grand discovery. There liad been reports prior ! to that of gold discoveries, but it is beyond doubt that Esmond was the first to give to the world the positive know* led^-of it&qeistence,for ei^ht days a/ter bis discovery be wa&in Geelong with the tangible proof of his find. Esmond was in\Yictorja atUhe.lime of. the finding of gold in California, and was -in the van of those wjbo left -Melbourne for .the new Dorado. But he remained at California -only a few months, having decided to return and prospect Victoria. Singularly enough Esmond and Harg reaves were fellow passengers on the retura voyage from California, and although both were bound on a similiar; errand, the fact was not communicated until the close of the trip. Upon landing the prospectors parted, Hargreaves crossing the Murray into what is now known as IV ew South Wales, and Esmond making his way from Geelong westward towards the Pyrinees, and as was subsequently shown, Har grcares preceded Esmond in (he discovery of gold by*about two months. It is about thirty 'years^since^lhese magical finds were made known, and in that interval Australia has produced gold to the value of close upon thr^e hundred million pounds sterling. We were fortunate enough to'meet with Mr Esmond, and heard from him the^whole history of his discovery and subsequent experiences. But to return to Clunes. Its) alluvial is now on the verge of exhaustion, but foi nearly twenty-five years past the wealth of its quartz reefs has kept 'the name cl the place prominently in the foreground. To give an illustration of this ; up tc 1859 the Port Phillip Company alone had yielded over eleven hundred and thousand pounds worth of gold, thus eclipsing up to that time every mine in the world, with exception possibly of the del Kay mine, Brazil. The New North Clunes Company affords another astonishing instance. • This mine began to yield in October, 1867, and in the three following years produced gold to the value of £208 000. In 1868 the company divided £22,686; in the T fo)lowing year £62,000, and in the first quarter of 1870 £37,000, or a total o." £121,300 for the two years and a-half. Thesejfieures hare, of course, been added to prodigi* ously in later years, and will convey seme conception of the enormous richness of the reefing industry there. Looking over the Victorian mining statistics for 1869 I find that the gross yi?li from quartz is ,givcnihUo4l4Boz, from 255.173 tons, or -«*e*age.of Bdwt 3 91gr per ton, for the Clunes district, The average yield per ton at Sandhurst for .the same period was iOJwt 4T3lgr. In!18/'O the quarterly average yield of the Port Phillip Com* pany on 11,734 tons was 3Jwt 1901gr, and the New North Clunes Company on 7447 tons, it was 15Jwt 20 95,t per ton. The annual average yield for the whole of the Clunes district is about 7dwt 20gr per ton. Our stay at Clunes was very short and did not afford an opportunity of visiting the different mines. Our next stopping place on the line was Talbot, which is ten mile? beyond Clunes. It has a population of about 2000, and the alluvial having given out, it is. like all the digging places, dependent entirely hpon agriculture. The next stage brought us to Maryborough, the population of which is about 3500. Maryborough is the centre of four branch railway lines. One line proceeds' northward to St. Ar« naud. another westward to Avoca, eastward to Castlemaine, and the fourth southward to Ballarat, From Mary* borough to Casllem*ine, tbirty*four miles, is through magnificent agricultural and pastoral country— " Where rolling meadows interminable lie And vast savannas greet the wandering eye." The train runs for the most part between stone fences, all overgrown with blooming sweet briar, lending fragrance to the air and poetry and splendor to the land" scape.