THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1663, 8 February 1886, Page 2

THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

A recent tel"gram fmn TownsvilU .tates th.it further advi.es hive l»>*eii received iv H.rberton from M'Cague tei party, who are wiitin.- for mm at Yielda station. Kimberley. It w*s very dry where the gold discovered was iv the greatest quantity, and the prospectors had to carry Wfcter. They were no wate -holes near whore the party found 10j_ coarse gold. P>yable gold was found by the .a ov-n* 20) niles of conutry. The party wen* all fever stricken, and Ona of the» succtimlied to the disea.se and exhao*tiou. Three horses died from eating poisoibnslL Tiie country whorv ga d was found is extrem ly rongli. Wu**ti Cambridge Gulf ts opened that will be the nearest pirt The party have applied to the West Australian Govern, ment for the reward of £5000 for the discovery of *vhat they assert to lie a p-i/.ible gold field. Another party, consisting of fl 1 -* men and 15 Itarees, with rntions for six months, bivf started from Yielda _tatino for tbehead of the River Ord. M Gig *te n ge. l v ton the n not to _t__. t, bit ibey would net b« per* laded, mat ng that they wen. prepaid for all hardships. M'Cagne states that there is au immense area of country carrying gold, and he in conSdent a gr»*ut gold-Held will yet be opened there. A fuller mos**a^R ststes : "Mr Jta. Plrrell, of Hebe-ton, hlB received , letter frou Mr J iseph M'Cagne, in Western Anstralii, d,»ted Oct 2. Mr M'Cague state, that the putty of which he is a raem'-er di_covei*el p.iyub'e gold at ENira Creek, whic'i :. oue of the headwaters of the On). The patty c mid only stay a we k owing to the scai city of wnter, hut during _.ia. time they obtai ied lOasof eour_- gold. M'Cague and pirty have applied for a reward, a cl lim whicb will prdhably be awar led to them by th-a West Austral, in Government, they Wing tbe first to discover p.vible gold in tint coloiy. M'Cague d.precales a rush at present and points out difficulties and dangers to *** encountered by the miner. He -t it, V that it iahis belief that a large (Ml will be opr*n.d up. fire aivionn.*-** -li- nt has caused considerable excitemen* . M't" igue wits in bn*-iu**s.. in Her'-eTton for so ue time, and p issesses the repot »t i*» i of being au expert Lush man and a thoron^hly rel able man. The discovery, thongh it has earned ge 16...1 satisfaction among the uriue'rs t lere, has not surpri.ed anyoue, as it *n known there reie a number of the ablest prospector* in A astral i a onl searching for tlie precious melil, and oie of them, named Piiil B Hinders, was known to bave discovered a goldfield, the .-t-cali'y of whioh h« wonld not male** known until d finite promise wis made hy the G »vernm *nt of Wes-e-n Atsrralian tiiat he wonld he : rewa ded— a promise which that Government was so near sighted as to withhold. The conntry at the head of the Ord is practically nnknown, for the explorations of Mr Stockdale a couple of year. I»ack on M-half of a Melbourne syndicate oast bat little light on th.t nnknown Uud. Mr Watson, a gentleman who has recently ■ returned from Cambridge Golf, where |he has b?en with en. tie, states t ial ' more than 13 mouths ago a man uamH Hedley travell-d ft- out New Boath ' Wales to the Ord Jii ver- with horset, and remitted that during the trip, i *•*. wash* d the colon* ofg<dd \n the Ord. A* out three months «go he again, | n p n-ted that he obtained gold big ier np the river, hut not in sufficient q .antity to leu*, him to think the fMd offered mnch inducement to any but Chinese. H-dl^v, however, is still continuing his search bnok fro .n the liver. Feed for cattle was «b_ ndwt but tl c scarcity of water in the bilty ••onntry at the head ofthe Ord caased that portion not to he very well prospected, and the source of the stream here ha. not h*--e , i d-fi iit-ly dec. led. Up towards its I. ad, it h* inches into small creeks, the largest of which is known as Sturt's Creek. Ev r . Creek, mentioned by M'Cagne, » pi-obab'y one _f the other cre-k* which form _-. river to Cambridge Golf, the nearest port. M■ P. J* D track has opened a store at tbe mo u hof the river, and Aden- k and C0... 0f P.lmer***. Bton, have dispt-ched material for the c ection of a store at the Gu.f, Out i. is donhtfnl whether a soitahie site will Ie found. It i. through Palraeraton that the diggers will have to go, as the eon'itry betw«*eu Cambridge Gnlfand the head of «ko Ord i« almost Jmpassable, which may It* gathered from the. faci that MrDtrack lost 3083 sheep out of a lot of 4000 on the same route. A large number of pa»*!* horses would, he required, as it is 700 miles .from' Palmer stow to the alleged gold JNd. When Mr "'a- son left Filmei-itoa al-uut a fortnigh . ago, a party of 10 men were pre-psritig to ntalre « etart for the head .of the Ont Th** ■*■_#_ ro ite fr.«m Palmers. on to tfie head _# the Oid i* first to make the CKrWlo camn and theno- to Catherine River. A good road exit-its there, and should bt* followed to the junction of £".-»'• Creek with the Fora, a tributary ol the Citherine. The track foi lowj Price's Creek to tV TMamere Statioi, then'to Little and Big Gregory Rivers andj the Victoria '"liver Downs, owned by Messr* Fisher and Lions, and Wa» chill Station, owned by Me Bue i * anan, a well ki own explorer- and expert bnshman. Mr Buchanan, a_4i

.i>n_i»_i i Mm ■n—^—^^mmmt — _— _— — ■ci-nting a vash, oily recently tool ov*r fro n C oucitrry 4000 h-*ad. n ca't'i*, which mob was under tin <*'n ■,'• of M- Watson, and out of th.si 1">)) were bnlliH'ks of fattening age iv ''i fli he has sent to depasture m tin- S -urt'sCre k.and which h- trough ■OV--J. preci-**ly for purpose t!i»y w I now be pro'tably devoted to — namely supplying the miners with f.esh <»cc. Tii - u«ay a em rather speculativi* o* tin* p*.rtof Mr Buchanan, but as he i oi intimate terms with He*_l«*y, tin ventui*- may not have such a spec ulattve nature after all. A roat fr-mi Swan Hill leads on to Or ■m •« a*.d Peutionsford Rivm* Dov.ni "Hiation ;. thence travellers will li-tv. to trace ml the river, sometimes tikin*. advantage of its I -cd, until Elvis* €reek ii reached. The rontedescribed is the safest aud best at present known" With reference to the above Mt Hirry Stockdale writes to the Oailt) Jeleqmph : •' I read in your yesterday's a very interesting account of payable god having been found at the head of the Ord River. The .-■por» is from a Mr Joseph M'Oagne, and as the r<*port iv som •• >t its pirti.ulars as to route, __<*„ is not convct, I would like a little *j_.i_' to putmittei-s right. In the fi. st place, the head of the 0 d River is on country owned l»y Mr 1). O. Connor and tnyself, _nd is only a*iput 120 miles from Cambridge Gulf. My party on our last visit there dis-..iVP-B. _ practical and ea_y route, wiUiin permanent water all the way, to "-v.it.hin 50 miles of the head of the Ord, -a-id -which can be reached easily with i i a fortnight from Cun -ridge Gulf; wher-Mis the rotit«» spoken of and advocated by Mr M'Cage is 700 miles, and some of it over quite, as rough country as the other better and shorter roate. ,1 think It Is only ri ;ht • that dig -"era and o hers intending visiting Kimberley should Jiavfi. the difference in the two routes - impartially laid t»efore them. I have been It-oth Wuvs. aud can speak from _- xneri«iiee— - the one way takes *i fortnight and the other six weeks. Besides -there are time, when the longer route is a very dry and h__a*dotis one ; the •other is never so, having m tin rivers al l the way. Mr M'Oagne is also in error when he states tint my explora..io'tß on behalf of a Melbourne syndicate case hut little light on the subject. My explorations were on my -own tiehalf, aud I never on that occasion w**nt within 60 miles of the head of the Od, and that only on my return journey ; so how I could b- expected to report npon what I had never seen is rather difficult to understand, I would mention that the -M-st time to go oot would be about March or April, as previous to that time the wet season would, iv ali ptobit-ility, not be over; 4_nd intending visitors should take plenty of packhnriies and if possiMe 12 vtnonths' provisions, aud not omit taking plenty of horse-shoes ami nails asjhey will find that nails are the Woi_r T l«»^rnb?i-_- If any large party "was formed here, I would willingly Arrange to pnt them on the ground, finding horses, pa< ks, Sec. ; or 1 shall be happy at any time to give them any i-i_-t-T.nat.nu as to the route, nature of country, &c, I possess. Any practical or reasonable man must see how much more- expensive and diffi nit it niust.be to pack aix or 13. month* supplies for a party of men a di -tance of 700 miles to what it would he tn pack the same amount a distance of from 120 to ISO mites,- I may also add that I xnn uot previonsly aware that the Messrs. Durack hid landed sheep at Cambridge Oulf. I was the**-** withiu the hist two months, and neither had the G ivern. ment sui-V'-yoni, who where there at the same time ;so I naturally conclude your correspnn lent is in nrror."