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| Alluvial gold. |
Abundance in the ranges.
Despite the initial negativity about Tapu Creek there are now hundreds of miner’s there. Parcels of alluvial gold from Tapu are appearing on the market. Mr Hogg, of Hogg and Co, Shortland Town, takes in to the NZ Herald office a fine sample weighing 33 ozs which has been purchased from miner’s arriving from Tapu Creek. Another sample of fine gold, of some 12 oz, is shown by Mr Sceats. The gold is at present chiefly obtained from gullies leading into Tapu Creek. The sinking varies from one to seven feet, and in some places the whole of the ground will pay for washing. The gold is worth considerably more money than that obtained from the Kauaeranga reefs. Quartz too, is found in abundance in the ranges. McIssacs has struck a very promising leader. A considerable amount of gold is in the hands of individuals - nuggets vary from half an ounce to a piece the size of a walnut. There is a large extent of country at Tapu which has every appearance of being auriferous and from which alluvial gold has been obtained, while for quartz reefing there is in the neighbouring hills a large field for exploration.
Otahuhu for the Thames with 2,000 ft timber, 5 tons stores.
12pm
A meeting is held at Butt’s Hotel for those interested in
the establishment of the first newspaper on the Thames goldfield with the
proposed name of the Thames Advertiser. It is adjourned for a fortnight.
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| DSC 15 January, 1868 |
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| NZH 15 January, 1868 |
Thursday, 16 January
A yacht is being built on a corner of the
Caledonian claim at the Thames. This is quite a novelty and the skeleton craft
is well visited and not a little criticised by brother miners. Mr Richard White, of Auckland, is
the builder, and has made considerable progress in the work of her construction. The spirited owners of the claim, who have always taken a
deep interest in the Auckland annual regatta, plan to put in an appearance this
year with this brand new yacht, to be named the Prince Alfred.
The Caledonian claim itself is turning out most
satisfactory. The owners have this
week struck a continuation of the leader at a depth of three feet. Twenty seven ounces of gold from the claim, crushed at a
Berdan, are sold to Mr Goodall.
The men have elected Alfred Pollard manager.
Thames tribes begin to leave for a great Maori meeting to be
held at Tokangamutu (Te Kuiti) in a few days. They intend to discuss goldfield boundaries.
A new map of Shortland Town, drawn by Messrs Hamilton and
Fisher, and lithographed at the office of the NZ Herald, is published. The map is accurately drawn and the
lithographic printing well executed. It will be in considerable request as it is published by Messrs Wayte and
Batger at the low price of 18 pence. The positions of the various reserves and
creeks are plainly marked off, and the layouts of the different streets and
allotments can be seen at a glance.
Cornstalk for the Thames with cattle.
Avon for the Thames with six tons flour, six tons potatoes, 1 ½ tons maize, 11 hhds ale,
two casks beef, four bags salt, 10 packages, 30 bundles luggage, two
passengers.
Rob Roy for the Thames with 4,000 ft timber,
9,000 shingles, two tons flour, five bags sugar, ten packages groceries, five
packages furniture, three bags potatoes.
A miner named Wardle, passing along the same creek where Joseph Franklin was killed by a boulder, has a miraculous escape from a
similar fate. Wardle has not a moment to
spare in his flight from a descending boulder.
The notice posted warning people of the danger is only legible on close
examination.
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| NZH 16 January, 1868 |
Friday, 17 January
Kate Brown, at Tapu Creek, is still alive. Doctors Hooper and Groth say that it is possible she may live, but not
probable. She is being cared for by a
Mrs Smith.
A very beautiful sample of gold is to be seen at Tapu – it
has evidently undergone a process of friction as it is perfectly smooth and
water worn. There are now between 700 - 800 miners on the ground and
fresh arrivals daily. Cutters arrive by
almost every tide and the steamers bring a good number of passengers from
Shortland. The flat is dotted with the
tents of storekeepers. A party arrives
today with baking apparatus and flour, so there will be a bakery started in a
day or two. It is difficult to arrive at any conclusion as to the
quantity of gold that is being found there; the diggers generally are very
reserved and keep things extremely quiet.
Diggers are cautioned not to rush to Tapu Creek – there are a
great many challenges there. The
nature of the country renders it almost inaccessible with its steep
ranges and undergrowth of timber. The
labour needed is considerable and none but experienced miners should undertake
this kind of work. Nothing
short of the greatest perseverance can ensure the diggers' success here. Despite the reservations, the cutter Fly is today laid on as
a regular trader between Auckland and Tapu Creek, and McIssac has a Berdan
machine conveyed to his claim. All the ground in the neighbourhood of this claim has been taken up.
Fly for Tapu Creek with two casks ale, one case soap,
one case pickles, one case jam, one bundle bags, two parcels, one ream paper,
eight cheeses, seven bags potatoes, two tents, three bags coals, 4,000 ft
timber, eight cases, three kegs, one cask, three dozen pannikins, one bundle pans, two cases
bitters, four passengers.
A settler from the Miranda Redoubt has come this week to see
Mr Mackay, in company of a clergyman, and states that in digging a post hole he
has come upon gold. He wishes to put in
a claim for the reward. Mr Mackay and Mr
Heaphy leave today for the Miranda Redoubt to investigate the matter.
Gold has been found
at Kaipara, and some quartz from Waitakare, when placed alongside a Thames
specimen, is found indistinguishable from it.
There is also a report that gold has been discovered in the Waikato
district, 100 miles south of Auckland. Prospectors at Mercury Bay find rich shotty
gold in a creek but as soon as the Maori, who live lower down the creek,
discover the water discoloured, they approach the diggers and send them away,
threatening to kill them if they come back.
 |
Kaipara Maori.
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 661-144
|
 |
| NZH 17 January, 1868 |
Saturday, 18 January
At Tapu there are several men out on the reefs who have not been seen for the last 10 days. Others are looking for them. The country between the Tapu Creek and the
Mata, barring smoke, could conceal a hundred men for some time.
Thomas Sandes, government surveyor, is instructed to survey
a piece of land to form a township at Tapu. A
pier is planned to extend from the landing place there - at present coasters are
driven up and at low water freights are discharged into waiting drays.
Kate Brown is defying the odds and is rapidly
recovering. She is said to have repented
of her rash act. A good constitution and
the careful attention of Dr Hooper have carried her through.
Rangatira for the Thames with five bags maize, four bags bran, one cask sundries, one parcel pepper, one axe, one package
handles, one case Vesta matches, two
dozen tins, ten bags, five cases biscuit, nine packages, three cases
whisky, two casks ale, one cask wine.
Bessy for the Thames with 15,000 ft timber, 5,000 shingles.
The Waterlily arrives at Thames with 16,000 ft timber from Whangapoua then returns for another load.
The Tauranga is floated off Mr Niccol's patent slip at Devonport after a thorough overhaul and will leave for Tapu Creek and Shortland Town on
Monday. Niccol’s slip is extremely
useful and beneficial to the shipping trade. In shipping, the coastal business is brisk and most of the small
craft are doing well. About 15 cutters, in addition to the regular steamers Tauranga, Enterprise and Midge, are kept
constantly running to the Thames with timber, provisions and passengers.
A party of three diggers leave Shortland to test the
truthfulness of a report of the Wairoa being a gold bearing district.
 |
| NZH 18 January, 1868 |
 |
| DSC 18 January, 1868 |
Sunday, 19 January
The Reverend Mr Hall
of the Wellington Street Presbyterian Church, Auckland, preaches at Shortland
Town in the American Theatre. The congregation is the largest indoor
attendance seen there yet and the reverend gentleman is listened to with the
greatest attention.
Monday, 20 January
At Tapu, gold has been
struck in McIssac’s reef and other miners, of whom there are now between 800 and
1,000, appear to be generally doing well.
Large offers for shares have been refused. Stores and buildings are going up rapidly and
the place is swiftly increasing in size and population. For the benefit of
ingoing vessels, Mr Sceats, with his customary enterprise, has devised a kind
of lighthouse on a small scale, by erecting a pole with a lamp at the top of
it. Although there is at least 10 ft of
water in the mouth of the creek at high tide, it is not a safe anchorage - when
the water subsides vessels are left resting upon the boulders.
Cornstalk for the Thames with horses.
Henry for the Thames with six head cattle,
two horses, one ton bran, one ton potatoes, eight packages, two passengers.
Tuesday, 21 January
Things are looking a good deal livelier at the Thames than
they have done since the holidays. A NZ
Herald correspondent visits the claims of Edinbro’ Castle, the Star of the South,
Flying Cloud, Carpenters and Dixons. In all these claims he finds the men well
satisfied. Not more than six weeks ago only one-sixth of these claims were known; now the men are talking of having
some ten years of work on hand.
Dr Seth Sam is approved as a medical officer under the Vaccination Act, 1865, for the district of Franklin, to attend at Shortland and such other places, for the purpose of performing vaccination from time to time, as required.
Tay for the Thames with ½ ton flour, ten cases bread, eight boxes
candles, six boxes soap, three tons furniture, four cases sundries, ½ ton
sugar, six boxes tea, 23 packages furniture and ten packages for Tapu.
Fly for Tapu with one hhd ale, one box, one
parcel, one bale leather, one tent, three parcels sundries, two bags bran, two
passengers.
Avon for the Thames with one case drapery,
four cases spirits, 15 tons coal, 2 ½ cases potatoes, 22 mats sugar, five tons
general stores.
Albert for the Thames
with 38 Maori passengers (the Albert is a Maori owned cutter)
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SOURCES
Papers Past
W. A. Laxon. 'Niccol, Henry', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990, updated June, 2015. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1n13/niccol-henry (accessed 15 September 2017)
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© Meghan Hawkes / First year on the Thames Goldfield 2017
Please credit Meghan Hawkes/ First year on the Thames Goldfield 2017 when re-using information from this blog.
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