Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8429751

Tags (Keywords)

Add New Tags

Comments

No comments yet.

Add New Comment

3 corrections, most recently by jfhollis35 - Show corrections

THE NEW GOLD DISCOVERY AT MALMSBURY.  

THE NEVER DESPAIR COMPANY.

( BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER )  

Malmsbury will always be famous in the     gold history of Victoria, apart from its heavy contribution to the wealth of the colony. It was here that the famous Ironstone Hill   claim was situated, over which the great legal question was fought as to who was the rightful owner of metals beneath the earth's surface, the owner of the freehold or the Crown. From the Supreme Court it was carried to the highest tribunal of the empire, whose decision settled the question for all time, that the Crown in part- ing with the fee simple of land still retained the ownership of everything below the sur face.  

Back in the fifties the alluvial was skimmed by the nomadic workers in creeks and gullies as they wandered from Mel- bourne, from Ballarat, from Jim Crow, and from other rushes enroute to Mount Alex-   ander, and later on, when the golden gutters dipped away under the lava, and were fol- lowed by the aid of machinery, the reefs found employment for those who preferred to test the sources from which the rich surface gold was believed to originate.  

About three miles out and west from the village of Malmsbury a range of hills run- ning north and south terminates in a pin- nacle called Belltopper Hill. From this emi- nence, looking south, can be seen the well known O'Connor's Freehold, the Egyptian, the famous Queen's Birthday (from which the owner of the freehold drew £25,000 in royalty alone), and most southern of all the South Queen's Birthday). At the foot of the hill is the Missing Link and the O'Connor group; to the north and east the little old English looking village of Taradale. The Queen's Birthday and the O'Connor's Free- hold have given thousands of ounces of gold and paid their earlier shareholder a large percentage on the capital in dividends. Here and there on Belltopper Hill very rich patches of gold have been found, but none of the parties have ever sunk a shaft to any great depth.

Fifteen years ago a miner named Joseph Hubber fossicked the hill for the purpose of tracing the continuation ot the Queen's Birthday and O'Connor's line of reef. His   practical mining knowledge led him to the belief that it had not cut off at the end of the bluff, and so deep-seated was his theory that his search has extended intermittently over that period. When his funds were ex- hausted he would obtain a suspension order, and work in the adjoining mines, often for a twelve month at a time, until he was in a financial position to further prospect. His last attempt had almost failed when he was successful in obtaining a small amount from the prospecting vote, and a few months ago his perserverance was rewarded by the dis- covery of what is believed to be a continua- tion of the rich lode worked lower down. Hence the name Never Despair. The first crushing gave 2½.oz. to the ton, the second over 10oz, and judging fron, the quality of the stone now being broken the next crush- ing will be over 12oz. to the ton.

I visited the mine on Saturday and found the shaft down 100ft. At 44ft. a drive was put in south, and a winze sunk down over 40ft, from there. Where the lode was first struck the stone was bin. in thickness, and similarly to the Queen's and O'Con-   nor's reef, it varies from that width to a foot. The winze, has been sunk on the reef, and as it goes down the gold becomes richer. A crosscut is being driven from the bottom of the shaft, and will reach the lode in 12 days or a fortnight. A drive south alone the reef has been put in 40ft., and the further it goes the gold has improved. I broke out three prospects, one from the floor of the drive, one from the end, and one trom the bottom of the winze. The first gave about 3dwt. to the dish of heavy gold, that from the end about 6dwt., and that from the bottom about 4dwt. In addition to the heavy gold there was a large percentage of line metal which could only be saved by the battery. There is no Question about the reef being as rich at these points as the Queen's Birthday was at its shallower levels North, about 278ft. away, an old shaft has been cleaned out and sunk to 114ft. This will be the main engine shaft. A crosscut has been put out west, and intersected a leader heavily charged with mundic and showing traces of gold. In about a fortnight or three weeks this crosscut should strike the new reef

The North Never Despair, a new company adjoining, has met with a thin leader showing gold. The whole country on and off the line has been pegged out as far as Taradale.  

Zoom

plus
thumb
minus
left
thumb
right
up
thumb
down