Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 30 May 1882, page 7


THE FIRST NATIVE GOLD IN

MELBOURNE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARGUS.

Sir,—I read with much interest in to-day's Argus the letter of Mrs. Brentani, with whose husband I was acquainted. It will be re-membered that I expressly stopped my narra-tive of the early supposed gold-findings at

the beginning of the Brentani business,

because I was desirous of showing simply

that indications of gold had been found in the colony and native gold had been exhibited in Melbourne anterior to 1849. My purpose

in again troubling you is to dissent from so much of Mrs. Brentani’s letter as declares, with a quasi authority, " that before May,

1849, no gold was ever found in the colony." If so, the writer declares she must have heard of it. In my former letter I detailed instances where gold specimens were brought

to Melbourne in 1847 and 1848. I was

here at the time; the facts were common

talk at every shop counter and street

corner ; and every one who did not purposely close their ears and eyes could hardly fail to have either heard or read of them in the newspapers, where good care was taken to chronicle such rare and unexpected incidents. It so happens that during the last couple of years I have been employing my leisure in excursions to the by-gone times of the colony, including, of course, the early gold discoveries. I have consequently been making careful inquiries as to the first appearance of gold in Melbourne ; and only on Saturday received two communica-tions which leave little doubt that so far back as 1841 gold was found by two different parties, both in the Plenty Ranges and at the Pyrenees, and forwarded to Hobart Town, to be there tested and sold. I would add further

particulars, but await answers upon two or three minor details which I have queried.—

Yours, &c., GARRYOWEN.

May 29.