Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser (Grafton, NSW : 1859 - 1889), Tuesday 5 November 1872, page 4


; CUAHTKItS !\TO\VÉná-;.'A.'{ 8'WlNpÚE, '

AVITII; lightened wickets, bul not oihirwi-p disturred, a number »I Unllnrut minen reached' ihilr . -humen yesterday fruin Charters-Towers, having arrived thc prcvinug dny,itt rMelhnurito. by-the Sydney steamer Illnckbiid.' " Tho tale they relate nf tho colony fiom which they hare returned with' so nfuoir huste' is intel esting. ni least. When the Omen .reached j Cleve-, land Bay the pvoplu of Townsville were astin.¡shed.to see such-nn Influx of bciiiuliition. arid o-i landing thc voyagers were beset with inquiries os tn what they lind; come there for.; 1A 'siguiHca'nt shrug of tho sliMi'ilders when a reply wu's' given w.is hut very fea'*> surlng; '.'¿HqWcver;. the; bulk- nt thor me« st «ried oil to Uharters Towers only on their uri ¡vol to feel tho pertinency of'tho. inquiries .'mude ot' them lii/Tow-ns.villc, nmV to soo thai they wero tho . victims nf n delusion. Charters Towers -,1s'eighty;five niiles.frnin Townsville, aiid.is reached afteir travelling'through a very siindycstintry, but otherwise it is similar to the Yiciiirinii bush. Sumo thirty ur foi ty reefs hmo been .found, ' varying' in ; width'ifrom a quurierof un inch lu ii foot, and scaming the ground to a depth of about thirty feet, where thev oiid ai'the'top of a hurd granite fo'Vnniinn. . The i exult' K thal'a' reef claim is speedily wniked-out' -Theyield vniics-, hut -the highest' crushing'yet effected iviis nhout 4"r ons. to tho ton. the gold being bf poor quality.'mid wnrt li about £3 6s.61. an «niñee. 'These reel's have been'found from time to tillie, extending over elgin yenisi > The atone'ls cru«hid by two small butteries, -'tine'nf'ton head and tho uthoi of olglit, both of 'which'have been elected tïir a'o'insldéiàulo period/ Tho' charge' for'crushing ts 30s.' a Um, and lt is a vcty'cmninon a^eurroiicá-to see a» tunny ns ISO heaps of «tono, varying Iront ono to four tons each'.' wailing to be'paVsed thrñimh tho 'nilli. The' pnitictiliirs wo hilve, pnblUliod ii» lo Ihe alluvial lead, which is1 about- thirty feet deep-the sniuoia- thc iccf. willi ii granite'bottom-¿aro'dorrubornt.d hy the minera who returned nu Fridiiy. Thélend cnmplcty run nut-in about a mile, and gold was only found fur about twelve feet, in ' width.Ï The 'dirt wa»,by no, meitus; rich, tho prinuipul, yields,being nb nit seven dwi, to'tho loud, with nilly iivo.jriijhe» nf wa'slldiii; ' Tho Whldó hf this * ground" wat "gutted "

when thc Hist butch nf-Victorian mincis III rived. Ct -will be remembeicd tho main cause of the-rush-wa«

.the.an lyal of alt escort with (11,000. punchs; nf .goldi

alleged to huve been ..obtained .ut CharloT TIIWCIB. j lt now tums out that 'thlngiild wan .an accumuln* ,tinn. extending over nenily slx months, ot, lill,tho gold-fields fur a radius of £00, lillies from; Charters Towers;

Nearly tho "wliolo of . it came from Clonoitrrle,' Kthriuge,' Cape,.,and :the Uilhert,dlgglpg8, and lt fs" alleged by mir . Informant's" that "'only 'voieiityf fivo ounces of ;lt; were, raised, at the,spot alleged. Hillridge seems 'to" be. tho rle.lie»t 'quartr. di-trlet of Queensland,* ,It,is situntcd about .350 miles hlghcj "up the country than . Charier*'' Tu'wers-'Ih" " fact, lie» midway betWooh ' ToWnSvllle and tho Gulf of.Carpentaria., Thti¡ cllmn't;« is intensely hot,., but thi-re iscomponsiitlón iii Ibo'fnVt, thilt' thc reefs nie pruporllonateiy rich,'being fiam:2 feet lo 3 feet wide; und yielding frnni four ounces to tom nunci s tn the ton, We bnvo remarked abiivp that tlie.coumry frnni Tnwnsvillo to.Charters Towers, ls.,very , Bandy..,. So much is this thc case (hut twelve pr. fourteen, horses are "requited' to ¿art a coupla bf fori»' of ' «buds to the diggings'.' -There' is IpUmly 'of 'drinking.'waler nt i Charters rTow cu,', but ti ls only, ubtninable hy :sinklng a couple of feet in- thousand,! nt ¡the bottom- of tho creeks, when ll flows into lite.bolo,in II veiy.pure eonI dltinn. There ts nlso plenty nf HBII In tho llurdrklti r Uiver; 'about'twelve itnlles'.'fiorril.' Charters .'.Towers',

j and iibiinilunco of.guine in the hush .between. <nWheu J our informants ilnl'tOhaiters . Tower*» .there wore bc..tween .2000 nnd 3000. miners on: the ground, nenrly

I all of whoin were making preparations-, to. return' to

Bydnoyw Victiirlu.'.-jT'lio A.8.N.-1Company behaved . very fullly lo tho miner»,, bringing, thom round' to

Sydney, a distance of 1400 miles, for £2 a head, but tho i ti livelier*'did nut faro sn i well', between'- Sydney '«nd ,l Millbillillie. They had to pay £1 for. tills ,trip ; and .'seventy-throe of them -were crowded into a, spni-o i about 20 feet by 20 feet.-.The vassol was also-.any-

thing but alean, willoh oould not make tito crowding ,| together n.-w.hit moie^ilenonnt, [Our. Itifiiimnu'ts think

' very highly of Quounsliind,n»;a; oppper country ; i ut

they say that, ri wing, to t lip granite formation and tho , H'|lo1wnsh thero la üpon'lt, thai colony iilll never bo j worth much forbid Witing.:' "

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