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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

[introduction]

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In exploring for a gold-bearing region, the following particulars should be kept in view. They may be classed as of the first and of secondary importance. First, the country should be composed of clay, slate or metamorphic schists. In the North Island of New Zealand, volcanic tufa lying on primary rocks should be looked for. Second, the rocks should be traversed by quartz veins. Third, the rocks should be impregnated with iron pyrites. Fourth, they should be associated with other rocks, of igneous origin, especially granite or diorite. Fifth, among the rocks impregnated with iron pyrites, these portions should be more particularly examined in which the pyrites has been decomposed into the red oxide of iron. Quartz veins here will most probably contain gold, if any exists in the district. These particulars apply more especially to the North Island of New Zealand, as it is distinctly a quartz reef rather than an alluvial district. There are but three substances at all likely to be mistaken for the precious metal, namely, yellow mica, iron pyrites and copper pyrites. The former has been seldom, if ever, found on the North Island fields. Both iron and copper pyrites are compounds of sulphur, and, if the stone that is thought to contain gold is heated in
Thames. Big Pump in The Foreground.

Thames. Big Pump in The Foreground.

page 460 a fire to a red heat for a few minutes, all the sulphur will be driven off, and the metal previously combined with it will be changed into an oxide, in which state it cannot be confounded with gold. The fact also that nitric acid will dissolve both iron and copper pyrites, but will not affect gold, is another test. The geology of the Coromandel Peninsula is even at the present time a debatable question. The main range, which divides the Hauraki Gulf and the valley of the Lower Thames from the Bay of Plenty, is composed of a series of green and blue slates and sandstones, belonging to the upper Palaeozic period. This formation runs from Cape Colville in a southerly direction to beyond Ohinemuri, where it is intersected by the volcanic area of Te Aroha, and deeply buried beneath volcanic ejections. The range has a bold serrated outline, varying in height from 1000 to 2600 feet. The slates of which it is composed are much disturbed and tilted up, being in places quite vertical, and their upper surface is worn into hills and valleys, which sometimes have different forms and directions from those at present existing. Upon the uptilted edges of these primary rocks, and filling up many of the valleys, rests a vast mass of trachytic tufa of various colours, and in different states of decomposition, from the hardest rock to a soft clayey mass, and varying from a fine-grained tufa to a coarse angular breccia. The decomposed tufa, when free from iron, would make an excellent clay for earthenware. The point north of Tararu is composed of felstone, and, a little beyond it and to the east, blue silicious primary slates are found, which, however, do not extend into the valley of the Tararu creek. With this exception, the whole of the country from what was known as Shortland to Tapu is composed of the trachytic tufa, and from Tapu it is found in patches as far as north of Coromandel. Above it lies another tufa, containing large boulders of a dark-coloured trachyte, which in its turn is capped by the trachytic breccia that forms the summit of Castle Hill. Both rocks contain veins of crystalline and drusy quartz, while cornelian, agate and jasper appear to be confined to certain localities in the upper layer. The whole of the rocks in the district (with the exception of a younger tufa than any of the foregoing, composed of a soft red and white sandy rock, which does not contain gold) are occasionally pierced by dykes, composed sometimes of igneous rocks, such as diorite and dolerite, and sometimes of a more silicious-like, compact trachyte or pitchstone. The greater number of the auriferous quartz veins discovered in the early days were found in the finer-grained portion of the tufa, and seldom, if ever, met with where it assumed a brecciated structure. Gold has also been found in the primary slates, of a very pure type, notably in the vicinity of Kennedy's Bay; this is probably of a much older date than the alloy of gold and silver found at Tapu and Coromandel, which was probably formed during the close of the miocene period. One peculiar fact about the quartz veins of the North Island is that their direction and duration are extremely variable. There is no point of the compass to which leaders may not be found running, and their bearing does not seem to have any effect on the quantity of gold they contain. Their want of regularity, however, is compensated by their great number. The origin of these veins is as follows:— The tufa in which they are found was evidently deposited under water; the long-continued heat which it afterwards underwent, as proved by its altered character, and the dykes of igneous rocks cutting through it would partly dry it; in drying it would contract and split in all directions. The remaining portion of the water, heated by volcanic fires, would dissolve the silica, and, percolating through the rocks, would deposit it as quartz in the cracks; as these cracks would have no particular direction, the quartz veins filling them would also have none, and would lead to no definite reefs. In some cases fissures are met with, caused by a fracturing of the rock on a larger scale. These leads often show on their casings “silken sides.” This is a marking or grooving in parallel lines, in the direction of the dip of the veins, and has been caused by a sliding or rubbing movement of the different sides of the veins against one another. The fact of an unequal movement of the two sides having taken place may be considered good evidence that the fissure is either of considerable extent or that two or more join together to insulate the piece that has moved. It is probable that the present configuration of the country is due to the valleys having been slowly scooped out by the action of water, and not to each of the hills having been violently thrust up, notwithstanding that the uptilted position of the older rocks naturally gives the idea that such has been the case. Some of the oldest mines in the world, namely, those of Northern Hungary, present a remarkable similarity to the geologic conditions found in the North Island goldfields.

The date of the first discovery of gold in New Zealand is not generally known. It took place as early as 1842, when, on the occasion of an exploring expedition from Nelson to Massacre Bay, a gentleman named McDonald is said to have discovered the precious metal. No notice was taken of the discovery, however, and no one ever thought of or believed in goldfields, until the wonderful discoveries in California and Australia rendered the phenomenon a startling fact. The discovery of gold in Australia reacted very sensibly on the adjacent colony of New Zealand, a large portion of the population migrating to the new goldfields; it also led people to prospect for gold in various parts of New Zealand, and in October, 1852, “A Beward Committee” was formed in Auckland, and promised a reward of £500 to the discoverer of a payable goldfield in the northern district of New Zealand. In the same month the reward was claimed by a settler named Charles Ring, a recent arrival in Auckland, from California, who asserted that he had discovered gold upon Cape Colville Peninsula, forty miles east of Auckland, and in the vicinity of Coromandel harbour. To be more exact, the find was on the Kapanga stream, in the neighbourhood of the present group of Kapanga and Hauraki mines. The specimens produced by Mr. Ring were pieces of page 461 auriferous quartz, and some minute particles of gold dust. The commissioners sent to investigate the matter confirmed the existence of gold, but left it doubtful whether there was a goldfield extensive and rich enough to pay for the working. The excitement in Auckland was intense, and sanguine hopes of the commencement of a golden era in New Zealand were indulged in by the people. Everyone, including about 3000 miners, accordingly flocked to the scene of the discovery. The land upon which the gold was found belonged to the natives; but Colonel Wynyard, then Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony, interested himself in the matter, and in November, 1852, an agreement was made with the Coromandel chiefs for three years, by which the Provincial Government pledged itself to pay tha natives one pound (£1) a year for each square mile of land upon which gold was being dug, and for each gold digger two shillings per month. In consequence of this the Government was obliged to lay a tax on the diggers, granting an exemption for the first two months, but afterwards exacting from each digger thirty shillings per month for a digging license. About 3000 diggers set to work. On the Kapanga river, towards the north, the Coolahan diggings promised favourable results, as also the Waiau diggings, a short distance from the former, on the Matawai creek — a tributary of the Waiau river, which flows southwards into Coromandel harbour. The gold produced was sold in Auckland by public auction, but, when the taxes became due, there were only about fifty diggers who took out licenses; these also were not able to subsist under the heavy taxes demanded, and, nothing being heard of any encouraging results on a large scale, and more difficulties arising with the natives, the whole enterprise died out in about six months.

This was practically the first discovery of gold in New Zealand that led to any working for the metal. The verdict was that the field was too poor, and the promised reward of £500 was withheld from the discoverer. The whole produce of the goldfield was about £11,000, and the largest nugget found was a round piece of quartz about the size of an egg, which contained gold to the value of £10 or thereabouts. The Coromandel field was then abandoned and neglected for nearly nine years, but at the end of that time a reaction took place, probably brought about by the discovery of gold in the Otago district. In October, 1861, Coromandel again attracted attention, and in April of the following year, about 248 diggers assembled on the field, and, owing probably to a better knowledge of gold washing, the results were more promising than before. On the 28th of June, 1862, Coromandel was proclaimed a goldfield, and Mr. H. H. Turton was appointed Commissioner. On the Matawai and Tiki creeks, pieces of gold quartz weighing from thirty to forty ounces, and one even of eleven pounds in weight, were found, containing, it was supposed, fifty to sixty per cent of gold. A party who began to work a quartz reef on the Kapanga is said to have obtained from one ton of quartz, by crushing and washing, two ounces and a half of gold. It should be recollected that quartz reefs in Australia, even at that time, when treated systematically and with good machinery, yielded profits from stone carrying less than one ounce of gold to the ton.

In 1864, Colonel Chesney, R.E., reported that alluvial gold existed at Te Aroha, and in 1865 a rumour was circulated to the effect that gold had been discovered in the mountain range, which terminates in Cape Colville Peninsula; on account of the native war for supremacy, however, the discovery could not be followed up. Nevertheless, two men reported the circumstance to a gentleman connected with the “Auckland Herald,” and exhibited several specimens, which they had obtained from one of the creeks (Karaka) situated at the foot of the range, and bordering on the mouth of the Thames river, the distance being about thirty miles from Coromandel. The circumstance was also reported to the Superintendent (Mr. R. Graham), but nothing was done for some time, as the trouble with the natives was at the time assuming serious proportions. Some three years afterwards, through the energetic action of the Hon. Dr. Pollen and Mr. James Mackay, consent was obtained from the natives to allow mining on that portion of their lands bounded by the Kuranui stream on the north and the Kakaramata on the south. It was
Old Water Wheel, Waitekauri Battery.

Old Water Wheel, Waitekauri Battery.

page 462 agreed to give the natives £1 for each miner's right issued for the block, and to pay them £1 5s in addition for each kauri tree used by the miners. Arrangements were concluded on the 27th of July, 1867, between the Auckland Provincial Government and the native owners, whereby a small portion of the ground from the Karaka to the Kuranui—a distance of not quite two miles—was opened up. Kauaeranga was the name of a Maori settlement upon which the township of Shortland (now a portion of the Thames borough) was laid out. On the 30th of July, 1867, these lands were proclaimed a goldfield, and, on the 10th of the following month, Messrs Hunt, White, Clarkson, Cobley and Alexander discovered a gold bearing leader in the Kuranui stream; the first miner's right was issued on the 12th of August—two days after the find. A short time subsequently Mr. Daniel Tookey marked out a valuable claim, near the mouth of the Moanataiari creek. In 1868 there were three townships, namely, Tookey's Flat, Shortland and Grahamstown, which are now all incorporated in the Thames borough. The importance of the discovery and opening up of the Thames goldfields can be gathered from the fact that, between August, 1867, and the 30th of June, 1869, duty was paid at Auckland on 129,211 ounces of gold, the value of which was estimated at £264,425. When it was found that the Thames was so rich, there was a great clamour for the opening up of the Ohinemuri district, but, on account of the opposition shown by the natives, it was not until the early part of 1875 that this portion of the country was declared a goldfield. In April of that year gold in payable quantities was found at Tairua. In August, 1880, traces of gold were again found at Te Aroha, and three months later the district was thrown open for prospecting and for the location of claims.

The first reefing claim taken up on the Thames goldfields was Hunt's “Shotover.” The extraordinary yields from this property in a comparatively brief space of time raised the shareholders from poverty to affluence. Some say that the claim was first discovered by Mr. Hunt—others, by Mr. Alexander—who, when passing over a small waterfall, situated near the mouth of the Kuranui creek, casually struck a piece of rock with his pick, and perceived that it contained gold. The original claim contained six men's ground, which was divided amongst four shareholders, namely, Messrs Hunt, Clarkson, White and Cobley—Alexander says he was left out under circumstances related elsewhere in his biographic sketch—two extra men's ground being allowed by the Commissioner as a reward for a prospecting claim. Several quarter sleeping shares were sold, previous to striking the rich deposits, for about £100 each; in fact, shares might have been obtained immediately after the ground was opened for a merely nominal price, in order to raise sufficient funds to work the claim. A quarter share, sold for £100, was repurchased by Mr. Hunt for £2500, and another was sold for £12,000. The reef in the claim was comparatively easy to work, the miners having simply to cut away the hill over which the little waterfall formerly ran, and shoot the decomposed quartz into the machine. There was nothing particular in the appearance of the reef except that rich “pockets” were frequently discovered; otherwise the colour gave no indication of the auriferous character of the reef. The average yield of the stone was fifty ounces of gold to the ton of quartz, but the rich “pockets” frequently met with in the reef yielded more than five times that quantity. At first the shareholders crushed their quartz at the battery of Messrs Fraser and Tinne (afterwards bought by the Kuranui Company), but, finding that they were losing a large amount of gold through the incompleteness of the machinery, they erected a battery of their own. To give an idea of the richness of the country, it may be stated that with the machinery then in use over 10,000 ounces of gold were obtained in ten months. In 1868, so high had the value risen that £20,000 was offered for a full share and refused. Shortly after the erection of the battery an incident occurred which very nearly deprived the shareholders of their right to this claim. Before the Supreme Court, in a case previously tried before the Warden, a mandamus was applied for, setting aside the Warden's judgment, and was granted. During the trial the Judge decided that miners' rights signed by the Commissioner and not by the Warden were illegal. Upon the news of this decision becoming known in Shortland great excitement ensued, it being understood that holders in “Hunt's” held miners' rights signed by the Commisioner. Arrangements were made to “jump” the claim, and matters at one time looked very serious, but it was ultimately proved that, the Commissioner being the representative of the Government, the rights held good although not signed by a Warden. Amongst other companies formed at this time may be mentioned the “Kuranui,” which at first only included “Barry's” claim (situated above “Hunt's” claim and beneath the claim known as the “Deep Lead” on the Kuranui Range), and was the second claim pegged out on the field. The company, however, comprised a number of wealthy and enterprising speculators, and, by buying up machinery and shares, it eventually secured interests all over the field. Other well-known claims in 1868 were the “Alburnia,” “Ballarat Star,” “Clyde,” “Cuckoo,” “Day Spring,” “Dixon's,” “Eureka,” “Happy-go-Lucky,” “Kentish,” “Khyber Pass,” “Lone Star,” “Middle Star,” “Nil Desperandum,” “Pretty Jane,” “Star of the South,” “Whau,” and “Golden Crown.” The first mill erected on the Thames goldfields was called the “Great Expectations.” It commenced working in November, 1867, and consisted of four wooden stampers, shod with plates of iron, the whole being worked by a donkey-engine.

The demonstration of the richness of the goldfields of the North Island naturally gave a great impetus to trade, and the Auckland of to-day may fairly be described as a product of the goldfields. Throughout the sixties and almost into the seventies the excitement lasted, and then it gradually cooled down. The mines were still working, and gold was still page 463 being brought up from the depths of the earth, but the “boom” times had passed away, and it was not until the latter part of the eighties that there was a revival, when new country was opened up and the famous “Martha” lode gave a fillip to the industry. In 1887 the original Waihi Company was formed, and bought a number of small claims in the district, the principal of which were the “Union” and the “Rosemount;” four years later this company acquired the “Martha Extended” property, and then the excitement commenced which culminated in the “boom” of 1895 and 1896. Almost every available piece of ground in the vicinity of Waihi, Waitekauri, Karangahake and Coromandel was pegged out and innumerable companies were floated. Speculation and flotation became rife, and undeveloped properties were sold in the London markets for phenomenal prices. In 1894 the famous Hauraki Company was registered, and, by means of careful and scientific working, the property proved to be of exceptional richness. From January, 1895, to the 12th of December, 1896, bullion bars from this mine were sold to the Bank of New Zealand representing 62,853 ounces of gold (or 1 ton 18 cwts. 2 quarters and 23 lbs.), the amount realised being £193,677 17s 2d. From the start of operations in the Waihi mine up to the 20th of July, 1901, £1,746,527 worth of gold was taken out, and many other properties have yielded exceptional returns. The richness of the claims developed attracted the attention early in 1894 of both English and Continental capitalists, and shortly afterwards a number of companies were formed to take up or purchase properties. The influx of English capital caused an army of promoters to take the field, and claim after claim was thrown on the English market, with the result that the best and richest properties at the present time are controlled by English companies. Every credit, however, is due to these companies for the energetic and enterprising manner in which they have developed the North Island fields. They have sent out their best engineers, erected the most expensive and modern plants, and spared no expense to thoroughly exploit the country. The reward they have received is therefore deserved, and no one grudges it to them.

Since the introduction of the cyanide process a great saving in gold has been effected, and at the present time stone which a few years ago would have proved worthless can be treated with profit. Statistics compiled up to the 31st of March, 1900, show that the stone crushed in the Auckland district from the 1st of April, 1880, to the 31st of March, 1900, amounted to 1,914,747 tons, which yielded 2,932,876 ounces of bullion, the average yield of gold or bullion per ton being, since the introduction of the cyanide process, slightly over two ounces. The total output of gold from the Auckland district for the year which ended on the 31st of March, 1900, was £672,453 —an increase of £96,811 over the year 1899. The total amount of gold entered for export from New Zealand from the 1st of January, 1857, to the 31st of March, 1900, amounted to 14,608,901 ounces, valued at £57,406,100. There were, at the close of 1900, 1235 head of stampers in active work in the Auckland district and 265 in course of erection, and there were, in the latter part of the same year, eighty mines crushing regularly with results more or less profitable. These figures and statements demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt that the goldfields of the North Island of New Zealand rank amongst the richest in the world.

All mining articles connected with the provincial district of Auckland are classified under the names of the places to which they relate, and are brought into this section of the work, instead of being inconveniently dispersed, according to towns and districts, throughout the volume.