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Chapter XVII.
The Goldfields.

The summer of 1861-2 was enlivened by the excitement of the gold discoveries in Otago, starting with '"Gabriel's (July'—named after the discoverer, Gabriel Reid. The first gold escort came into Dunedin in August, 1861, with over 5,000 ounces of gold; and fresh fields were speedily found in other parts of the Province. The most notable find was the "Dunstan" field, the two proprietors of which came in with 1,047 ounces of gold when they reported their new discovery, for which they received a Government reward of £2,000. The new El Dorado attracted men of all nationalities; they literally poured into Dunedin like a swarm of locusts, over-running the old identities of that place to their no small consternation. Many a good story has been told of the jealousy and antagonism with which the strangers were viewed by the sober Scotch settlers, who had a deeply-rooted objection—as one expressed it—to "thae folk an' their cloot hooses (Anglicé tents), they're no canny!"

When the fame of these gold discoveries reached our district it induced a mild attack of what was then known as the "Gold Fever," and dames went off to try his luck page 203with a party of five others from Pigeon Bay. They found the fields rich; but so small that they had difficulty in getting a good "claim"—all were so speedily taken up and worked out. However, they met with a fair amount of success. When at the end of four months the party broke up, James' share netted him £120 after paying all expenses there and back, no small item in those days. At the time he was there it was estimated that there were 60,000 men on the goldfields—"all sorts and conditions of men"—the thirst for gold bringing many desperadoes on the scene, whose presence increased the intensity of living. It was, therefore, to a youth brought up like James in the seclusion of a country home, a wonderful revelation of the human passions, and not by any means a desirable one. So rapidly did men rush to those goldfields that 20,000 people were added to the population of New Zealand within four or five months of their discovery.

The demand for food products that naturally followed, with the high prices obtainable, was welcomed by all pastoralists and dairy farmers in the Canterbury and Wellington Provinces, as well as by those in the immediate neighbourhood, and for a time greatly assisted the advancement of the colony. The winning of gold from Mother Earth at the rate of £2,000,000 per annum for the first four years could not but influence the whole of New Zealand from south to north; but though its beneficial effects must have been patent to everyone, still the Press and people of Canterbury, like the Dunedinites, strongly objected to the erection of "cloot hooses" in their vicinity. The Lyttelton Times of July 30th, 1864, had a leading article just after the outbreak of the West Coast goldfields at Hokitika and Greymouth, from which we quote the following sentences:—"A gold field is to be forced upon Canterbury, without the consent and against the express desire of the settlers—they must nevertheless submit to page 204fate.… The consolation exists that the goldfield has turned up in the remotest corner of the Province! "The writer apparently thought it a grievance that the forces of nature should segregate the precious metal in this Province at all! A bonus of £200 was eventually dragged out of Government as a reward to the prospectors. It is curious to note the demands now made—when the glory of these goldfields has' departed—for a railway to this "remotest corner." So ideas change in this changeable age! At a later date £1,000 was offered for the finding of gold in what is now known as Canterbury, that is, cast Canter-bury of those days, the fact of its presence in southern parts as well as north and west induced the hope that also in the central and eastern parts of the Province it might be found; but no one has been lucky enough, so far, to discover it in payable quantities.

The last of Mr. Hay's letters to his brother that we have in our possession bears date 16th January, 1862—in it he mentions their pleasure in welcoming James home from the goldfields safe and well, and also records the arrival in New Zealand of Mr. James Hay, a brother of Mr. John Hay. He came from "Knockindale," Ayrshire, Scotland, and remained some time in Annandale. Eventually, after some wanderings, he settled down with his brother in "Barbrafield," near Temuka, where he chiefly resided. Mr. John Hay bought this last-named farm about the year 1863, and soon after left the McKenzie Country station (Tekapo) to the care of a manager, and removed to his Temuka home.

About the year 1861-2, Mrs. Sinclair and family sold their property to Mr. G. Holmes, and left New Zealand to find "fresh fields and pastures new." We have already told how expert the young ladies of this family were in boating, riding, shooting, &c. These outdoor accomplishments no doubt added charms to the free life they so page 205enjoyed before their privacy was invaded by new arrivals. That this fact mainly conduced to their leaving New Zealand is doubtless true; the influx of a population robbed their retreat of its greatest charm in their eyes. They set sail in the barque "Corsair," owned by Captain Gay, which they fitted up with every comfort possible within its limits, as a family ark, to convey them all on a voyage of discovery "over the sea's and far away."Captain Gay—Mrs. Sinclair's son-in-law—went with them as captain of the vessel. They touched at Honolulu first, then landed at British Columbia, thinking to settle there, but found it too cold for stock in winter. They found they would require to house the animals, a thing unheard of in New Zealand, so they returned to Honolulu, intending to spend the winter there. Eventually they negotiated with Kamehameha V., King of the Sandwich Islands, for one of his islands, Niihau. Here they settled, and after-wards bought part of the island Kauai as well. Their property is therefore a very fine one, and they have prospered exceedingly. Their romantic voyage and Utopian life in their lovely tropical home is very - brightly described in "Tales of Banks Peninsula," p. 110, an extract from Miss Bird's book^* describing those islands being there given, in which she does full justice to the subject.

Mrs. Sinclair, senr., died in 1893 at the advanced age of 93. Up to the last this energetic old lady managed her business affairs herself, nor would she consent to be deposed from the control and headship of her estate, even when almost incapacitated by old age. James Gay—the captain's eldest son by a former marriage—who was a merry-hearted youth at school with James and Tom Hay in Pigeon Bay (hence their warm friendship), also had an estate in one of the Sandwich Islands), Oahu, where he prospered, but did page 206not enjoy good health. He was younger than the two young Sinclair's, James and Frank, who were grown up when he, James and Tom Hay were at school. Mr. Frank Sinclair published a volume of poems, some of them very tine indeed, culled "Ballads and Poems from the Pacific."

No doubt the lovely scenes in his island home helped to foster his poetic fancy. His wife has published a fine volume containing her own drawings of the flora of the Sandwich Islands, with a short description of each one. It is beautifully got up, the flowers and colours exact in form and hue to the originals, which are famed for their richness and beauty. A copy of this beautiful volume was given by Mr. and Mrs. F. Sinclair to Robert Hay when he visited Sandwich Islands in 1887-8, so it can be seen by any member of the "clan" who like to ask "Uncle Bob" to show it to them, and well worth inspection it is. Mrs. F. Sinclair is a daughter of Mr. Hutcheson, of Oamaru (brother of Mr. J. Hutcheson and Mrs. Sinclair), who came to New Zealand later than the others, and therefore was not so associated with their early struggles. His son it was who, a few years ago, wrote some accounts of the early days in the Otago paper above referred to, in conjunction with his uncle, Mr. J. Hutcheson.

As mentioned above, we have quoted for the last time from Mr. Hay's letters Home. His last letter (that we have knowledge of) was written in his happiest style, and with no apparent foreshadowing of the evil days to come, which then were drawing very near. We would fain linger on these last happy weeks preceding the beginning of sorrows to them, the greatest they had yet known. But the memory of this time is in the heart of each member of the family a sacred thing; there let us leave it.