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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
The Achilles Gold Mine
The Achilles Gold Mine at Bullendale was the scene of the first discovery of auriferous quartz, in the Wakatipu district, in 1862. The prospectors, whose names are now nearly forgotten, were Messrs Olsen, Southberg and Murdock. Mr Murdock's name is, however, perpetuated in the designation of Murdock's Creek, a branch of the Skippers, where the first considerable quartz mining works in Otago were started. Precipitous cliffs and gullies prevail in the neighbourhood of Bullendale, and the miners had to find their way as best they could, by means of the footprints of men and horses. An especially dreaded zig - zag at Deep Creek had to be negotiated at the risk of neck and limb. A battery was essential, and the first one had wooden shanks, shod with plate iron, and was constructed principally of wood. This crude machine did excellent work, and was in use until 1869, when Messrs Bullen Brothers, after whom the locality is named Bullendale, appeared on the scene. The capital they brought soon worked a transformation, and the old Skipper's Bridge was built. A great deal of mining was done, and a belt of stone running east and west was discovered. The property now known as the Achilles Gold Mine includes about 200 acres of quartz-bearing ground, and such claims as the Otago or Scandinavian and the British North American mines. The site is in Murdock's Gully, one of the head branches of Skipper's Creek, at the south eastern slope of Mount Aurum. The plant, which must have cost from £40,000 to £50,000, and which includes ponderous pieces of machinery, has been transported to, and erected on, the claim. It includes a fine battery of thirty stampers of heavy weight, together with the usual blanket, tables, and boxes. The plant is covered by an iron building, which includes an engineer's department and a blacksmith's shop. There are also two complete electric plants, and two Pelton wheels, with a hauling and pumping capacity to the depth of 2,000 feet. The underground works include seven different levels, the deepest of which, No. 7, has been continued to a distance of 528 feet. Steel tramways, to a length of about 1,400 feet, have been constructed, and immense sums of money have been spent in the development of the mine. Three reefs have been developed. The quartz is not of a high grade, but it shows an average of over half an ounce to the ton, and ample water power is available; five races, including forty-seven Government heads of water are (1905)) being brought into the mine, and it is hoped that under the management of the new company, which has recently acquired the property, a substantial reward awaits the new owners. Many of the facts contained in this sketch are taken from the Lake Wakatipu Mail, of the 31st of May, 1901.