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The Story of Wild Will Enderby

Chapter III. Old Dunstan

page 14

Chapter III. Old Dunstan.

Gold-Fields' townships, like Chinese citizens, undergo sundry mutations of name at successive stages of their growth.25 First comes the miner, "Full of strange oaths and bearded like a pard," and bestows on his camping-place some designation often more significant than classical.26 Close upon his heels follow the storekeeper and the purveyor of strong drinks—licensed or otherwise. These form a street, more or less crooked, and assign a more speakable appellation to the new township. Then comes some official—policeman or what not—who, as of use and wont, makes a point of re-naming the place. Last of all, the surveyor appears upon the scene, and lays out streets trigonometrically exact in relation to cardinal points, but very aggravatingly arranged when considered in connection with the convenience of the residents, whose dwellings are intersected by lines at acute or obtuse angles, cutting off a corner here, running a street through a bedroom there, and generally making everybody concerned angry and uncomfortable. But with the advent of the theodolite arrives the era of order, and of permanent, if unsuitable nomenclature; and the variously designated township is duly page 15mapped and gazetted, and is forthwith known only by its authorized name. So fared it with the Dunstan township.27 First called "Beeftown," because of a purveyor of the flesh of oxen who dwelt thereat; next "Dunstan," that being the name of the adjacent mountain range; presently "Hartley," in honour of one of the original prospectors; and finally "Clyde," in which name it rejoiceth even until now.

When our friends, Harry Grey and Mr. George W. Pratt, made their first appearance in this township it was known as Dunstan—"Dusty Dunstan;"—an appellation allocated to it by an artful arranger of alliterative adjectives. Dusty indeed it was. The foot sank ancle-deep in dust; raising soft billows around the wayfarers, till they showed like cherubs—all heads and shoulders. Only cherubs don't wear "billy-cock" hats, nor carry "swags," as a general rule. Fine, pungent dust, intensely black and titillatory, penetrating the thickest clothing, and so pervading the atmosphere, that one inhaled it, so to speak, not only by the mouth, but also through nostrils, eyes and ears.28 There are some old residents who aver that, in the days whereof I write, this dust passed through inch-thick deal boards. I do not vouch for the correctness of the statement. But I know that although this particular kind of dust has long since disappeared—blown out to sea, probably—Dunstan is still entitled to its distinguishing prefix.

Dunstan—I prefer the old name—was truly a remarkable town. Located at the extreme end of a basin-like plain, about eight miles in length, and perhaps three miles in width,—its one long straggling, page 16crooked street, extended along the precipitous bank of the Molyneux river, which brawled amidst rocks and reefs a hundred feet below. Beyond the township the plain narrowed to a gorge, at that time inaccessible to wheeled traffic, by reason of the huge slate splinters which blocked up the way, and so arrested the further advance of the camp-followers, who marched in the wake of the noble army of miners. Close under the lee of overhanging rocks crowded the exchangers. Of course drinking-shops preponderated. The "Harp of Erin" proffered potheen to the patriotic sons of the sod; the "Robert Burns" invited Sandy to an unlimited whiskey feast; the "Royal George" propitiated the vanity and quenched the thirst of John Bull; the "Bendigo" arrested the devious steps of old Victorians; the "Stars and Stripes" appealed to American eagleism; and the "All Nations" opened wide its cosmopolitan doors to all bibulous comers. The "Childe Harold Bowling Saloon" provided exercise for the arms of muscular humanity; and the "Waverly Dancing Rooms" provided amusement for the legs. The "Wonder of the World" retailed slop clothing at "cost price;" the "Original Wonder" sold the like merchandise at "less than cost;" and the "Little Wonder" gave things away; and the glory of Judah was over them all. And from tavern, and saloon, and store waved flags, gaudy of hue and various in device. And the pitiless sun shone down on all from a cloudless sky; and the people trudged to and fro through the blinding dust, grimy and perspiring; and the drinking bars were crowded with the page 17ardent votaries of Bacchus; and a lively traffic was carried on with much profit and celerity.

Down, or rather up this street came our particular acquaintances. Harry would fain have halted at one of the hostelries; but to this the American seriously demurred.29 So they continued their way through the township and entered the Gorge, and still went on for about a mile, until they came to a little open space at the mouth of a small gully, where a tiny stream trickled amidst tall grasses, as it ran sparkling away to join, and to be lost in the river. Here they halted, and proceeded first to encamp, and then to explore the diggings and make necessary enquiries for a likely place "to set it."

The Gorge whereof I have spoken requires a brie description to enable the reader properly to follow the events of this veracious history.

Let the reader then picture to himself a vast rift or chasm—some twelve miles in length, and varying from a quarter to half a mile in width, winding between mountains which rear their loftier peaks three to five thousand feet aloft. In some places these stone giants frown perpendicularly hundreds of feet overhead—their scarred breasts rent and torn by many a convulsion of nature, and excoriated by the mightier, though more slowly operating, finger of time. In others the steep braes, scantily clothed with coarse herbage, slope gently to the ravine. From the precipices fantastic pinnacles—disjointed and crumbling, and wavering, as it were, in the balance, threaten the passer-by. On the slopes, immense rocks—arrested in mid-career untold centuries ago, await the disintegration of the few grains of sand which now restrain them from continuing their page 18downward course. Below, the ravine is cumbered with huge fragments of the mouldering mountains; now with a confused heap of shattered rocks, and presently with enormous boulders embedded in the gravelly soil, which sometimes expands into a small flat, and anon dwindles to a narrow strip, here overhanging, and there shelving dangerously to the river.

For there is a river there—a treacherous, snake-like river; which, by some strange witchery, both attracts and repels the gazer, much as the serpent is said to affect the victim bird. Deep down in the centre of the Gorge it pursues its tortuous course, between banks sometimes high above its waters, sometimes almost level with its surface. Occasionally it glides smoothly along with an easy, graceful, undulating motion, murmuring musically the while, as it ripples on the shingle-strewn beaches, or laps against the projecting crags, which its soft touches have long since despoiled of their pristine angularities. At such times and places the waters of the Molyneux are pleasant to the eye; and their softened cadences—rising and and falling with the breeze—are melodious to the ear. But the observant eye may mark, that even in these placid reaches the surface of the river is curiously agitated by circling vortices, which draw in and swallow any floating substances which chance to come anear. Whirlpools these, telling of cruel crags and sunken rocks, concealed by the smooth, false waters; whirlpools wherein the stoutest swimmer might not venture, and hooe to tell the story of their mysterious recesses.

But where the opposing reefs resist the mighty current, the Molyneux rears its savage crest, and roaring, page 19foaming, hissing in very wrath, it dashes fiercely by the rugged obstacles to its progress. Fed by three extensive lakes—the exhaustless reservoirs of vast Alpine ranges—what force can stay or turn aside the Molyneux in its progress to the ocean? Ages ago its waters cleft their way through the mountains which then intercepted its course; and by their resistless unceasing action was thus drained the great network of lakes, whereof the existing representatives—large as still their area—are mere "crab-holes" by comparison.

This picture of sublime desolation is unrelieved by any kindly touch from the hand of Nature.30 Amidst the fissures of the rocks stunted Kowhai hold precarious tenure, and trailing "bush-lawyers," intermingled with coarse "bracken," cling lovingly to the rude stones. Fostered by the cool waters of a mountain rivulet, the Koromiko grows by the side of poisonous Tutu bushes. Upon the arid flats, patches of Tumata-kuru, and of a purple flowering broom, struggle to maintain a scraggy existence. Besides these—neither upon the scarped faces of the mountains, nor in the sheltered gullies, nor by the river-side, nor on the terrace banks—does tree or shrub greet the traveller's gaze. But picturesque savagery hath its attractions. The Dunstan Gorge is a scene such as Salvator Rosa would have loved to paint; and if it were brought within the reach of cheap steamboats or Parlimentary trains, it would be thronged with artistic visitors, and vulgarised by gaping tourists.31

Note—As I have no desire to mystify readers unacquainted with New Zealand flora, I append a brief description of the shrubs mentioned:—

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Kowhai—A papilionaceous flowering tree, of the acacia tribe.
Bush-lawyer—Native name, Tataramon—A disagreeable bramble, very tenacious of grasp.
Koromiko—A white flowering Veronica.
Tutu—A berry-bearing, glossy-leaved plant, deadly to man and to all animals—except goats.
Tumata-kuru—Better known as "Wild Irishman"—a thorny plant, very difficult to handle.

25 Otago saw its first Chinese miners in 1866 as newer goldfields opened on the West Coast and taking the European miners with them. It is estimated that 2,000 Chinese immigrant lived in Otago by the end of the 1860s. Te Ara - Chinese Miners

26 “Full of strange oaths, and bearded like a pard.” - A line from Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man dialogue from As You Like It, Act II, scene vii.

27 Theodolite - A device for measuring angles, used in surveying land and laying roads.

28 Billy-cock hats - Another name for a bowler hat. Rounded crown with a short brim.

29 Hostelries - An inn, hotel or other form of lodging or reception space for entertainment purposes.

30 Sublime - A sublime landscape presents the viewer with a scene that is equally awe inspiring in its beauty as well as in terrifying power.

31 Salvator Rosa - An Italian painter, 1615-1672, that was remembered for his ‘sublime’ landscapes.