CHAPTER XVII

Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, 1898CHAPTER XVIIKalgoorlie City—The Six Great Mines in the Golden Mile—Mr. Kaufman—Early Predictions Verified—Associated—Lake View Consols and Great Boulder.

Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, 1898

Kalgoorlie City—The Six Great Mines in the Golden Mile—Mr. Kaufman—Early Predictions Verified—Associated—Lake View Consols and Great Boulder.

Hannan’s, or Kalgoorlie as it is now called, is 24 miles from Coolgardie, and as I took my comfortable seat in the railway carriage, sped along the once forsaken desert and arrived at the now famous City of Gold, with its broad streets and splendid buildings, it seemed incredible that such a transformation should take place in a few short years. It would be difficult to point to any place in the world that has developed so rapidly. During their short existence Kalgoorlie and the Boulder City have turned out over 31 tons of gold, and Coolgardie has been quite outstripped by her younger sister. I think, when gold is measured by the ton, the colony from which it comes may be fairly considered marvellous. It is only seven years since Hannan and Harrigan threw themselves down to rest on the ground at the eastern corner of what is now Kalgoorlie, and, fortunately for thousands of lucky people,discovered gold, and now, as far as that precious metal is concerned, Kalgoorlie is the hub of Australia. Kalgoorlie is a well-laid-out city. Bicycle tracks are laid down on the 30-foot wide paths, electric lights are everywhere, trees have been planted in the broad streets, and by-and-by will afford shade in the hot days for which Kalgoorlie is noted. The new post-office is a splendid building, and has cost £40,000. The warden’s and other public offices are also on a grand scale. There are several magnificent hotels, especially the Railway, opposite the station, and the Palace, covering half an acre of ground, which I have made my headquarters. This hotel is far the best on the goldfields of Western Australia; every luxury is obtainable; it has a spacious dining-room with electric fans always going, exquisite drawing-rooms, and good attendance.

There are several newspapers, the chief of which is theKalgoorlie Miner, edited by Mr. Kirwan, who identifies himself in every way with the interests of the people as well as with his editorial duties; the miners have a staunch friend in him. There are many fine shops, especially jewellers, where gold nuggets of all shapes and sizes made into handsome ornaments may be bought. Land at Kalgoorlie is daily increasing in value. An offer of £100 a foot was refused by an acquaintance of mine for a plot she is lucky enough to own. Some mining-men, including the well-known Mr. Zeb. Lane, were dining at the next table to myself on one occasion, and one of them remarked that he was sure that in a few years there would be 300,000 people in Kalgoorlie. You may be sure, holding that opinion, that the gentleman was looking out for investments. A handsome new theatre is being erected in Hannan’s Street. At present the Miners’ Institute supplies the entertainments. The suburbs of Piccadilly and Mullingar stretch far beyond the town site, and the three miles to Boulder City are fast being built on, and will shortly form one continuous busy road. Three fine breweries supply the needful refreshment to thirsty souls, and altogetherKalgoorlie is a splendid goldfields city, but the summer weather is almost indescribable. One of the days had been unbearably hot and oppressive; but dark clouds were overhead, and I said, “Soon we shall have a rain storm, which will cool the air.” My friends whom I was visiting laughed, and one of them, with a merry twinkle in the eye, said, “There will probably be a storm, but you will soon get accustomed to this kind of weather;wait awhile.” In the evening Fitzgerald’s “Great World Circus” being in town, we decided to risk the “storm,” make up a party, and go to the performance. All went well until about nine o’clock, when suddenly came “the dreadful thunder”—the clouds had broken; then came, not the rain, but dust, dust,dust—red, stifling, blinding, and terrible; for the roof of the “Great World Circus” had been completely lifted off by the red-dust fiend, while with his breath he had extinguished almost every light in the tent. Crash! whiff! whirl! and the “willy willy” had madly danced far away. One minute’s terrified silence and then through the remaining red haze could be seen the circus performers bravely continuing their entertainment as if nothing had happened; and blended with the echo of the distant din could be heard the strains, “Gaily the music go-o-es, so gaily.” But the vast audience of upwards of 3000 people, who, though the roar had been so strangely “hush,” had witnessed enough excitement for one night, gradually filed out through the rent of the swaying canvas wall, my friends and I amongst them, arriving home very white-faced, underneath the brown-red war paint so cunningly and weirdly distributed on us by the fiend. After wiping the dust out of my own eye, I remembered the twinkle that I had seen in some one else’s, and I laughingly exclaimed, “Was that the ‘thunderstorm’ you recommended me to ‘wait’ for?”

Palace Hotel, Kalgoorlie

“We had a narrow escape,” tersely and grimly (I had almost written grimily), remarked my friend; but he must have rubbed the twinkle out of his eye and the dust into his temper for he declined to see the joke; however, as mirth is catching, we were soon a merry party once more, and I was regaledwith “willy willy” stories of roofs being carried for miles, and of houses being torn down by these huge “dust spouts,” and, as at intervals I heard the “thunder” in the distance, I could well believe the dancing, whirling devils capable of anything. Many good theatrical companies now visit the goldfields, but the expenses of a travelling company are very large, the railway fare from Perth being about six pounds each return ticket first class, and four pounds second (there is no third class in the colonies). The hotel tariff is from twelve shillings per day (Palace sixteen), the smallest drinks (a big item in such a hot and thirsty country) are a shilling each, and half a crown is the usual price for a bath, as before said. There are no large theatres on the fields, but the managers make the prices for admission high, the community not caring how much they spend if they really wish to see anything; in fact, that is one of their little worries, they are always looking out for something to spend their money on. Horses, yes, the best procurable, and they are a very high price. Champagne is from twenty-five shillings a bottle, and that is the first drink the lucky miner calls for; his great mania is “shouting,” as they call it, that is treating wine to everybody they know. “Wives and families to spend it on?” “Oh, yes; but they are on the other side,” meaning the Eastern colonies; “I always send them plenty to live on, and when I’ve made my pile (fortune) I’ll go home with it; in the meantime I must do something tomake life endurable here,” and the Hebe at the bar smiles sweetly, and for it receives perhaps a diamond bracelet. I am not speaking of the miner who earns his weekly wages, but of the man who is lucky in his speculations of shares, or who owns part of a mine, and when they strike rich, as they call it, spends his money lavishly. I sat on the Palace Hotel balcony in Hannan Street one afternoon and watched the crowd passing up and down; I was surprised to see the women so richly dressed, elegant Redfern tailor-made gowns and Worth carriage costumes (although no carriages were to be seen, but plenty of buggies with dust-covered hoods) were much in evidence; many of the rich women send to London and Paris I am told for their gowns. Occasionally a plainly-dressed woman in a tweed or Assam silk costume with neat sailor hat would pass, probably a mine manager’s wife or English visitor, but the majority of the women of the goldfields spare no expense in the style and richness of their dresses. At the present time the population of Kalgoorlie, its suburbs, and Boulder City is nearly 60,000. In a very short time electric tramways will be running, and extensive swimming baths are now being built. There are many good churches, which shows that in the rush for gold the welfare of the soul is not neglected. Goldfields places are usually looked on as somewhat lawless. I can assure myreaders, however, that those in Western Australia are an exception.

Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, Early Days

Over the hill, not to the poorhouse, but to the rich Mount Charlotte Mine, I one morning took my way. From the hill a splendid view is obtained, and for three miles beyond nearly all to be seen is mines, their poppet-heads and batteries showing distinct against the sky. The manager of the Mount Charlotte Mine was away, so I could not get much information, and so, like Jo in “Bleak House,” I had to move on. The next mine is Hannan’s Reward, where gold was first struck (found) at Kalgoorlie; and although such wonderful results came from this place at first, the mine has now been outpaced by many others. I passed dozens more of mines, but did not stop until I got to the Brown Hill Mine, under the control of Messrs. Bewick, Moreing & Co., one of the finest on the field. This mine, as its name indicates, is on the top of a hill, and is a most imposing-looking one; wealth seems to speak from the buildings around it. The manager’s house is a splendid bungalow style of place, replete, I believe, with every modern comfort. Outside is a tennis court and other evidences of the manager’s tastes. The offices are large and convenient. The manager, Mr. Feldman, being away in England, I did not go down the mine, therefore cannot tell you anything about it; but Dr. Diehl, who represents the London and Hamburg Gold Recovery Company in connection with the Brown Hill Mine, has lately made a most interesting discoveryrethe treatment of sulphide ore, likely to be of much value in the mining world. From this place I went to the Crœsus, thence to Block 45, another mine that has given big results. Of course there are many mines that have not proved as rich as those mentioned. Mining seems to be like fishing: there may be any number of fine fish, but it does not fall to the luck of all anglers to catch them.

Away again past more mines, down through Golden Valley, now past the Oroya, North Boulder, Bank of England, and Coolgardie Mint—all splendid mines; then up the highest hill at the Boulder, as this part of the goldfield is called, whereI came to the great Australia mine (Associated). From this place one has a glorious view of the other great mines on the Golden Mile, so-called on account of the marvellous quantity of gold that has been and is still being extracted from its depths—Lake Mew, Great Boulder, Ivanhoe, Boulder Perseverance, and Golden Horseshoe. They present a magnificent spectacle. It is almost impossible to describe in words the wonders of the golden hills on which these wonderful mines are placed.

Close to the Golden Mile is a small square of business places—hotels, stores, different kinds of little shops, and a brewery; this was the beginning of Boulder City, but in consequence of the influx of people and the increasing prosperity of the mines, it was found necessary to establish the Miners’ City, a mile farther away, the intervening ground being required for mining. According to mining laws any ground taken up for that purpose cannot legally be built on, but miners are allowed to camp there on sufferance, and the area is therefore dotted over with mushroom-like tents and canvas houses.

The Australia is the largest of the Associated Mines. Everything seen is of the latest date; every appliance that man’s ingenuity can devise is here. To convey the stone along the open cut to the mill there is a wonderful aerial tramway composed of wire cables, on which the trucks run high up in the air; it is a marvellous way of conveyance, but more peculiar still is what is here called the “Flying Fox,” which has an iron bucket on a single rope of twisted wire. Machinery on the top of the shaft and above the crushing mill conveys it to its destination; then the bucket empties as if by magic, and flies back to the bottom of the open cut, a quarter of a mile journey, to be again replenished. It seems almost incredible that a girl ever had the courage to take that journey, and yet one actually performed the perilous feat. The manager in jest had dared her to do it on her visit to the mine, and she, being a strong-willed Scotch girl, took him at his word, got into the new aerial car, flew throughthe air, and arrived quite safe at the bottom of the cut, while every one present held their breath with amazement; and I believe that all the workmen, on seeing a pretty girl deposited at their feet in place of the usual prosaic empty bucket, stood in consternation and amazement, wondering what the clouds were going to rain next. The underground workings of the Australia are brilliantly lit with electric light, which shows up the gleam of the rich gold through the ores so beautifully as you peer through the light into the magnificent chambers of oxidised or sulphide ore, you can almost imagine yourself in Aladdin’s Cave. On the 300-foot level there is a magnificent chamber or stope, 16 ft. high and 40 ft. wide, from which thousands of tons of ore have been taken, returning 8 oz. to the ton. A specimen weighing 1½ cwt. had just been broken off. It was studded and seamed with rich telluride. Owing to the telluride lodes, mining presents wonderful possibilities. There is no knowing what marvels may any day come to light. The rock-drill, whose motive power is compressed air, had pierced down 550 ft. There was a large gang of men down the mine timbering, enormous great poles, almost tree trunks, were being put in position, propping up the earth to make it safe. It made me shudder to think of the dangers of a miner’s life, and yet, comparatively speaking, there are very few accidents in the mines here. The genial underground-manager told me that every precaution was taken in all the mines nowadays. We emerged from the shaft once more into the light of day. The first thing to strike the eye on the top were the enormous looking cyanide tanks, then the amalgamator’s rooms, where we saw all the modern appliances for extracting the gold, wonderful vats of chemicals where the rich tailings were lying waiting for the chemical action to take place, ripple beds, then ball mills, pug mills, rock breakers, and enormous stamping batteries in their various houses; then last, but not least, the new roasting furnaces with their huge boilers, and other parts looking like some immense military fortifications; these are used for smelting,and cost £100,000. There were 20,000 or 30,000 bags of ore waiting for treatment, full of gold. It is wonderful to see the gold being smelted. To stay in the furnace-room for a minute or two, even before the furnace-door was opened, was like taking a Turkish-bath. I was quite content to stay on the outside when it was opened, and to see the man, dressed in an asbestos suit from head to foot, pull out with a great iron hook the red-hot pot full of molten gold and pour it like golden sunshine into a mould. After seeing this man at his work I thought him a kind of hero, and wondered what he weighed in the asbestos suit. About 200 yards from the mine are the large and commodious offices, and the quarters of some of the managers of different departments. The gold produced from this mine up to the end of November 1901 was 214,485 ounces, and the dividends paid amounted to over £258,750.

A Boulder Mine and Offices from Lake View Consols

Driving over to the Lake View Mine was not altogether pleasant, as, when nearly half-way down the steep and stony hill, my horse stumbled and nearly fell; however, a kindly pedestrian seeing my difficulty came to my assistance, and, much to my relief, led him down to the foot of the hill. I then crossed over to Lake View, which is said to be the greatest gold-producer of this marvellous field, outrivalling even the famed Mount Morgan in Queensland, which was almost a mountain of gold. Mr. Charles Kaufman purchased this wonderful mine for a company when he was on a visit to Australia; seeing the wealth and magnitude of the Kalgoorlie mines, he did not hesitate to pay the sum of three-quarters of a million sterling, and to take a quantity of shares for himself, and since that time he has also purchased other large mines. There is a very large and efficient staff of experts in their different departments on high salaries. Lake View Consols, to give the mine its full title, was, until the advent of Mr. Kaufman, a mine that seemed fated to bad luck. It was at that time owned by an Adelaide company. The first manager pronounced it a failure, the second died of typhoid, and the third, Mr. O’Neill, managed to pay out a dividend of 3d.pershare! This was the first dividend ever paid on the field. Since then many dividends of £1 per share have been made. When Mr. Kaufman purchased Lake View he soon had it equipped properly and started on a new basis. Now, in place of the meagre poppet-heads and small shafts, a gallows-frame towers 120 ft. into the air, and immense shafts, sending up their continuous supply of splendid ore, give token of the change that has taken place. When you go down the mine in the “cage,” as they call it, you need only close your eyes and fancy you are in an elevator. When you get down 100 ft. you step out to a drive running 1700 ft., then on the north side you go 450 ft., and must not go any farther, because you are near the Boulder Perseverance ground, which is another rich mine close by. Here is an immense body of rich high-grade sulphide ore, 51 ft. wide. Teluro sulphide (in which telluride is found) and sulphide ores differ from oxidised ore, which is usually of a light colour and shows the gold freely; the other ores have a silvery-grey appearance, seldom showing gold, but when treated at the mills and smelting works they frequently yield a large percentage of it. Down again the visitor goes in the cage to 500 ft., the mine growing richer and richer to the bottom. Coming up again, the stope[3]at the 300-foot level,[4]from which such phenomenally rich telluride, assaying 150 ouncesto the ton, has been taken, shines like a star-bespangled sky on a dark night. The shares in this great mine have been sold at £28 10s.At that time the production was one hundred and twenty thousand pounds worth of gold per month. The immense quantity of huge timber down below is astounding. I am sure there must be enough used in timbering this great mine to build a town. The level at the 100-foot is quite large enough to give a ball in; the electric light and electric bells are all ready, and the air is so beautifully cool that this would be an ideal place for a ball on a hot summer’s night. The production from this wonderful mine has been enormous, and when one has been down and seen all I saw below, one does not wonder at it; it is a perfect marvel of richness. I went over all the drives, stopes, cross-cuts, &c., and saw everything. In place of men pushing the trucks of ore below, as is the case in other mines, horses were drawing 8 or 9 trucks at a time. One of the horses is a real pet with the miners, and at crib-time (mid-day, dinner-time) he is unfastened and allowed to walk about the drive. He always finds out where the men are, and comes up for bread or cake, which he eats with a relish. He is lowered down the mine every morning in a net, and is as quiet as a lamb now; at first, when he was very young, he did not like the lowering process at all, but he has since got quite used to it. Such bodies of rich ore have been opened up that years will be occupied in treating it, the plant belonging to the mine not being yet large enough to cope with the quantity. After the magnitude of the under workings, nothing surprised me on the top, although the rumble and stamping of the batteries, the hum of the mighty machines, the beautiful bright engines that seem to work with perpetual motion, the enormous furnaces, the magnificent cyanide plant, with its wonderful machinery for extracting the gold, the electricity that seems to fill the air and almost takes one’s breath away, are all so vast and wonderful that a sense of something like awe came over one, and I was not sorry to get into the open air again and see the blue sky above me.

Only five years ago a miner returned to Adelaide, South Australia, from the West, and called on a sharebroker, giving him 500 Lake View shares to sell at as high a price as possible. They were sold for a few shillings, and when the miner got his cheque he remarked “he was sorry for the ‘bloke’ who bought them, as he had been working on the mine and knew she was no good.” Those 500 shares would now be worth several fortunes to that miner had he kept them. The biter was bitten; I wonder how he feels at the present day about it?

Overlooking the Great Boulder

That Mr. G. Brookman, of Adelaide, was certain five years ago of the great future of Lake View Consols is shown by a piece of paper with his calculations on it, now in the possession of Mr. Fotheringham, also of Adelaide, which reads as follows:—

“Reef on Lake View, 3000 feet long, 100 feet deep, equal to 300,000 feet, 6 feet wide, equal to 1,800,000 cub. feet, equal to 140,000 tons; 3 ounces to the ton, equal to 420,000 ounces; £4 per ounce, equal to £1,680,000; allow £420,000 for cost of raising and crushing, &c., leaves £1,260,000 available for dividends.”

This great mine stands first in the field as a gold-producer, the total yield in 1900 being 528,368 ounces, and dividends at the time of writing having been paid to the amount of £1,187,500 (one million one hundred and eighty-seven thousand five hundred pounds). When Brookman and Pearce arrived at Coolgardie where Bayley found his Eldorado, and not finding much there,went on to what was then called Hannan’s, now Kalgoorlie, to look at Cassidy’s Claim, they saw plenty of the golden metal to gladden their eyes. They began to work upon a reef, but Mr. Pearce, in his wanderings around the then Bush in spare time, was attracted to some ironstone hills. He prospected about, and was so well satisfied that he and his mate shifted camp and began to work on what is now the Ivanhoe property. Not keeping exactly within the pegged ground, they discovered a rich leader (a small lode running into a large one) not far from the camp. This was the first gold found on the Great Boulder. They then pegged out 20 acres around each find, and keeping their good fortune to themselves (knowing that a still tongue makes a wise head), soon pegged out what is now Lake View Consols. The present value of these syndicate holdings, if realised, would be about £30,000,000! So little was thought of the leases at first that they were called “Brookman’s Sheep Farms.”

I have a few pieces of really fabulously rich telluride that were given to me from the same place, the 300-foot level, which yielded the magnificent specimens sent to the Glasgow Exhibition. The veins of the precious stuff were nearly four inches thick. They are so handsome that it seems almost a pity to break them up and turn them into what is called “filthy lucre.”

After coming from the mine I, with the rest of a party that I had been so fortunate as to meet on my visit here, was hospitably entertained by the manager. I then resumed my journey. This time I thought myself growing so clever, and beginning to know so much travelling alone, that, seeing an opening between two large heaps of what I afterwards discovered to be rich tailings (from the crushings of the ore from which all the gold has not been extracted, and when treated by cyanide, which is a solution for extracting every particle of it, often gives good returns), I started to take a short cut through. I had, however, not thought of the air-tram going along with its freight of ore overhead, and just as we were going through the opening whirl it went along, frightening the poor horse, who nearlyupset the trap. But a second time that day I was saved to continue my journey, this time by two miners, who were just emerging from a shed close by, and who said, “Private road, missus.” However, on seeing my look of distress, and on my mentioning my business as a lady explorer, they let me pass on my way again rejoicing. From the side of Lake View on which I now was, a totally different view presented itself. The large buildings of the mine completely block the township of the Boulder, and for a mile ahead nothing can be seen but mines, mines, mines, and on the flats tents, Hessian camps, offices, and mine-managers’ houses. Many good-sized places about here are boarding-houses. The majority of the men camp and cook for themselves, but some of them merely sleep in their tents and take their meals at the above-mentioned houses, usually looked after by two or three women, who do the mending and washing required. They speak in highest terms of the conduct of all the men; indeed, from what I saw and heard, the camps are very well conducted, and I am sure I have met with the greatest kindness and politeness from the miningcommunity in general. I drove all round these mines and camps, but only stopped once to get a cup of tea at one of the houses, where I found the housekeeper most kind and communicative.

Hannan’s Star Mine

Hannan’s Star, Boulder Main Reef, and Chaffer’s are the mines adjacent to the one I next stopped at—the Golden Horseshoe. Here I interviewed Mr. Sutherland, the manager, at the office, who sent for the underground boss (as he is termed), Mr. Morgan, to show me over the mine. To give an idea of the wealth of this famous mine I must tell you that, when shares were £8 each, such magnificent finds of gold were made that they went up in value to £51! On going below, Mr. Morgan courteously showed me all over the golden mine which has proved so profitable. He also showed me some of the most magnificent gold, and specimens I have ever seen. These were some of those that were found when the shares went up to the tremendous price before mentioned. Sometimes the gold is found in solid pieces; when mixed with quartz, the pieces are called “specimens.” We went down to the 200-foot level, and saw the wonderful place where the finds ran for weeks at a rate of 80 ounces and 90 ounces to the ton; 2000 ounces, valued at £8000, were won in a few days. This was oxidised ore, and at the same level is still abundant, but not quite so rich as the above quotations. We then proceeded to the 400-foot level, where more rich ore and wonderful workings were seen. Then along a drive down another shaft to the 700-foot level, through stopes and cross-cuts, picking out more specimens until I was fairly bewildered. Coming up we stopped at the 400-foot level, where the rich sulpho-telluride ore showed free gold quite plainly. Mr. C. D. Rose, the chairman of this mine, estimates that the monthly production from oxidised ores alone will reach 14,000 ounces, and will be maintained at that. This estimation has been more than reached, one month’s production of the mine since that time having been 15,280 ounces of gold.

The Ivanhoe Mine

When the mine’s great richness was first becoming apparent,a very jovial meeting of the shareholders was held. The shares had then made a big jump to £17. Previous to the time when the shares in the Golden Horseshoe were £7 10s.a strong “bear” attack was made on them. (A “bear,” in mining parlance, is a speculator who sells stock he does not possess, with the idea of being able to purchase at a cheaper price later on.) The mine was at that time “jumped” on account of some legal technicality; but, instead of this producing the desired effect of a fall in prices, the shares shortly afterwards rose, and the “jumpers” made a hasty retreat, sadder but wiser men. A director of this mine told me of the time, not very long past, when he advised his friends to buy shares up to as he had himself done. Some of them acted on his advice, but shortly afterwards the shares went down to £2 10s.He was then overwhelmed with inquiries as to what was the matter. After making a strict examination of the Golden Horseshoe properties, and seeing the large bodies of valuable ore below, this gentleman’s advice was to stick to the shares. Shortly afterwards they rose to £5 and £6, and now, as I before said, they have been as high as £51 per share, and up to 19 ounces of gold to the ton of ore has been got. This speaks for itself, and no doubt it is one of the best mines in the world. I was told a story about this mine, which at first I thought too incredible to be taken seriously, but which I am assured is a fact. It is stated that an old lady recently entered a London broker’s office and produced the certificates for various shares which she said she wanted to dispose of, saying she would take £5 for the lot.The broker found most of them to be shares of a valueless kind, but one represented 500 Golden Horseshoes, which he sent into the market and sold at £40 each, so that the old lady, instead of getting £5 for her entire collection, was credited with £20,000 for one slip of paper alone!

I made my next move onwards along a narrow road between two hills. On one side is the Ivanhoe, and on the other that marvellous mine the Great Boulder. This is the second on the list as champion gold-producer, having produced over 449,726 ounces. If each ounce of gold were to be coined into four sovereigns, these ounces would represent over a million and a half of money, of which £910,000 has been distributed in dividends. Mr. George Inglis, well-known in England and on the Continent, was one of the foundation members of the board of the Great Boulder Mine, and was instrumental in finding some of the working capital of the company, and has been deeply interested in it ever since its inception. The offices of this great mine are close to it. I had to wait some little time before seeing any one who would conduct me round, everybody seeming to be up to their eyes in business. I accordingly mounted a hill to the open door of a large building, which I found to be the amalgamators’ room. Here was a feast of gold in bars, in ingots, in oval shape. It had just been brought from the smelting-room, and the police escort was waiting to take it into the bank at Kalgoorlie. I was fortunate in arriving at the time I did. I had seen gold before, but never to this extent in its newly smelted state; it was a revelation.

The manager, Mr. Hamilton, was very courteous to me, and on my telling him I wished to go underground at once acceded to my request. It was hardly necessary to show him the letter I carried with me from the Minister of Mines, Perth, asking all managers to extend their courtesy and help to me in my travels on the goldfields. On arrival at the shaft, a crowd of men had just come up, and another crowd were waiting to go below; they were changing “shift,” which is the term used to denote their working time of eight hours. During the week the minesnever stop working, consequently relays of men are required. In these shifts their hours of labour are changed at certain times, and so the men are sometimes on what is termed day shift or night shift.

Mr. Zebina Lane

When I descended the 800-foot level the men who were there were taking their mid-day meal, most of them sitting down on the great stones. Their bright dinner cans, which contain three compartments, one for tea, one for bread and meat, and one for sweets, looked very clean and nice, while the many candles that lit up the otherwise gloomy cavern, the picks, shovels, and other mining implements lying about, helped to make up a characteristic scene of underground life.

The diamond drill was at work. It was wonderful to see how the diamond penetrated the hard rock, for the quartz must be nearly as hard as the diamonds are themselves. Mr. Hamilton gave me a piece of the core of the drill, which I shall place among my treasures from the mines. I peered down the 300 feet below where I was, as the mine went down to 1100 feet, but it was so dark and wet that I had no wish to descend any farther, so mounting the cage I again ascended, stopping at two of the other levels and climbing all around them, and seeing all the wonders beneath the earth, and collecting more specimens.

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