The Sinking Being Shallow,
What Ground There Was, Was Soon Worked Out, And Before Long The Rush Set
Back Again As Rapidly As It Had Come, The Goldfield Was Condemned As A
Duffer, And Left To The Few Faithful Fossickers Who Have Made A Living
There To This Day.
The alluvial gold was the great bait; of this but
little was found, and to reefing no attention to
Speak of was given, so
that at the present time miles upon miles of quartz reefs, blows,
leaders, and veins are untouched and untested as they were before the
rush of 1886. No one can say what systematic prospecting might disclose
in this neglected corner of the Colony. There are many countries less
favoured for cheap mining; Kimberley is blessed with an abundant
rainfall, and the district contains some of the finest pasture-lands in
Australia.
A scarcity of good mining timber, the remoteness of the district from
settled parts, and the bad name that has been bestowed upon it, are the
disadvantages under which the goldfield labours. Nevertheless two
batteries are working at the present day, and a good find by some old
fossicker is not so rare.
Setting aside the question of gold-discoveries, which may or may not be
made, this district has a great future before it to be derived from the
raising of stock, cattle, sheep, and horses. So far only a limited area
of country has been taken up - that is to say, the country in the valleys
of the Ord, Margaret, and Fitzroy Rivers and their tributaries.
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