LOCAL GOSSIP.
(By Ajor.)
Since my last communication to you on the all-absorbing question of the possibility of a quartz reef over the Bay, I have gone one stage further towards the elucidation of the same, a few particulars of which are given below.
Last Saturday morning at an early hour, I and my friend C. found ourselves, per fast and favourite Duchess, on the northern shore of Day’s Bay. A cycle ride of about two miles over an excellent road by the water’s edge brought us to Arcadian Muritai, having passed en route through the lovely village of Rona Bay, with its picturesque, gaily-painted bungalows and seaside cottages.
At Muritai a third joined us in the person of Mr Henry Savage, whose chance discovery of a quartz reef some time ago induced him to be our guide thither, and so we set off in high feather for the interesting spot, by continuing on along the margin of the bay towards Pencarrow till a point was reached where the road began a somewhat steep ascent over a hill of slate overlaid generally by papa formation, where we left our bikes.
Ascending this western slope, we reached a height of about 300ft, and at places could look almost straight down on the bay’s waters; whilst turning to the north and east, the beautiful valley, called Gollan’s, opened out between our vantage ground and the magnificently forested heights enclosing Wainui-o-mata, lying hidden northwards.
We followed the capital dray road belting the northern flank of our mountain and down Gollan’s Valley for some miles, till we came to a nice-looking outcrop of quartz on the point of a conglomerate spur of sandstone and slate, and with which the quartz was freely mixed.
With our hammers we succeeded in breaking some of the rubble out, and from which several quartz pieces deeply coated in oxidised iron were collected, in one of which our powerful magnifying glasses disclosed rich sulphurets, the very casing of gold, which, however, was not discernible in its present condition.
Before departing further afield, we determined the following particulars of the outcrop: The track of the conglomerate leaders coursed nearly north and south, with a westerly underlie, and the measure was estimated at about eighteen inches in thickness; this was a bit reassuring, as in New Zealand all auriferous reefs have north and south lines and west dips.
Gathering up our tools and specimens of geology, we continued on down the valley road (the morning sun coming out hot and strong) until a sweet little creek of crystalline water was reached. There was no pub. nor Trocadero nor Geisha tea rooms about, so delaying our choice we endured the pangs, and toiled up the opposite mountain, where our guide felt certain the celebrated reef lay.
An hour’s climb brought us to the highest comb, and whilst we sat and rested, and caught up glimpses of the blue waters of Port Nicholson between a gulch or pass of the opposite side of the valley, the untiring Mr S. scrambled about the tortuous slopes and precipices all around for an hour or so.
At last we heard somewhere up in the southern sky a faint halloo, and as venturing along insecure places, the slipping of a foot on which must have sent the unlucky one rolling far down the mountain flank, the welcome intelligence “I have found the reef!” came sailing to us on the wings of the morning, and hastening we soon, after several hairbreadth escapes, conquered the highest spur overlooking Gollan’s Valley, and were pointed out by our [text missing in supplied OCR] three feet thick, housed between a hanging wall of sandstone and footwall of slate.
Someone had, a great many years ago, sunk a winze on the reef for a depth of about 10ft, for from the bottom thereof grew to a height above the shaft a fern tree. This winze enabled me to make the following observations.
On this high spur, overlooking Gollan’s Valley to the south, and at the head of a watered gully trending down to the valley, this quartz measure crops out, and its downhill side is covered with rotten papa and quartz boulders, so that one cannot well ascertain its dimensions nor composition further than that the surface quartz is more or less cavernous, the cavities being more or less filled with peroxide of iron.
Breaking off some pieces, we laid them aside for future reference, and descended the winze to discover to our delight a particularly well-formed reef 3ft thick between well-defined walls of slate and sandstone, and widening as it goes down at an angle of, I should say, 34deg., course north and south, and having an underlie to the west.
Half-way down the winze the quartz was harder than that on the surface, and heavily coated with oxidised iron, yet it was not of that hungry crystalline nature so disregarded of the intelligent reef prospector. On the other hand, the specimens broken out of the very centre proved it to be of a non-flinty nature. In a word, the stone was of a friable character.
At the bottom of the winze lay a very compact body of kindly-looking quartz, the casing lying against a layer of pug, which in turn lay up against the sandstone hanging wall, another indication much thought of by the prospector; the cleavage on the slate footwall was very well defined, and the reef being thus between the slate and the sandstone, should live to a great depth.
We all three broke out with our picks quartz from the bottom, and which being brought up to daylight proved to be of a soft, friable nature, and of a bluish colour, intersected by numerous streaks resembling arsenical pyrites and sulphurets.
Whilst we collected our specimens, Mr S. broke out a hatful of rubble, which he carried down the mountain and washed in the stream before spoken of, but was unable to contribute to our fast-rising faith one colour.
We are not at all disheartened, for I have seen many of our richest quartz reefs of the south (which are paying handsomely), in the paddocks of which one might fruitlessly prospect all day, so unreadily does gold reveal itself to the eye of the searcher after the precious metal.
I am now to try, by both dry and wet processes, the little bag of quartz specimens I brought away from Gollan’s Gully reef, and I hope to give your readers the benefit of my labours. After that, successful or otherwise, I shall, if permitted, continue my geological studies into the ranges immediately overlooking Day’s Bay, where traces of gold have been obtained in the matrix.
In conclusion, I must point out that the Gollan’s Gully reef has every appearance of a gold-bearing reef; it has both the course and the underlie of all the auriferous reefs in New Zealand, and lives between the sandstone and the slate, besides which it outcrops on the sunny side of the range. This part of the country is certainly worth prospecting.
