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 the _Kalgoorlie
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 altogether Kalgoorlie 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?”
[Illustration: 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 regaled with “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
to make 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 my readers, however, that those in
Western Australia are an exception.
[Illustration: 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
discovery _re_ the 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, where I 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 through the 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.
[Illustration: 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 3_d._ per share! 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 ounces to 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
10_s._ 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?
[Illustration: 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 nearly upset 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 mining
community 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 10_s._ 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 10_s._ 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 mines never
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.
[Illustration: 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.