The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-03 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

The following is from a copy of the Straits Times,
received by the overland mail, which contains the
following intelligence from Sydney down to the sth
of August :

"Sidney papers have reached us, via Batavia, to the
4th of August. The discovery of now and rich diggings
at Rocky River and Stony Creek, near the town of
Bathurst:—which place has been deserted for the gold
fields—had caused a complete panic. They were rush-
ing in hundreds from the older diggings to the new El
Dorado, which we need not be surprised at when we are
gravely assured on credible authority, that one party
secured 300 ounces and another 160 ounces in the course
of one afternoon. Many thousands were on the newly
discovered treasure spot, and among the number about
,000 Chinese. By the way, the latter class of itnmigrants
were pouring into Sydney and Adelaide by shiploads,
and several steamers had bean chartered to convey them
along the coast and up the rivers so as to enable them to
reach the diggings by the shortest possible route. At
Melbourne they were seriously discussing the propriety
of removing the restrictions placed on the landing of the
Chinese in that province, seeing that the influx into the ,
colony, either via Sydney or Adelaide, is greater than
when the eJlestials wero free to land at Melbourne and
Williamstown.

"We ought to mention that at the Rocky River and
Stony Creek diggings the gold is usually found in nug-
gets, varying from one ounce to 90 and even 130 ounces.
The following de,cription of the new gold field we copy
from the Bathurst Free Press :

" 'The whole country, which is hilly and abounds in
gullies, covered with box and stringy bark, is said to re-
semlie Forest Creek (Victoria) in its formation and ap-
pearance. The ground is also said to be similar to that
first worked on the breaking out of that field. The
Chinese are reported to be doing very well, and that such
is the case may be inferred from the fact of their having
established an armed escort, consisting of three mounted
Chinamen, for the purpose of conveying their gold to
Orange. At the present time there are no police, nor
even a commissioner, on the field; the nearest police
station is Burrendoeg, distant about 20 miles. Consi-
dering this fact,, the total absence of robberies or dis-
turbances of any kind is highly creditable to the miners.
There is also no commissioner to settle disputes or to
issue licences, the licences already granted having been
given out by Serjeant Robinson, who wa6 sent from Tarn-
baroora for that purpose some few days ago. Though
t;,:ere is a fair sprinkling of tents, yet the greatest num-
ber ,of habitations are huts formed of slabs and bark, and
made re: comfortable inside as most buildings of that
descriptiore- There are already four stores on the
ground and 112 the neighbourhood of the main diggings,
two of which AL;^ also public houses, where very good
accommodation is peovided both for man and horse at a
reasonable rite. Pry
visions of every kind are ex-
tremely reasonable, flour' selling at 345. the 1001 b. ;
tea 2e. and 2s. 6d ; good suler id, and salt sd. per lb.,
and almost everything else in proportion. Tools,
tubs, and cradles, however, are scrercely to be had at any
price, owing to the fact that most Pf the new arrivals
come cpso the ground with nothing beyond a pick,
shovel, and tin dish. Our informant further states
het, though ho has visited most of the golf: fields in this
colony, yet he hod never been in one where there ap-
peared to be so rnoch universal SUCCOR or saw genera!
satisfaction expressed by the miners generally, The
nearest route for •horeemen or pedestrians is by Scotch
Harry's or Ophir ;' but for teams and vehicles through
Orange. Gold, which appears to be pretty plentiful, is
selling at 31. 15s. per ounce.
" Being now resident at Orange, I visited, out of
curiosity, on the 7th inst., the Stony Creek diggings,
distant hence, on the road to Mookerwa, about 35 miles.
I saw there two kinds of digginhgs, the deep and surface,
the
the former not exceeding eigt or nine feet, and
latter generally about a foot from the surface, On the
day I reached the gold field there were takeerout of
turee adjoining claims on the stlrface diggings, in the
course of the afternoon, upwards of 100 oz. of gold in
nuggets, weighing from loz. to 18cz. each.
" On the following day I went over the ground and
spoke to several diggers from Victoria. They gave it
as their candid opinion that this gold field will turn out
to be the richest yet di: covered in any part of the world
—also that fields of a like .kind and in great numbers
extend for upwards of 30 miles in all directions, that is,
towards Ophir, Weliington, and Orange. The whole
body of diggers were in high spirits and all seemed
satisfied. There is already le the hands of the diggers
a large quantity of gold, and the great cry is for an escort
to take charge of their gold And letters ; there is an
abundant supply of aecessaries—bef at 3d. per lb., flour
at 375. per 1001 b. Of clothing and !soft goods, such as
blankets and shirts, there is a good eupply, Mining
tools and cradles are very scarce, but this will only be
for a short time, as there is a large supply on the road.'"