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 ;--
"Sydney papers have reaehed us, via Batavia, to the
4th of August. The discovery of new 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
2,000 Chinese. By the way, the latter class of immigrants
were pouring into Sydney and Adelaide by shiploads,
and several steamers had been 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 Celestials were 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 description 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-
semble 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 Burrendong, 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 was sent from Tarn-
baroora for that purpose some few days ago. Though
there is a fair sprinkling of tents, yet the greatest num-
ber of habitations are buts formed of slabs and bark, and
made as comfortable inside as most buildings of that
description. There are already four stores on the
ground and in the neighbourhood of the main diggings,
two of which are also public houses, where very good
accommodation is provided both for man and horse at a
reasonable nte. Provisions of every kind are ex-
tremely reasonable, flour selling at 343. the 100 lb. ;
tea 2s. and 2s. 6d ; good sugar 7d, and salt sd. per lb.,
and almost everything else in proportion. Tools,
tubs, and cradles, however, are scarcely to be had at any
price, owing to the fact that most of the new arrivals
come upon the ground with nothing beyond a pick,
shovel, and tin dish. Our informant further states
that, though he has visited most of the gold fields in this
colony, yet he had never been in one where there ap-
peared to be so much universal success or such general
satisfaction expressed by the miners generally. The
nearest route for horsemen 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 diggings, the deep and surface,
the former not exceeding eight or nine feet, and the
latter generally about a foot from the surface. On the
day I reached the gold field there were taken out of
three adjoining claims on the surface diggings, in the
course of the afternoon, upwards of 100 oz. of gold in
nuggets, weighing from loz, to 18oz. 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 discovered 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, Wellington, and Orange. The whole
body of diggers were in high spirits and all seemed
satisfied. There is already in 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 necessaries—beef at 3d, per lb., flour
at 375. per 1001 b. Of clothing and soft goods, such as
blankets and shirts, there is a good supply. 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.'"