The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-31 00:00:00

DISCOVERY OF A GOLDIIELD.

A letter dated Brisbane, October 30, contains the
following account of the important discovery of gold in
Queensland :—" Gold ! gold ! nuggets, wash dirt, and
claims are the sole topic of conversation. The greatest
excitement prevails here. Everybody who can by any
possibility handle a pick and shovel is either going, or
talking of going, to the diggings. Men who had no
regular employment, and many who had, have taken
themselves and their swags off to the new diggings. From
all accounts they are of the richest description. The
ground at present being worked consists of a couple of
dry gullies within a mile of the Mary River, about fifty-
one miles from Maryborough, and a little over 100 miles
from Brisbane. Maryborough is deserted. The sugar and
meat-curing factories there are closed, and the bulk of the
male population are gone to try their luck. This new find
was discovered by an old digger named Nash, who, after
wandering about the mountain region at the head of Mary,
came upon the gullies that are now being worked. Seeing
evident auriferous signs, he tfied a dish of dirt, and
the prospects were so good that he -went to the nearest
station, and got a supply of provisions, returned to his
gully, and worked away until be had collected about sixty or
eighty ounces of gold. He then came into town and sold
the gold as Cape River gold, but at the same time sent
private information to the Government that it was really
obtained from the Mary district. He then sent for his
brother and one or two friends, bought a horse and dray,
and returned to his find. About a fortnight ago the whole
party returned to Maryborough with about 200 ounces of
gold, applied for miners' rights, and returned to have their
prospectors' claims marked out by the authorities. The
news spread as only such news will, and in two or three
days half 31aryborough was on the road, and in a week
part of the unemployed of Brisbane. The road from
Brisbane passes over a fearfully rough country, cros,ing
the Durundar ranges and traversing the broken country
at the of the Mary. The auriferous guilie;
run from a spur on the western slope of Mount
Bopple, and the country for miles round is said to
present the sense geological features. Old Victorian
diggers, judging from the appearance of the gold, say that
it bears every indication of coming from an extensive and
permanent field. The gold is of a very nuggety character.
Nuggets varying in size from up to 41oz. have been
collected, the sinking varying from lft. Gin. to about 4ft.
There is at present only one cradle on the diggings, the
diggers only using prospecting pans ; but the yield even
with these inefficient means is said to be satisfactory, from
ioz. to Ds. per day per man. Of course, as on every
other field, there are some unfortunates who can find
nothing worth while, and it is very likely, from the num-
bers that are flocking to this El Dorado, that there may be
considerable distress ; but a short time will prove whether
it is only the finding of a rich patch or the discovery of a
most important auriferous region. All who are interested
in the future prosperity of the colony will admit that a
more auspicious time than the present could not be for a
good goldfield to be discovered."