, 1891-10-31
THE TASMANIAN SILVER-F1ELD-
(From the Times. }

AH0 uTSL discovery OF Tasmania was mau6
on November "a, 1642, by the Dutch navi-
gator Abel JAMS Tasman. The first land
sighted by him was the mountain SUISSE
quently called Zeehan, after one of his ships,
and the hills and the coast line in it's i'm
mediate vicinity. This mountain and the
surrounding district, owing to the dense
ness of vegetation and the unfruitful APP
pearance of the soil, remained a terra sncoq-
natG from the period of it's discovery until
some five or six years ago, when the hardy
colonial prOSpectOr, in his restless search
for gold, penetrated its dark and inhOspita-
Die forests, and discovered, not the looked
for yellow metal, but the white. Little was
thought OfthiS discovery at the time. The
cOlOnistS recognized the fact that silver was
there i'll the Zeehan country the prospec-
tor went his way searching for gold or tin;
and 80 the matter remained in allegiance.
But the great success of the Broken Hill
mines taught the TaSmanians duly to APP
preclate the possible wealth of Zeehan, and
within the last four years the quest for sill
yer has been pursued with energy. One
discovery of silver deposits has followed
another, and now over $4,000 acres are
rented from the Government, on renewable
21-year leases, for silver mining purposes;
and, IN the centre of what is believed to be
the richest portion of the field, one of those
mining towns which rises as by magic
about the shaft and pOppet heads is rapid
~ assuming the proportions OF a city. Two
years ago the site Of the present town Of
Aeehan was a valley Of myrtle, blue-gum,
and pine trees, with here and there a few
calico tents twinkling through the foliage.
Now it is a cleared space, upon which some
5000 people have settled either in houses
OF their own or in large and well-appOinted
hotels, that provide accommodation for hun
dredS. -Four churches have been erected or
are IN course of erection; public halls and
billiard saloons furnish amusement for the
residents a bright little tri-weekIy news
paper keeps the miners Ga cOWrant with the
affairs Ofthe outside world; and the carpen-
ters saw and hammer are heard day and
night, making further provision for the
crowds which continue to pour in from the
districts Of Tasmania and the nejghbOuring
colonies. 1t is estimated that about 5000
people are now upon the field, the majority
OF whom are actively employed in mining,
and every succeeding day brings its wv
evidence of the rich abundance of silver ore
which is awaiting development.
During the past two years nearly 200
companies have been placed upOn the Mel
bourne, Hobart, and LauncestOn markets,
and the shares have been readily Subscrib-
ed tor, chiefly by capitalists who have dur
ing the past few years Cleaned a rich har-
vest III the Silver-feld of Broken Hill. Most
OftheSe companies are now actively engag-
ed Ill developing their properties, and many
are putting out large quantities of payable
ore. Although nearly all silver mining ne
ceSsarleS, such as timber, water, and smelt-
ing ~tuxeS, are obtainable on or close to the
field, the mines so far, have been working
under serious disadvantages in regard to
communications with the port. Owing to
the heavy rainfall of the district (nearly 100
inches per annum and the spongy charac-
ter of the soil, it has been found impossible
to make roads capable of bearing heavy
loads of mining machinery and ore. The
Government of Tasmania, recognising this
fact and also the vast Importance of the
field, are constructing a line of railway to
connect Zeehan with the nearest suitable
SeapOrt-Strahan, Macquarie Harbour. This
line, which Is 20 miles in length, was com
menced i'll January, 1890, and is now so
near completion that before the end of the
year it will be possible to convey, at com
paratively slight cost, mining machinery,
smelling furnaces, building material, SC,
from the port to the field, aud (pending the
erection of local smelling works. the ore,
now lying at the mouths of the mines, from
the field to the port, where it may be ship
ped to the smelters at Adelaide or Sydney.
With two exceptions, the mining COM
-.- 1000 Il Mi. 80 - ALo Gol1