BY W. FRYAR, ESQ. 135 
a railway as that of mining, whether it be of cobalt and 
nickel ores, of cinnabar, galena, copper, or gold, all of 
which, as we have seen, are found in greater or less abun- 
dance in the neighbourhood. 
Coal, it is admitted, yields more work for railways, but 
could scarely be mentioned in connection with the metallic 
ores, but the coal of Miva and Munna Creeks, near the 
Kilkivan line now in course of construction, has long been 
known as a prospective, if not a present, source of wealth, 
and very excellent specimens were shown me by the con- 
tractors for the line, Messrs. M‘Dermott and Owens, who 
have ina praiseworthy manner taken special note of the 
mineralogy of the district which this line is traversing. 
The branch line is now opened to the Mary River, a dis- 
tance of four miles from the junction. A bridge of very 
considerable dimensions is erected across the river suitable, 
not only for the railway, but for ordinary vehicular, 
horse, and foot traffic. The rails are laid a_ distance 
of 12 miles further still, and the contractors’ engine travels 
that distance. In the cuttings near the river the aqueous 
deposits of the coal measures are visible, but further on a 
varied and interesting exhibition of volcanic and plutonic 
phenomena is seen exposed, particularly in the sidling 
cuttings on Bong Millerer Creek. 
The line may thus be said to be completed as far as Wool- 
gar, and its construction is well advanced, a distance of 10 
miles further, towards Kilkivan, which will be the terminus of 
the line, so far as at present arranged. The distance hence 
to the newly-opened cobalt mine is about 10 miles by the 
nearest practicable route, the direct distance being pro- 
bably from five to six miles. The Mount Corra and Black 
Snake are in the immediate neighbourhood ; also, if a some- 
what more circuitous route be taken, the cinnabar mines 
would be included within the operations of such means of 
communication. 
As this would probably, however, be a question for the 
mine owners, we can only conclude with a hope that the 
wealth of minerals proved to exist in that neighbourhood 
may, within a reasonable period of time, add to the realised 
wealth of the colony and assist in relieving the present 
somewhat depressed condition of mining in the neighbour- 
