JOHN DICKIE 709 



The party LEFT that Native Police camp, PALMERVILLE, on 

 2<}th January, 1901. (SEE MAP G.) First travelling 14 miles 

 NNW., they found GOLD, but not in payable quantities, in granite 

 country in a creek (ANNIE CREEK ?) falling into the Palmer. Similar 

 country extended NNE. to the head of the KING RIVER (the Palmer 

 King, not the Coleman King). The King was run down for 10 

 miles from its head, when the course was altered to NW. After 

 10 miles on this course, the party traversed, for 12 miles, a " desert," 

 in which there were no water-courses. The following 6 miles, to 

 the NW., were on granite country with " plenty of very fine-looking 

 REEFS," running N. and S. and dipping W. No GOLD was seen in 

 the reefs, but " colours " were got in the surface rubble. This 

 was probably near the PHILP GOLDFIELD (the so-called Alice). 



From this point, Dickie led 20 miles NNW. to what he supposed 

 to be the Edward River, but which is much more likely to have 

 been POTALLAH CREEK. (SEE MAP F.) Here, says Dickie, there is 

 a large extent of country with fine-looking REEFS. 



He then traced a belt of " REEFY COUNTRY " 10 miles NW. 

 (probably crossing CROSBIE CREEK about long. 143 E.) 1 and after- 

 wards led NNE. to " one of the heads of the COLEMAN RIVER." 

 Along this route," he says, " there are plenty of REEFS in places, 

 and l colours ' were obtained both from the reefs and the alluvial." 

 He ran the COLEMAN down for 20 miles (which would bring him to 

 between Camps 62 and 63 of Mulligan's fifth trip). 



Six miles NNW. of the Coleman, Dickie struck a belt of country 

 in which he got ALLUVIAL GOLD as well as GOLD IN REEFS. There 

 was, however, nothing good enough to be reported as payable. 

 Here he refers to a report of the preceding year, when he had been 

 on the same spot. 



From this point he went, as he says, NNW. to the SOUTH COEN 

 RIVER, which he struck about 30 miles below the township. The 

 BLACKS stole his beef and he had to go to Ebagoolah for a supply. 

 He was detained in one camp for five weeks by WET WEATHER. 



Thirty miles down the (South) Coen River from the township 

 is the infall of TADPOLE CREEK. (SEE MAP C.) To reach that 

 point, Dickie must have travelled N. by E., and not NNW. His 

 bearings and distances are not given with sufficient accuracy for 

 charting purposes. One can only be certain of his initial and 

 terminal points. His route, as laid down on Sheets l8C, i8D, 

 2oB, and 2oC, can, therefore, only be approximately correct. 



DISCOVERY OF PHILP GOLDFIELD 



A letter from Dickie, dated Ebagoolah, 3oth June, 1903, is 

 printed in the Q.G.M.J. for August (p. 428). Evidently referring 



1 Five miles north of Potallah, the OLAM CREEK REEF has since been worked for 

 gold. Ann. Rep. Mines, 1914, p. 65. 



