McILWRAITH AND MACROSSAN RANGES 725 



sandstone on the north-eastern corner of the GEIKIE RANGE. 

 Below them, to the north, lay the BAIRDSVILLE mining centre and 

 the lonely GRAVE of its discoverer, WILLIAM BAIRD (1892), who was 

 killed by the blacks in 1 896. CHOCK-A-BLOCK, another gold-mining 

 centre, was visible to the north between the Batavia and Pascoe 

 Rivers. I am indebted to Dick's sketch-map for the approximate 

 positions of BAIRDSVILLE, PLUTOVILLE and CHOCK-A-BLOCK. The 

 two latter have not yet appeared on any map, so far as I am aware, 

 while the latter is incorrectly placed on the sketch-map drawn to 

 illustrate Dick's report when it appeared in the Government 

 Mining Journal. 



A few months before the Dickie party's visit, WILLIAM 

 PARTRIDGE and others had won 30 ounces of GOLD from the Batavia 

 River, and gullies which yielded PAYABLE GOLD had been worked 

 by GLEESON, WARD, WEISS and EDWARD DOWNS. Downs had got 

 60 ounces at Chock- a- Block. 



A week was spent by the Dickie party prospecting around 

 BAIRDSVILLE, but nothing very promising was met with. One of 

 Giblet's boys turned up at the camp on 7th October, on his way 

 to the Ducie River, with horses. This boy had information to 

 give respecting the Lockhart, which might have been of some 

 service had it been given in time. 



By this time, the MC!LWRAITH RANGE appears to have been 

 thoroughly known to sandalwood getters, who had marked many 

 tracks across it, between Giblet's landing on the Lockhart and the 

 Mein Telegraph Station. Many miners and prospectors also had 

 tracks leading out to the east of Mein in various directions, including 

 one to Dodd's Golden Gate camp. 



It is stated in the Annual Report of the Department of Mines 

 for 1892 that after WILLIAM BAIRD had reported the discovery of 

 payable gold on Retreat Creek, Batavia River (BAIRDSVILLE), in 

 October of that year, he went, accompanied by SUB-INSPECTOR 

 MARRETT, to the mouth of HAYS CREEK, MARKING A TRACK. I 

 assume that Baird and Marrett correctly identified Hays Creek and 

 did not confuse it with Dodd Creek, as Dodd and Preston and 

 subsequent observers did. 



The Dickie party left BAIRDSVILLE on I2th, reached MEIN on 

 i$th and left for Cooktown on i$th October. Following the 

 Telegraph line to the south-east, they camped 25 miles from Mein, 

 where they unsuccessfully prospected some " likely " country. 

 Dick and Sheffield crossed the GEIKIE TABLELAND (my track of 

 20th December, 1879, to Camp 13) on ijth October and visited 

 MAYER AND CLAUSSEN'S REEF on HORSE CREEK, about 6 miles WNW. 

 of the camp on the Telegraph line where Dickie remained. Mayer 

 and Claussen were busy erecting a 6-head BATTERY. On the return 

 of Dick and Sheffield to the camp in the afternoon, they found a 

 note from Dickie, who had tired of waiting, and had gone on. 



