726 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



DICKIE sent his report from the Coen. DICK AND SHEFFIELD 

 boarded the train at the Laura terminus and arrived at COOKTOWN 

 on ist November, 1910. 



A few notes may be culled from the diary to show the condition 

 of the mining centres south of the Coen. 



EBAGOOLAH (Hamilton Goldfield). The ADA BATTERY was 

 situated between Slaughteryard Creek and Ebagoolah. The 

 owner, J. Thompson, was largely interested in the Caledonia and 

 Hamilton King mines. 



VIOLETVILLE (Hamilton Goldfield). The camp, or township, 

 is situated on the principal head of the LUKIN (so called by Mulligan, 

 although previously named the HOLROYD by Jardine). The " BIG 

 REEF," on Gold Mount, is described by Dick as from 5 to 25 feet 

 wide and fully 500 feet in length, supposed to be worth half an 

 ounce of gold per ton, the gold being valued at 3 per ounce. 

 The " LUKIN " BATTERY was on water 3 miles from the mine and 

 was owned by D. Wilson, who had also a mine named the HAIKAI. 



An area of 965 square miles was set aside in 1908 as an 

 ABORIGINAL RESERVE. Commencing at Cape Sidmouth, the 

 boundary-line goes west for 33 miles, north to Mount Tozer in 

 the Janet Range, and east to Cape Griffith, thus enclosing the 

 greater part of the Macrossan Range, a large part of the Mcllwraith 

 Range, and half of the Janet Range, besides the whole of the 

 Lockhart valley and the head of the Nisbet valley. Considerable 

 portions of this reserve are already occupied by miners, who, there 

 is no doubt, will require more of it as the industrial occupation of 

 the country progresses. 



JOHN DICKIE'S REPORT 



Mr. John Dickie, in a short report supplied to the Mines Department and dated 

 Coen, 2Oth October (1910), states that the country prospected was from the heac 

 of the Hays Creek 20 miles northward. The country he describes as very broker 

 with creeks and gullies everywhere, all of them containing a little gold. The golder 

 belt is 8 miles in width. There were reefs in places right through, and nearly all that 

 were tried contained gold. The best reefs were found within 5 miles of the camp of 

 Dodd and Preston, on Hays Creek waters. Little sinking was done on any of the 

 reefs tested, because a payable reef would be of no use to anyone in this country without 

 a battery. The reefs were all very " buck "-looking on the surface, but when sunk 

 on to a short depth they were all found to be heavily mineralised. Mr. Dickie considers 

 there is no doubt that remunerative reefs can be found throughout this country. 

 The party, he says, discovered no payable alluvial, but he thinks such will be found 

 north of the belt, 20 miles by 8 miles, which was prospected on this occasion. There 

 was a belt of scrub on the dividing range, 7 miles long by 8 miles wide, which was not 

 prospected, but all the creeks and gullies running out of this scrub on either side of 

 the range carry a little gold. The formation throughout the 2O-mile belt examined, 

 Mr. Dickie describes as granite with schist in places, and a little diorite all through. 

 He mentions that on the map which he had, only two heads of the Lockhart are 

 delineated, whereas there are about twelve large branches and some thirty small creeks 

 all running into this river. The distance from the northern end of the 2O-mile belt 

 of country examined to the workings on the Rocky Goldfield is 50 miles as the crow 



