The Hodgkinson Goldfield, Northern Queensland. 7 



intersected with quartz reefs. The township of Kingsboro, 

 or what is strictly termed the Hodgkinson Diggings, is at 

 the crossing-place of the river. Like all new diggings in 

 very remote places, it is extremely primitive in its architec- 

 ture. The residents endeavour to do with as little as 

 possible in the way of shelter and accommodation, yet, not- 

 withstanding this and the extreme heat of a tropical climate 

 (lat. 16° S.), the place is not unhealthy. The town is on a 

 small ridge, about 1700 feet above the sea, but above and 

 around it there are many peaks and elevations, rising 

 abruptly to considerably over 2000 feet. The soil is not 

 barren, being a reddish earth, but too steep and stony to be 

 favourable for agriculture. The Hodgkinson winds around 

 the town. It is never quite dry, but does not run all the 

 year round. It is a shallow, rocky stream, with thin belts 

 of bushes in its bed, and with very little alluvial detritus. 

 There are boulders and water- worn stones in abundance, 

 amid which the Chinese get small amounts of gold by 

 cradling and sluicing ; but, as it was the dry season at the 

 time of my visit, there was very little of this going on. 



Around the town many claims are visible, but not all of 

 them working. The most successful were the Tyrconnell 

 and the Grattan, both close to the town. Two conspicuous 

 peaks close by have the Laird of the Hills and the Great 

 Britain claims upon them. The first is a very elevated, 

 narrow, almost peaked mountain, about 2100 feet above the 

 sea. The rock exposed on the surface is entirely ribbon 

 jasper and agate, of beautiful, interesting, and perhaps 

 valuable structure. The quartz vein crops out near the 

 summit. It has a north and south strike, and a considerable 

 dip to the east. The quartz is a very wide seam, of rather 

 favourable appearance. It has not been worked as yet 

 profitably; but I think more for want of means and 

 appliances than from the poverty of the stone. The Great 

 Britain claim is on a lower peak to the southward. It seems 

 a continuation of the vein which is worked so profitably at 

 the Tyrconnell, but it does not show very payable results. 

 The reef seems to be in close contact with a dyke, and is 

 probably intersected by it. And here it may be as well to 

 state that dykes of the stone to be described are very 

 common on the whole of the field. They are igneous 

 intrusions, but of a character difficult to arrange with any 

 well-known form of intrusive rock. It is a dull bluish 

 grey paste, enclosing a black mineral, which is found in 



