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slope of the main range of the Island. The alluvial diggings at Collingwood 

 were first discovered in this district in 1858, and in 1864 the great gold fields 

 near Hokitika, attracted the majority of the mining population of New 

 Zealand. Since then the field has been gradually but thoroughly explored, 

 and more or less gold obtained in almost every part of it. The mode of 

 occurrence of the gold admits of very simple classification dependent on the 

 physical features of the country. 



The Southern Alps which are near to the West Coast, in the latitude of 

 Mount Cook, are continued northwards through Nelson province to Cook's 

 Straits, by the Spencer Mountains, forming a well-marked range, that defines 

 the head waters of the streams flowing to the east, and is characterised by the 

 line of eruption of the Mesozoic Diorites. The towns of Nelson and Hokitika 

 are, according to this view, equally situated on the west side of the mountains; 

 and between Blind Bay, at Nelson, and the west coast at Hokitika, a well- 

 marked depression extends in a S. W. direction for one hundred and forty miles, 

 separating the central range from a triangular area of mountain country, 

 that has its northern termination at Cape Farewell, and its southern one 

 at the Grey river. This latter district is extremely rugged, and displays 

 a greater variety in its geological structure, than any other part of New 

 Zealand. 



Frequent changes in the formation are common in this area, from Horn- 

 blende rocks to Schist and Clay slates, while the summits of the mouutains 

 are frequently capped with outliers of the upper Secondary coal formation and 

 marine limestones; while in the majority of the streams that radiate from it, gold 

 is found under such circumstances as to indicate that auriferous lodes occur in 

 rocks throughout the district. A few quartz reefs have already been discovered, 

 such as at Moonlight Creek on the Grey river, and Waimongaroa near the 

 Buller, and at Wangape'ka and Collingwood, in the north ; but as a mining 

 field it is still practically undeveloped. The alluvial gold has, on the other 

 hand, been veiy extensively worked, the yield up to the present time amounting 

 to 2,235,591 oz. The alluvial gold occurs in well-defined " leads," of which 

 chere are three distinct kinds, without including the local " sluicing " diggings 

 in the valleys of the motmtain torrents, already alluded to, as generally dis- 

 tributed throughout the area. Unlike the gold drifts of Otago, which rest 

 on the denuded surface of their parent rocks, the auriferous gravels in the 

 western district, as a general rule, rest on the surface of recent Tertiary rocks, 

 of marine origin, having, in fact, been carried out of the mountains by the 

 rivers, and deposited along a gradually changing coast line. They thus have a 

 general distribution parallel to whatever was the western shore of the island at 

 the time of their deposit. 



The earliest formed, and most elevated of these "leads," extend in a N.E. 

 direction, from near Boss, where they are cut off obliquely by the sea coast, 

 into the Nelson province, running parallel with the main range, and have 

 already been traced as far as the high terraces near the source of the Little 

 Grey river. They have here their greatest altitude, though still resting on the 

 marine strata, and slope steadily to the south, till at Boss the main lead is 

 actually beneath the present sea level, and worked by true " deep sinking." 

 These leads have been intersected by the more modern streams, and a second 

 class of leads thereby formed ; while the third class of alluvial workings is 

 formed by the ancient and modern sea beaches, along which the gold has been 

 drifted by the action of the waves and surf. These workings extend for more 

 than two hundred miles along the coast, and as they are undergoing constant 

 renewal they will afford a permanent source of employment. 



The peculiarity of the Westland alluvial diggings that requires to be most 

 impressed on the mind, is that, in the majority of cases, the streams have cut 



