Crawford. — On Gold in the WeUington Provincial District. 479 



that lumps may ojfteu be broken off at the thinner parts, and appear in a 

 boulder-hke form. The quantity of mullock separating the layers of quartz 

 ought, I sux^pose, to make the working of these reefs very easy. 



Supposing the Otaki reefs to be gold-bearing the question of access 

 wordd be a serious consideration. There would not, I think, be any parti- 

 cular engineering difficulties in forming a road to them from Otaki, but it 

 would be a work of considerable outlay. I think it probable that a low 

 saddle might be found by which to reach them from the valley of the 

 Hakatarewaha. 



I have not examined the valley of the Ohau, the next river to the 

 northward of the Otaki, but prospectors found a good deal of gold in the 

 terraces of that river, although not enough to ^Day. 



The Otaki reefs ought of course to be traced if possible to the Ohau, and 

 it seems to me that the gold found in the terraces is strong corroborative 

 evidence of the auriferous character of the reefs, and also that the parti- 

 cular reefs about which I write are the true mineral lodes of the district. 



I wish it particularly to be borne in mind that I found no signs of 

 mineral veins in ascending the Ofcaki Eiver until I reached the reefs in 

 question on the Waiotauheru. 



Now that the Hakatarewaha is opened by a road, it would be compara- 

 tively easy to prospect that valley ; and I am inclined to think that if the 

 line of strike of the Otaki reefs were first obtained, and then followed into 

 the Hakatarewaha, reefs in that valley would be soon picked up, if not 

 obvious without adopting this plan. 



These reefs are naturally most easily found in sections of river banks, 

 and this mode of discovering them is the best in the upper parts of the 

 rivers. When, however, the rivers have spread out into valleys, and have 

 formed large deposits of alluvium or of shingle, then they prove of little or 

 no assistance. 



It would be advisable to examine the upper part of the Hutt Eiver, and 

 of its tributaries, to ascertain whether or not any reefs crop out there. 



With regard to what I call the eastern line of reefs I cannot speak so 

 positively. I have found the stone about Orongorongo, and I am told that 

 it is found all the way up that valley. As I have said above, I have seen it 

 in the Wainuiomata, and. indications of it about Drake's Elbow. Indica- 

 tions may also be found along the road between the Pakuratahi and the 

 Eimutaka saddle. The whole line requires further prospecting. 



I would by no means discourage further search in the direction of 

 Makara. A considerable quantity of gold has been found there, but the 

 reef has not yet been struck. If, however, the particular kind of quartz 

 which I point out be carefully looked for, and if found in veins then 

 followed up, we may perhaps arrive at a satisfactory result after all. 



