Geological Survey of Canterbury. 113 



I had the pleasure of meeting here Mr. Malcolm Eraser, one of the 

 G-overnment District Surveyors (now Surveyor- General of Western 

 Australia), who had charge of the road party working from here 

 in both directions, and who kindly returned with me to his camp. 

 A gentle ascent of about 800 feet through dense forest, changing 

 towards the summit into thick sub T alpine scrub, brought us to the 

 top of that first saddle. The road from the foot to the summit 

 under the direction of Mr, M. Fraser was nearly finished, and offered 

 fair travelling ground. The summit of the wooded saddle exhibits the 

 same characteristics as Arthur's or Harper's Pass, and although I use 

 the expression " wooded saddle," I think it very inappropriate, as it 

 will convey an erroneous impressiou. The ground is covered with 

 Sphagnum (swamp moss), grass and other herbaceous plants liking 

 moist sub-alpine localities. Here and there small groves of sub-alpine 

 shrubs, consisting of several species of Dracophyllum, Olearia, Panax, 

 Veronica, &c, have sprung up on the drier spots, and cover both sides 

 of the mountain slopes with a luxuriant growth, attracting the eye by 

 the various and vivid tints of their rich foliage. 



Some 80 feet below the summit of this first saddle Mr. Fraser's 

 camp was situated, where we found a kind and hearty reception. Mr. 

 Fraser having among his road party several miners who, four weeks 

 before my arrival, had come over Browning's Pass, I endeavoured to 

 prevail on some of them to return with me, to carry swags and 

 provisions, but they all dreaded so much the journey, that T could only 

 obtain the assistance of one of them, and the rest of my party had to 

 be made up by some volunteers from his road gang. Starting the 28th 

 of October, I kept for about a mile on Mr. Fraser's line, and descended 

 afterwards into the bed of the Arahura to examine some auriferous 

 ground near the junction of Grrifiith's Creek with the former river. 



"When starting from Hokitika, I was informed that the river, taking 

 its rise on the western side of Browning's Pass, was the Taipo, by 

 which name it was also designated by the discoverers of the Pass, but 

 even then I was already under the impression that it would turn out 

 to be the Arahura, and now, standing on its banks, I was quite certain 

 I was right in my surmises. I had the opportunity of taking several 

 bearings towards the head-waters of the Arahura on my various 

 journeys, and from them I concluded that this river had its sources 

 more towards south-east than the maps in my possession indicated 

 and that it overlapped the sources of the northern branch of the 



