113 
Australian steamers, and the most magnificent Liverpool and London 
clippers. It was calculated that this fleet would bring about 12,000 
persons, which number would exactly double the former population 
of the Province of Otago. Not only gold diggers embarked, but 
also other enterprising men of all kinds, who hoped to secure their 
share of gold indirectly, were of the party. At the close of Sep- 
tember the number of immigrants daily arriving from Melbourne 
was estimated in Dunedin at 1000. The busy hum and bustle, 
the noise and confusion caused by this sudden rush of people, were 
something unheard-of on the hitherto quiet shores of New Zealand. 
But while thousands came with golden hopes, there were many who 
soon quitted the country , sadly disappointed ; and after having 
sacrificed to the thirst for gold, the little which they possessed, 
were glad to earn their passage back to their former homes by work- 
ing on board some returning vessel. 
The arrival of experienced professional diggers, however, was 
of great importance for the working of the newly-discovered gold- 
fields. The Australian diggers soon found out, that hitherto only the 
superficial deposits had been worked, and that they had not yet come 
to the “bottom”, where according to their experience, gathered in 
Victoria, the richest treasure was to be expected. They began “deep 
sinkings”, and after having dug to a depth of about 130 feet through 
a tertiary deposit of clay and marl, struck a second gold-bed, which 
proved rich beyond all expectation. In this way Gabriel’s Gully 
was worked a second time, at a greater depth , and the result was 
even more brilliant than before. 
Additional researches at greater or less distance from Tua- 
peka continued to lead to new discoveries. Similar treasures were 
found seven miles Southeast of Tuapeka-Camp in Mansbridge Gully, 
and in all the side valleys of the Waitahuna river, likewise in the 
Waitahuna flat itself. There was room for 1000 to 1500 diggers, 
where they could average from 30 shillings to 3 pounds a day per 
man. Northeast of the Tuapeka rich gold-beds were discovered on 
the Waipori river and its various branches; and the upper range 
of sources of the Tuapeka, Waitahuna and Waipori now consti- 
II o cits tetter, New Zealand. 
8 
