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The Following extract is taken from G. Butler Earp’s The Gold Colonies of Australia, and Gold Seeker’s Manual, Routledge & Co., London, 1853 (The Thirty-Five Thousandth).
pp. 144-147.
July 1851
“DISCOVERY OF AN ENORMOUS MASS OF AUSTRALIAN GOLD. -
“The Bathurst Free Press records the discovery of a lump of gold whose weight far exceeds anything which the most sanguine had expected of the Australian diggings. The following is the account of the colonial newspaper : -
“Bathurst is mad again ! The delirium of golden fever has returned with increased intensity. Men meet together, stare stupidly at each other, talk incoherent nonsense, and wonder what will happen next. Everybody has a hundred times seen a hundredweight of flour; a hundredweight of sugar or potatoes is an everyday fact, but a hundredweight of gold is a phrase scarcely known in the English language. It is beyond the range of our ordinary ideas, a sort of physical incomprehensibility, but that it is a material existence of our own eyes have borne witness.
Mr. Suttor, a few days previously, threw out a few misty hints about the possibility of a single individual digging four thousand pounds’ worth of gold in one day, but no one believed him serious. It was thought he was doing a little harmless puffing for his own district and the Turon diggings. On Sunday, it began to be whispered about town that Mr. Kerr, Mr. Suttor’s brother-in-law, had found a hundredweight of gold. Some few believed it, but the townspeople generally, and amongst the rest the writer of this article, treated the story as a piece of ridiculous exaggeration. The following day, however, set the matter at rest. About two o’clock in the afternoon, a pair of greys in tandem, driven by W.H. Suttor, Esq., M.C., made their appearance at the bottom of William-street. In a few seconds they were pulled up opposite the Free Press office, and the first indication of the astounding fact which met the view was two massive pieces of the precious metal, glittering in virgin purity, as they leaped from the rock. The townspeople were on the qui vive [alert], and about 150 were collected around the gig to catch a glimpse of the wonder. The two pieces spoken of were freely handed about amongst the assembled throng for some twenty minutes, and the vehicle was pointed out as containing a square box, the repository of the remainder of the hundredweight of gold. It was then conveyed to the Union Bank of Australia. In the presence of the manager, David Kennedy, W.H. Suttor, and J.T. Hawkins, Esqs. [Hawkins was later to become Suttor’s son in law], and the fortunate proprietor, Dr. Kerr, the weighing commenced, Dr. Machattie [Richard Machattie] officiating, and Mr. Farrand [see also] acting as clerk. The first two pieces already alluded to, weighed severally 6 lbs. 4 oz. 1 dwt., and 6 lbs. 13 dwts., besides which were sixteen drafts of 5 lbs. 4 oz. each, amking in all 102 lbs. 9 oz. 5 dwts. From Dr. Kerr we learned that he had retained upwards of 3 lbs. as specimens, so that the total weight found would be 106 lbs. - all disembowelled from the earth at one time. And now for the particulars of this extraordinary gathering. A few days previous to the finding, an educated aborigine, formerly attached to the Wellington Mission, and who had been in the service of W. Kerr, Esq., of Wallawa, about seven years, returned home to his employer with the intelligence that he had discovered a large mass of gold amongst a heap of quartz upon the run, whilst tending the sheep. Gold being the universal theme of conversation, this sable son of the forest was excited, and provided with a tomahawk he had amused himself by exploring the country adjacent to his employer’s land. His attention was first called to the spot by observing a spot of some glittering yellow substance upon the surface of a block of quartz, upon which he applied his tomahawk and broke off a portion. He then started home and disclosed the discovery to his master, who was soon on the spot, and in a very short time the three blocks of quartz containing the hundredweight of gold were released from the bed where they had rested for ages. The largest of the blocks was about a foot in diameter, and weighed 75 lbs. gross. Out of this piece 60 lbs. of pure gold was taken. Before separation it was beautifully encased in quartz. The other two were something smaller. The auriferous mass weighed, as nearly as could be guessed, from two to three hundredweight. Not being able to move it conveniently, Dr. Kerr broke the pieces into small fragments, and herein committed a very great error. As specimens, the glittering block would have been invaluable. From the description given by him, as seen in their original state, the world has seen nothing equal to them yet. The heaviest of the two large pieces presented an appearance not unlike a honeycomb or sponge, and consisted of particles of a crystalline form, as did nearly the whole of the gold. The second larger piece was smoother, and the particles more condensed, and seemed as if it had been acted upon by water. The remainder was broken into lumps of 2 lbs. to 3 lbs. and downwards, and was remarkably free from quartz and earthy matter. The locality where the gold was found is the commencement of an undulating table land, very fertile, and is contiguous to a never-failing supply of water in the Murroo Creek [Meroo Creek]. It is distant about 53 miles from Bathurst, 18 from Mudgee, 30 from Wellington, and 18 to the nearest point of the Macquarie River, and is within eight miles of Dr. Kerr’s head station. The neighbouring country has been explored since the discovery, but, with the exception of dust, no further indications have been found.
“In return for his very valuable services, Dr. Kerr, has presented the black fellow and his brother with two flocks of sheep, two saddle horses, and a quantity of rations, and supplied them with a team of bullocks to plough some land in which they are about to sow a crop of maize and potatoes. One of the brothers, mounted on a serviceable roadster, accompanied the party into town, and appeared not a little proud of his share in the transaction.
“Our readers are now in possession of an accurate history of the whole affair. The particulars were kindly furnished by Mr. Suttor and Dr. Kerr, and may therefore be relied on as correct. Since the affair was blazoned to the world, several gentlemen of our acquaintance have showed undoubted symptoms of temporary insanity, and the nerves of the community at large have sustained a severe shock. Should the effect be at all proportionate in Sydney to its population, the inmates of Bedlam Point may be fairly reckoned an integral portion of the community.”
This fairy tale like story, however, has a post script which we have extracted from The Southern Cross of Tuesday the 19th of August, 1851:
“The hundred weight of gold has passed from the hands of Dr. Kerr to those of the Messrs. Thacker, for the sum of L4,140, but just as it was on the point of removal, a demand for its surrender into the hands of the government was made by the Commissioner, Mr. Hardy. This demand not having been voluntarily complied with, Mr. Hardy proceeded to effect forcible possession. There was, of course, a good deal of surprise, alarm, and indignation created by this seizure: but, after a demand made for its restitution, and certain correspondence on the subject, the government acquainted Messrs. Thacker that the gold should be given up, provided they entered into a bond to pay Her Majesty a royalty of ten per cent, should the home government, upon inquiry into the merits of the case, insist upon such payment. Where there was no alternative, what but submission could result ? The ‘Herald’ is usually vigorous on the occasion, and declaims bitterly against the mischievous tendency of such a seizure. It is, no doubt, very hard upon the Messrs. Thacker, but the case is altogether a singular one, the gold having been picked up on Crown Lands by diggers unlicensed at the moment of discovery. If royalties are to be enforced at all, we cannot but consider 5 per cent on private lands, and 10 per cent on Crown Lands, as an exceedingly moderate impost, more especially as mines, minerals, and ship-building timber are reserved to the Crown in all deeds of grant. A premium for permission to work gold-mines cannot reasonably be objected to by a people desirous of preserving order, regularity, and good government. The working of had been limited by Proclamation to its alluvial diggings. Regulations for the governance of those desirous of extracting it from the auriferous quartz were in course of preparation. The rivers and creks had, meanwhile, become flooded, and many of the gold hunters were thrown out of employment.”
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