8 /11/1873
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GOBUR
(FROM THE AGE)
Where is Gobur ? is a question we not infrequently hear asked. To a few the place has been known for some time as likely to come to the front in a mining capacity, but to most people it sounds only like some half remembered Scripture name, and its whereabouts is among the "things not generally known." Having just returned from a visit to the locality it may not be uninteresting to jot down what struck me during any stay there.
You go by Longwood, to which place the North-eastern railway is available, and which is some ninety miles from town. Gobur is reached (by such means as may be most readily obtained in the shape of a vehicle) by a ride through the ranges of about seventeen miles. My companion and I chartered a very good trap and man, and starting in the early morning, greatly enjoyed our three hours' drive among the green hills and over the boggy creeks of our adopted country. It is all forest, and the clearing of the selector meets you at every turn, bearing its green wheat, and crowned by its modest homestead. As we approach the edge of the "Big Spur," one of those fine valleys, which are so characteristic of Australia, opens upon view. It is charming to look across the long reach of the mountains that sweep away into the blue distance.
We go into the township of Gobur by descending the almost perpendicular side of the range, having at its base a long valley running north and south, and the town, perched out of the way of floods upon the rise of the opposite hill. The little place owes its existence to the mines in its neighburhood, which have been opened up some three or four years. The principal mine, which, indeed, was to some extent the object of our visit, is the New Gobur, and after waiting on the manager, and accompanied by a most obliging director, we proceeded to the claim. The New Gobur is about a mile long, running north and south, and at present the drives extend only over one-fourth of the ground.
The main drive is at present 980 feet in a straight line, and cross drives to east and west have reefed at a total depth of 100 to 120 feet. This main drive is (with scarcely a break) in washdirt all the way. We found it to right and left varying in depth, but averaging about 3 feet. The dirt is soft and wet, and the timbering is therefore necessarily of a most substantial character. If the lead continues through the large extent of ground not yet opened, the resources of this mine must be very great. I asked the mining manager how much the washings from the drives had already given (for no blocking out has yet been done), and he told me as much as thirty-six ounces had been obtained, but that was exceptionally large. I found after wards, from the books and bank receipts, that an average of 12 or 13a ounces to the machine had been the result so far. The plant of the mine is very complete, and the two engines are quite equal to the work of pumping, winding, and puddling.
The success which has attended the New Gobur has stirred up the district to the importance of this lead, and the adjoining mine, the Triumph, has recently been started, and is in active preparation erecting machinery. The Victory followed suit, and the Don is now in course of organization. The latter has a claim of 48 chains long (nearly three quarters of a mile), and the lead has been fully proved down to its southern extremity. The erection of machinery only is required to keep the ground dry and to work the mine. The country still further south has been taken up on leases to a distance of three or four miles.
The Goburites deserve credit for starting operations. on their own strength. The shareholders of the New Gobur are few, and all local men, and they have well earned their success. The younger mines have some strong Melbourne names on their share lists, and in all probability mining at Gobur will have a trial on its merits.
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6-feb-12
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