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 No. 1 Larry’s Mine.—Another claim known by this name had a limited amount of prospecting done on it, immediately to the north of the No. 2 South Larry’s and on the same reef-line. A shoot of stone was found in it, but it was much too poor in gold to pay for working.

Prospecting from Boatman’s towards the eastern extremity of the wide belt of greywackes and argillites within which the Reefton auriferous areas are contained, William Kirwan, in December, 1896, located a mass of loose gold-bearing quartz at a spot about eight miles east of Reefton Township, and at an elevation of about 3,350 ft. above sea-level on the southern slopes of a peak subsequently named after him, “Kirwan’s Hill.” This discovery caused a considerable stir in the district, and within a very short time the country north and south of it was pegged out for miles. A special claim, known as the Lord Brassey, and three licensed holdings—the Earl Brassey, Lady Brassey, and Kirwan’s Reward—were granted to the discoverer, and much prospecting was done on them as well as on a number of adjoining claims. Numerous reefs were found outcropping, from 3 ft. to 6 ft. in width, but in none of them was the quartz similar to that of the original find on the Lord Brassey Claim, and none of them carried payable gold. Shortly after the discovery was made, an option was given over the four claims mentioned to the Anglo-Continental Gold Syndicate, of London, for which company H. A. Gordon (previously Inspecting Engineer of Mines for the New Zealand. Government) was local representative. The terms of the option were that £1,000 was to be paid in cash, and £200 per month expended in prospecting the areas for a year. If at the end of that period the syndicate availed itself of the option, a company of £280,000 in £1 shares was to be formed, the vendors to get £32,000 in cash and a similar value in shares. Working capital to the amount of £30,000 was to be provided, and 30,000 shares held in reserve.

The loose auriferous quartz on the surface was scattered over an area, roughly 11 chains long and 4 to 5 chains wide, and as some of the boulders were up to 2 and 3 tons in weight it evidently came from a large reef. The great bulk of the material was, however, in small pieces of a few pounds weight. With a view to locating the formation from which it was derived, the option-holders at once instituted a vigorous prospecting scheme of tunnelling under the loose surface material, and sinking shafts in it. Two of the tunnels were each driven a distance of about 250 ft., one of them at a depth of 130 ft. and the other at 205 ft. below the surface, but neither in these nor in any other of the test workings was any solid reef found. At the end of the year for which it held the option the Anglo-Continental Syndicate surrendered the latter, owing to the unsatisfactory developments, but it continued to hold an interest in the property as a shareholder to the extent of one-third of the shares in the Kirwan’s Reward Gold-mining Company, which proceeded to erect a ten-stamp battery (an additional five-stamps were added in 1902) in Kirwan’s Creek for the purpose of treating the large quantity of loose quartz lying on the surface. Crushing was continued till about the middle of 1906, during which period 21,967 tons were put through the plant for a yield of 10,984 oz. 10 dwt. gold, valued at £43,798 5s. 9d., out of which £11,200 was distributed as dividends. At first it was thought that all the quartz was on the surface, but later it was found to be mixed with the crushed country down to a depth of about 120 ft. All the stone crushed was mined by open-cut.