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September, 1864, the influx to Westland continued, and on the 12th of that month, Revell, reporting to the Provincial Council, stated that the diggers were earning from £2 to £5 per man per day, and that all was as it should be throughout the field; he, however, warned men from coming until a greater area of ground was proved, and more stores established, as supplies were still hard to obtain regularly.

About this time the Kapitea Creek, eleven miles south of the Grey, was rushed, and here Hudson and Price set up their first store. The gold, however, soon “petered out” and in a few days the field was almost deserted. Very bad weather then set in, during which it rained continuously for three weeks, making it impossible for anyone to leave the locality. During this enforced period of idleness