Page:Old Westland (1939).pdf/240

216 Union Bank, accosted a party of four, who were paddocking wash dirt, and asked if they had any gold to sell. One of the party enquired, ‘How much money have you, mate?’ To which Reid replied, ‘As much as you require.’ On reaching the tent he was presented with a couple of ‘billies,’ both nearly brimful of the finest gold dust, the result of six weeks’ work. When weighed it was found that Reid was a couple of hundred pounds short, although he carried £2,000 in notes with him.”

Just prior to Christmas the West Cost goldfields were proclaimed a separate judicial district, Mr. Justice Gresson holding the first sitting of the Supreme Court in Hokitika in the following January. About this time many men flocked to Lake Brunner where Albert Hunt stated he had unearthed rich ground; favourable reports, too, had come from the Buller and the Lyell, and thousands of men were hastening there. The year closed in a most sensational manner, for on the beach just south of Greymouth claims yielded gold in greater quantities than had previously been found. So rich was the wash here that £3 was paid for a pannikin full of it for exhibition purposes. Similar leads were discovered at the Taramakau, Arahura and Three Mile (Hokitika). During this year the export of gold from the West Coast fields was 302,034 ounces, valued at £1,174,000.