Page:Rambles on the Golden Coast of New Zealand.djvu/215



UARTZ REEFS in the Inangahua district were first discovered in 1871. The discovery caused extreme excitement throughout every part of the coast, which soon extended to other parts of the Colony. Men of the largest experience in quartz-mining in Victoria, and at the Thames in the North Island, wandered hitherwards, the town of Reefton was laid out, and fabulous prices were speedily obtained for sections. The utmost difficulties had to be overcome in opening the earliest mines, and in getting crushing machinery on to several of the claims. After a year or two, handsome returns were obtained from three or four of the principal mines, and the field became fairly established. The population steadily increased, all the signs of prosperity became manifest, large hotels and stores were erected, and the lucky owners of them coined money. The “old, old story,” often related of Sandhurst, Pleasant Creek, Inglewood, Gympie, Grahamstown, and other quartzopoles followed. The scrip mania set in, and every man and woman in the neighbourhood speculated to a greater or smaller extent. Between the years 1872 and 1881, the scrip fever prevailed on all sides, not continuously, but at sudden intervals. At times the excitement in the brokers’ offices, and “under the verandahs,” was intense. Crowds congregated every night, more particularly on Saturday nights, in the main street, and “not a sound was heard” but scrip, scrip, everywhere. What tales of luck, both good and bad, could such men as Patrick Brennan, Joseph Kilgour, Morris Levy, Matty Byrne, and many others, tell of those days when the epidemic was in full rage in Reefton! The temptation to speculate became positively irresistible, when it was no unusual occurrence to witness the most veritable “new chum,” with possibly a better acquaintance with pewter quarts than golden quartz, converting a few five-pound notes into as many hundreds ere the sun had risen and set. Instances of this kind in Reefton were not far to seek. A quarter share in the once famous “Hopeful” claim, for instance, changed hands for what is known in sporting circles as a “pony,” and in a few months after the purchase, the holder of the share was receiving dividends of hundreds of pounds every month. Again followed, as invariably happens, times of depression, and some of the self-same shares were shortly after forfeited for a sixpenny call. And such has been the history of Reefton; since its opening, subject to great fluctuation. The reefs in the Inangahua district extend over a vast area of country. Some of them have yielded their shareholders handsome returns, while many of them have come far short of expectation, and others again have ended in utter disappointment. The Welcome Company stands