274
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE:

have very little hope that quartz reefs will be
found in this district rich enough to pay for
crushing.

The country on the western side of the
gold-bearing ranges, further south than the
Clarke river, has not yet been perfectly ex-
plored with regard to probable gold-fields,
and I proceed, therefore, to the eastern side
of the gold-bearing formations.

I may remark that there is no foundation
for the belief, so generally entertained
amongst diggers, that gold-fields are only
found on the western side of ranges, and not
on the eastern.

The Anatoki and Takaka Diggings.—From
the same mica-slate and clay-slate zone, from
which on the western side the gold-bearing
branches of the Aorere valley run, on the
eastern side the Takaka river with its
branches takes its rise. It is therefore not
surprising that gold is also found on those
rivers. If the farmer, settled on the rich
alluvial plains of the Takaka, finds markets
bad, he has but to ascend to the higher parts
and branches of the river to fill his pocket.

Gold is found in sufficient quantity to pay
river diggings in the upper Anatoki, Wai-
ngaro, and Takaka, the heaviest nuggets in the
Waitui river, which takes its rise from the
Mount Arthur range. In the Anatoki valley
a quartz reef is spoken of, which promises
well. The interesting metal, osmiridium, as
has been proved by specimens forwarded for
analysis to Mr. Clarke, of Melbourne, is a
peculiar accompaniment of the Takaka gold.

Titaniferous iron, magnetic iron, and garnets
-not rubies as generally thought-are
everywhere found on the river diggings of
the province. It must be left to the energy
of future explorers, to determine if there be
not, as it is most probable there is, a similar
gold field as the Aorere gold-field, hidden
under the dense forests on the eastern slope
of the ranges.

Wangapeka.—With a view to exploring
the country lying to the south of the Takaka,
on the eastern side of the gold-bearing for-
mations, I made a journey to the Wanga-
peka. My guide to that country, most diffi-
cult of access, was Mr. Clarke, who had for-
merly been prospecting there for gold. On
this occasion I had the pleasure of the com-
pany of the Superintendent. The Wanga-
peka, as large if not larger than the Motu-
eka, near its junction with the Sherry river,
runs through a wide terraced valley.

The hills bordering the valley, are com-
posed of tertiary strata, marl, sandstone, and
limestone. At places on the sides of the
valley, granitic rocks show themselves as the
foundation of the tertiary strata. The boul-
ders and shingle brought by the river from
the deep gorge, through which it enters the
broad valley, prove, on examination, that
river takes its origin in a zone of hornblende-
schists, and crystalline limestone, the con-
tinuation of the formations between Takaka
and Riwaka. There is therefore no reason
to expect an auriferous river bed. I might.
here mention that this valley seems the
peculiar home of wild pigs, the immense
number of which have rooted up the whole
surface. The wet weather we experienced
prevented my exploring those rivers which
take their rise further westward, in the mica-
slate and clay-slate ranges as I expect, as,
for instance, the Batten river and its branches.
It was here that Mr. Clarke found the best
result of his prospecting expedition. He
found not only gold, but, on the edges of
the tertiary formation towards the crystalline
ranges, large seams of coal cropping out.

As a very probable gold country, I should
recommend the exploring of the high range
situated between the sources of the Wanga-
peka and the gorge of the Buller. That
range is, so far as I can judge, the continua-
tion of the Mount Arthur, Anatoki, and
Haupiri ranges.

I shall hereafter find an opportunity to
remark upon the Motueka diggings, and
will conclude this portion of my lecture by
stating that the Nelson gold-fields are a fact,
and that which is at present known is but
the beginning of a series of discoveries which
time will bring to light.

With regard to other minerals in the west-
ern ranges, there are no indications of quick-
silver, as it was supposed. But Mr. Skeet
informed me, that pieces of lead ore are found
in the Waingaroa river, and large masses of
brown iron ore, which has been mistaken,
from the somewhat similar appearance, for
scoria, are deposited at the Parapara. This
has given rise to the idea of the Parapara
being volcanic.

2.—PRIMARY FORMATIONS IN THE EASTERN
RANGES.

The eastern ranges are of an entirely dif-
ferent geological formation to those just de-
scribed in the west; old primary slates and
sandstones, of very various character, form
lofty ridges, intersected by parallel longitu-
dinal valleys. The strata are all, more or
less, vertical, and the parallelism of their
strike from north-east to south-west con-
tinues with remarkable regularity. One and
the same stratum can be traced from Cook
Strait to the far interior in the south.

In the central ridge, which has its north-
ern termination in Mount Stokes, between
the waters of the Pelorus and Queen Char-
lotte Sound, the slates exhibit a more crys-
talline character. At Ship's Cove and
Shakespeare Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound,
in the Kaituna Pass, and other places, almost