"Jimmy" Preston's Lost

Reef

There are experienced miners who believe that, somewhere around the headwaters of the Waria, in Southern Morobe, New Guinea, another goldfield is awaiting dis covery. In that respect, this note from Mr. Edward Auerbach, of the Trobriand Islands, is interesting: SOMETIME prior to 1914, in the Mor obe country, the then well-known New Guinea prospector, Jimmy Preston, was looking for gold, and also collecting birds-of-paradise.

Somewhere near the head of the Waria, he shot a bird, at the head of a ravine, running into the upper Waria.

When he went to retrieve it, he found it on the outcrop of a reef.

Preston took specimens, and sent them to Sydney to be assayed. He sent the specimen through Klink, who was the German R.M. at Morobe.

The assayer’s report came back. Klink opened the letter. Klink told me the assay went 4 oz, to the ton. He opened the letter before he gave it to Jimmy.

He told me what the assays went, four days before Jimmy got it.

Preston sent two more specimens from Samarai to Sydney for assay. They both went 4 oz. to the ton. . He intended to go back after the war, and peg out this reef.

In the meantime, he got cancer and he had to go to Sydney. He was six months at Jenner Private Hospital, under Sir Herbert Maitland. Then he came back to the Trobriands, and he died in 1922, from cancer, at George Auerbach’s place. Just before he died, he gave G. Auerbach a plan, showing where to find the reef, and also the assay reports, from Sydney.

George Auerbach died, and I do not know what became of the documents.

Preston said that he sent the original plan and one lot of assays to his wife, Mrs. J. Preston, c/o Burns, Philp and Co., Port Moresby. I wrote to Mrs. Preston about it, and she said that she never received the documents.