Goldfield

Finding Of Gira

Old Miner's Memories of Early Papua

By D. H. Osborne, of Papua, now residing in Brisbane.

AN article on early gold discoveries on the Mambare, by Mollie Lett, in your magazine recently, reminded me of yarns I heard around the camp fires on the Gira goldfield, in Papua, long ago.

The early prospectors worked up the main Mambare River as far as McLach lin’s Creek, After Green’s death, Sir William Mc- Gregor appointed Shanahan as warden of the goldfield. Sir William paid a visit to Tamata, and went up the Gira River some distance by launch and canoe. He considered the Gira River likely to bear gold.

Tamata Creek was a tributary of the Mambare, and had its source in a low range of hills forming the divide be tween the Mambare and the Gira. Sir William instructed the warden to cut a track up Tamata Creek, cross the divide, and continue on until he met the Gira River.

Bob Elliot and Alec Clunas accom panied the warden and prospected as they went along. They found gold in a creek flowing into the .Tamata, called “Seventeen Mile”.

Then Warden Shanahan found gold in a creek flowing into the Gira, near the junction of the Gira, and he named it Clunas Creek. Elliot and Clunas worked at each place and won 22 ounces of gold and some osmiridium. which was not of commercial value at that time.

Elliot and Clunas followed the crefck up a short distance and came to a rough gorge. They considered the country too rough, and turned back.

Jim Linden passed through the gorge and found that the country opened out into a tableland, with Clunas Creek and gullies carrying payable gold—the first payable gold-bearing country on the mainland of New Guinea.

The Warden would not grant Linden a reward claim. He considered that Lin den had not been the discoverer of the field. Linden therefore only had one man’s ground.

A rush set in from North Queensland.

At that period there were no motor launches or luxury steamers—onlv sail ing vessels between Cooktown and Sama rai, Woodlark and the Mambare. Whale boats were on the Mambare River, and the river journey took from four to six days. The field was from 18 to 24 miles through the bush from the river.

Malaria and dysentery broke out among the Europeans, and dysentery among the native carriers, and numbers of both died. Food was poor and there was no medical attention. Nursing and good food would have saved many of them.

After Linden had worked out his claim he prospected the country towards Tam ata. He found payable gold in a gully running into a branch of Tamata Creek, which also carried payable gold, and is called Linden Creek. Beaches were worked along the creek, nearer Tamata, to a place known as “Sixteen Miles”.

Mr. A. T. Newboult, MC, formerly of the Malayan Civil Service, which he joined in 1920, has been appointed Colonial Secretary of Fiji. In recent months, Mr. C. W. T. Johnson has been Acting Colonial Secretary.