The output of gold for the colony in 1891 was 30,311 ozs., valued at £115,182. Of this amount, Yilgarn supplied the largest share, with 12,833 ozs.; Pilbarra next, with 11,875; and Kimberley next, with 2,699 ozs. A falling-off is apparent in the two last districts. At Pilbarra some rich patches of alluvial were come upon. The Ashburton district yielded 838 ozs. Miners' rights were issued on the different goldfields to 1,529 men during the year, and 77 auriferous leases were granted. Southern Cross became an active little town.
Meanwhile, a new and promising goldfield had been discovered. In 1854, Surveyor Austin, during his exploring expedition, described a belt of promising mineral country on the Murchison River. Slight discoveries of gold were made in that neighbourhood in subsequent years, and in 1889, Mr. W.H. Woodward declared in his Government report, after examining it, that the country between the great bend of the Murchison and Milly Milly should be prospected, as it had an encouraging appearance. Gold was found at Mulga Mulga in 1888, and Yuin in 1890. The latter find was considered to be valuable. About the middle of 1891 Mr. F.J. Conelly discovered gold about 200 miles from the coast, but he considered the country so unpromising that he did not remain to prospect it. The Government subsequently paid him a reward of £500 for discovering what is now known as the Murchison Goldfield. Mr. Wm. Douglas was the next to give important information, and was awarded £100. The reports were sufficient to encourage a number of men to proceed to Lake Annean, where discoveries had been made, and then in rapid succession came the news of rich alluvial finds. In September there were about 350 men on the field. One party—Peterkin and McPherson—were the chief pioneers, and were credited with obtaining hundreds of ounces of gold, but the report was not confirmed. Owing to the dry nature of the country, operations were at first confined to a limited area, but the diggers afterwards spread out, and finds were made in various places. The majority of them were said to be making wages, and a few obtained remarkably good results. Nuggets were picked up ranging from 1 oz. to 40 ozs. in weight. Gold was sometimes found all over the surface, and deep sinking was seldom necessary. The Government returns gave 2,064 ozs. of gold, valued at £7,844. The Murchison Goldfield was proclaimed on 24th September, 1891, and Mr. W.A.G. Walter was at once appointed the first warden. Nannine, by Lake Annean, was made the administrative centre.
The returns for 1892 nearly doubled those of 1891, and the new Murchison district jumped to first place. Very valuable alluvial discoveries were made, and Cue (named after discoverer), Nannine, and other districts were firmly established. Promising quartz reefs were exploited, and companies were formed; but the success of the Murchison field was principally due to the alluvial returns. The population of the district rose to about 600 persons, and the public fondly hoped that the Murchison would produce a Ballarat or Bendigo. Fever caused many deaths in this district. The output for Western Australia reached 59,548 ozs., valued at £226,283—a phenomenal rise since 1886. The Murchison yielded 24,356 ozs., Yilgarn 21,209 ozs., Pilbarra 12,892 ozs., Kimberley 1,088 ozs., and Ashburton only 14 dwts. The diminution in returns in the north-west and north was caused largely by an exodus of the diggers to the Murchison, whence reports of a highly promising character were constantly going forth. Not only were Western Australians greatly excited by these reports, but people in other countries were moved to migrate to the colony. The population increased to 58,674, nearly reaching the number prescribed in the Constitution Act with which the colony could elect its Legislative Council. It was an accession of people anticipated by neither the Imperial Government nor the local people, and it must have caused astonishment to those statesmen and London newspapers that pretended to believe that Western Australia would seek to prevent immigration. At Nannine, on the Murchison, the main line of reef ran north from Lake Annean, and in places stood up in huge blows. Those acquainted with gold mining in other parts of the world would have considered this reef unpromising, but patches of great richness were found in places, and small fortunes were taken out from holes a few feet deep. The gold ran in schutes, and bunches of rich stone were frequently met with. A series of reefs lay in a valley west of this line. and to the east were others. Gold was discovered along these, and very valuable alluvial was obtained on an island of the lake near by.
From Lake Annean, for about twenty miles to Yagabong, the country was flat, and generally covered with dreary and unpicturesque thickets. By Yagabong Hill was Gardner's find. As usual in the history of Western Australian gold fields, the metal was found by accident. It appears that a prospecting party was lost in a thicket, and while seeking to find an outlet saw gold on the surface. Beneath lay a reef, in no place outcropping, and, in sinking, a brownish-white quartz was come upon, which, though not containing showy specimens, carried fine gold all through to a good depth. Twelve miles from Yagabong was what became known as Quin's, where rich reefs were found which yielded good returns by hand-working. Several gullies in rough hills at Quin's proved very rich in alluvial gold, and contributed largely to the early Murchison output.
Cue, the present centre of the Murchison, lay about fifty miles south-south-west of Lake Annean. Here the largest patch of auriferous country was found, and occasioned a stampede soon after. Fitzgerald, and then Cue, discovered gold on the surface. There was no deep sinking, and hundreds of men walked daily over the ground and turned every stone with a forked stick to see if it night not be a specimen or cover a nugget. Many men quickly accumulated large parcels of gold. This procedure was called "specking," and after the small pieces of quartz and ironstone strewn on the surface were examined to the satisfaction of the searchers, dry blowing was resorted to, and in cases yielded well. Three distinct classes of reefs were found in the locality, the first being the Lady Kintore, which, rising abruptly from the plain, formed a main ridge on the south-west side of Cue Hill. The second class of reef was found to the west, and the third class ran to the Four Mile, so named because of its distance from Cue. The latter reef was known as the Day Dawn. Rich patches of surfacing were found by its side, as well as by the side of several other reefs near at hand. Several leases were taken out on these reefs. Around Cue large returns were obtained in 1892.
On an island at Lake Austin, south of Cue, very rich alluvial was obtained. The diggings were concentrated, and a defined gutter was found on the bed-rock at a depth of fifteen feet. The alluvium was cemented together by gypsum. Phenomenally rich quartz was discovered on the reefs in the neighbourhood, and large quantities of gold were dollied from the stone. Other rich diggings existed on the mainland north of the lake. Mount Magnet lay about thirty miles south of Lake Austin. A few miles to the south and west of West
