mining captains were appointed. In July Mr. Woodward gave very encouraging reports of the properties, and described bodies of the stone as very valuable. Some rich deposits of alluvial gold were found in gullies near the reefs, and towards the middle of 1889 the number of men on the field increased, and Southern Cross soon became the most important centre in the whole Yilgarn district. Storekeepers and others abandoned Golden Valley, and set up there. Mr. Woodward had little hope of artesian water being struck, but he had such faith in the prospects of this arid country that he advised the construction of a railway. Condensers were soon erected to treat the salt water, and in subsequent years proved a source of wealth to their possessors. Tanks were sunk, and subsequently enlarged at various points. In August, however, mining matters were dull at Southern Cross, and the colony waited for the results of the first crushings. Machinery was erected on the Central and Fraser mines, but did not start running until near the end of the year. On 25th November the Fraser mine commenced operations, and was followed by the Central on 3rd December. Difficulty was experienced in obtaining sufficient water, and what was used was quite unsuited for crushing purposes. A piece of black substance was the result of the Fraser crushing. At first no one could tell whether this contained gold or not, but when an experienced mining manager treated it with chemicals, he obtained a rich button of the metal. It was found that the salt water had amalgamated all the refuse from the machinery with the gold. The boiler of the Fraser machinery soon afterwards collapsed, due to the action of the salt in the water, and four large dray loads of salt were taken from the plates. So serious was this stoppage that shares in Southern Cross companies became almost unsaleable. The Central crushed 12 tons of stone for 39 ozs. of gold, and from 75 tons the Fraser Company obtained an average of 1 oz. 10 dwts. 22 grs. per ton. Prospecting was carried on in 1889 over the surrounding areas. At Hope's Hill, five miles north of Southern Cross, a large hill of white quartz was found late in 1888. Gold was obtained at the footwall, on the east side of the reef, in a white magnesian clay, full of quartz grit. In July Mr. Woodward expressed the opinion that this mine would be a prosperous one. From Southern Cross down to Parker's find, about forty miles to the south, the ground was very carefully scanned. Rich deposits were found at the latter place, and a large number of men congregated there. From various reefs throughout this area stone was removed and sent away to be tested, and sometimes gave good results.
The population of Yilgarn increased in 1889 until it reached 250 towards the end of the year, when the numbers fell off. The pioneers had rough experiences. The climate was trying, and comforts were few. Fresh food was seldom obtained. The Court House, presided over by Mr. Finnerty, consisted of a doorless building, with palisades for walls and a tarpaulin for a roof. The Warden, when administering justice, sat on a gin case, and the Registrar sat under him on a candle box. Mr. Finnerty reported on 1st December, 1889, that seventy-one leases, representing 684 acres, had been applied for since 1st January; that two claims and eighteen protection areas had been registered and occupied, and that nineteen business licenses and 394 miner's rights had been issued. The revenue was £1,700. Within 200 yards of the township of Southern Cross about 2,550 ozs. of gold had been obtained during October and November. He was not complimentary to the class of miners on the field. Until recently, he reported, the persons employed as managers of the reefs were, with few exceptions, inferior men, with no conception of their duties and responsibilities. The miners employed by them were not properly supervised, and they became idle and useless. Fortunately, managers of experience had lately been appointed, and he expected to see the reefs energetically worked and efficiently developed in the near future. It was estimated that upwards of £80,000 had been spent in 1888-9 in developing Yilgarn. In 1889 the goldfields regulations were amended, and required that a mining lease should be worked by not less than one man to every three acres, provided that no lease was worked by less than two men. A general exemption was granted for the Yilgarn fields from the 4th December, 1889, to 31st May, 1890.
Southern Cross and the mineral area surrounding it did not at this time give the best returns. The alluvial at Pilbarra continued to yield well. Some of the discoveries in 1888 were so rich that in 1889 miners hurried in from the Eastern colonies, where a general interest was felt in the numerous fields being opened up in Western Australia. These were so distant from each other that it already got to be thought that gold existed over an immense area of territory, and professional prospectors were employed by syndicates to scour the country from north to south. The leading people of the colony evinced considerable enterprise in this direction, and prospectors were sent out to Yilgarn, the Murchison, Gascoyne, and through all the country leading to Kimberley. There was a general rush to Pilbarra, precipitated principally by exaggerated reports which were persistently circulated at Perth and Fremantle and in other colonies. The Warden, Mr. Nyulasy, who was succeeded by Mr. W.L. Owen in June, sought to discourage this influx in February by denying the correctness of many of the rumors.
In March and April several diggers entered Roebourne with parcels of gold ranging from 20 to 80 ozs. in weight. There were about 300 men on the field at this time, but their numbers so quickly diminished, by reason of other finds in the north-west, that by June Pilbarra was deserted by all but forty-two men. Marble Bar became the chief centre of the district. It derived its name from a large mottled bar of quartz which crossed the Shaw River, and was supposed to be marble. A company, the Lady Carrington (£32,000 in £1 shares) was floated in Melbourne to work Eaton's Mallina reef, and good prospects were quickly obtained. In June four reefing claims were being worked at Pilbarra, and one at Mallina.
Early in 1889 alluvial gold was discovered on the Oakover River, presumably by Mr. N. Cooke. A few men prospected the district, and by April had obtained 200 ozs., including one 70-oz. nugget. A large extent of auriferous country stretched around, and was worked with varying success all the year. Most of the diggers who abandoned Pilbarra proceeded to Nullagine, and by July there were reported to be 300 men in this district. Provisions were scarce and prices high, and for some time a famine impended. The men usually obtained "wages" but with the proverbial restlessness of diggers they did not remain long at one place. In August gold was found by a native, or a Chinaman, in the employ of Mr. H.W. Sholl, about eleven miles east of Roebourne. One report says that the first nugget come upon weighed 7 lbs., and another that it weighed 3 ozs.; the Chinaman who had possession of it surreptitiously left the district. The manner in which it was found is equally undecided, and while one report, confirming a good old story, says that it was
