Untapped minerals in Gore district
A general opinion is held by those interested in mining (says the Mataura Ensign) that the Gore district has a vast field of undeveloped metal and other natural resources. Gold and coal have been found and developed in payable quantities, and it is also held that iron ore is traceable in the Croydon and Waikaia districts, but so far, beyond scratching on the surface and an examination of outcrops, nothing of importance has been done. Deep level dredging has also been generally suspended, but one or two dredges are still employed at this work. That there are other metals to be found in the district is an undoubted fact. Traces of quicksilver in the Greenvale district have been followed up of late, and Messrs Terry Bros and Graham have sunk a shaft 30 feet deep in order to trace the ore. These gentlemen are quite satisfied with the work so far, and samples that have been analysed show 10 percent of quicksilver. The metal in the shaft now shows widening tendency, and the seam is much larger than was the case before the present level was reached. Members of the party are driving a cross cut, and they hope to tap the main lode of the metal. It is intended at an early date to make provision for a smelting plant on the site of the mine, and further development of an interesting nature may be looked for.
A tightwad traveller
To be invited to partake of a threepenny beer as a reward for his honesty in returning a wallet containing £300, a steamer ticket, and a number of other valuables was the experience of a Ponsonby resident the other day (says the Auckland Star). The owner of the valuable packet had evidently paid a visit to Point Erin Park for it was there on a seat that the find was made. After perusing the contents the suburban man became acquainted with the owner’s name and immediately set out at inconvenience and expense to himself to locate the intending passenger, his desire being to relieve the owner’s worry and place him in the position of making the trip. He made many calls and ultimately located the man in a local hotel, and handed the package over. The owner was profuse in his thanks and expressed his gratitude in the manner stated above.
Overcrowding in Wellington
Some idea of the terrible housing conditions in Wellington were conveyed by Mr T.P. Mills at the Presbyterian orphanage meeting on Thursday night. A woman who had come to him to admit her five children to the orphanage had done so because she and her husband and the five children were living in two rooms of a four-roomed house. In the other two rooms was a man, his wife, and his child, and they had a lodger. This case was by no means exceptional.
— ODT, 21.6.1921.
