Report on the Murchison Goldfield
Perth: Government Printer, 1893. Folio, printed wraps, pp 16. Near-fine condition. Scarce.
Harry Page Woodward, the Government Geologist, was appointed to report on the Murchison Goldfield. He was a well-known geologist, and his "Mining Handbook to the Colony of Western Australia", published the year after this report, was considered essential reading for miners and prospectors. Woodward's first report on the region stated that the auriferous reefs "promise well". He complained however of the rains and that the "natives were very troublesome". He also pointed out that "At present I have no authority to examine mines, and for many reasons the owners often would rather not have them examined". He then travelled further north into the Murchison. where he reported on a numbr of rich auriferous areas. "On this trip I travelled about 2,500 miles, and examined a large extent of the country; but when the vast extent of the Colony is considered it appears as nothing". In his final report, he states that despite some issues (which included the water supply, the state of the roads, timber for fuel, and sly grogging) "I have no doubt that, if properly worked, the Murchison goldfield will prove permanent and rich." He goes on to describe the geological features, and to detail the potential for mining of each region: Mount Magnet, Lake Austin, The Cue, The Dead Finish, Mulga Mulga, the Nangrang Hills, Lake Annean, Gardner's, Quin's, and the Weld Range. He concludes: "Everything considered, this find has a brighter outlook than any other in the Colony, owing to the fact that it has neither the distance to Kimberle, nor the salt water of Yilgarn to contend with". An improtant report, the first on the Murchison, by one of Western Australia's leading geologists. Item #104560
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