The following is taken from the Ovens and Murray Advertiser of 5 October 1878. It is included to show the huge amount of gold being taken in a region not now considered in the same way as Ballarat and Bendigo.
"This locality presents a very quiet aspect, and all the business folks are complaining, but in the face of our present mining prospects, it is difficult to account for this quietude, for had the magnificent yields that have lately been obtained from our mines here been published as coming from Port Darwin, New Guinea or some other remote locality, there can be but little doubt that companies would have been floated, prospecting parties farmed, ships laid on by the score and the walls around Melbourne would have fairly groaned under the weight of the information posted on them. A complete rush would be made to obtain passages in the first ship, and the metropolitan Press would issue their daily paragraph anent the wonderful discoveries.
But as this occurs in a locality that can be reached in a day's journey from Melbourne, and at a very small outlay, of course it creates no commotion or excitement and, beyond a very meager telegram, will not probably receive from the metropolitan Press the slightest attention or notice. Strange as it may appear, it is an undoubted tact that in nearly all mining reports "distance lends enchantment to the view" and a few hundred ounces of the precious metal obtained some thousands of miles distant commands infinitely more attention and causes more excitement than twice the quantity obtained nearer home; and, stranger still, the bitter experience gained in times gone by, in rushing off to distant fields, never appears to be remembered and mining speculators and a great portion of the mining public are as easily induced to look favorably upon and invest in these distant mining ventures as ever, and seem to utterly ignore the fact that a better and more legitimate field for mining enterprise or investment, and which only requires developing, is lying at their very doors, but never commands the slightest attention, simply, we suppose, from the fact of its being too near home.
This must be very near the truth of the matter, for let anyone publish a copy of yields appended to this, and insert New Guinea instead of Bright, and half the mining population would be New Guinea mad. Mark the difference: Let only our mining speculators be induced to invest in a mining venture in any outside locality near at home, and from some cause, no matter it be apart from the actual value of the mine, it prove not a success, every other venture in the same locality, no matter how legitimate it may be, is looked upon with suspicion and Mr Blank's loss in a previous venture is trotted out on all future occasions and used as a warning and caution against investment in the same locality By this unfair reasoning, the mining prosperity of a whole district is often kept in check for years, and many a venture is in consequence robbed of that financial support necessary for its development and, instead of becoming an auxilliary to the prosperity of the district, becomes abandoned and so remains until gold is probably discovered by one of the many flukes in mining whereas, had capital been obtainable and judiciously expended, a more favorable state of things would have certainly resulted.
During a long experience, 1 have seen numerous instances of a similar nature and seen mines where capital has been expended. It is not always the mine which is at fault. I have known a large percentage fail from causes quite irrespective of the value of the mine itself. That we have plenty of good, payable mines here, the most sceptical will not, I think, attempt to deny, and judging from the result of the past three months, it is only reasonable to suppose that, up to the present, we have a very superficial knowledge of the vast extent of mineral wealth by which we are surrounded. It may be said that we are painting a very pleasant picture, but certainly not a whit pleasanter than we expect to see for, if we take an impartial view of all the evidence, the whole points to a verification of our statements.
For instance, take all the late finds, and it will at once be apparent that the ground upon which these discoveries have been made has all been travelled over hundreds of a times previously, without any satisfactory result. Who amongst us is wise enough to say how many more are lying covered up in the same manner? We certainly will not be surprised to hear of another Jackass or Sims' Reef being hatched during the coming summer. Little or no excitement is noticeable here in consequence of these rich yields; yet we can well imagine the furore of excitement there would be, had two such yields as that from the Jackass Reef at Harrietville and Sims' Reef at Wandililigong been telegraphed from New Guinea. Yet, it is problematical whether we shall see half a dozen straight fans in consequence of it.
That the two already spoken of are not the only ones deserving of comment will be observable from a perusal of the returns annexed. This is but from a portion of the district as I have not had time to collect statistics from the other portions, but will endeavor to do so at an early date. The quantity of quartz crushed during the past quarter ending 30th September in the Harrietville sub-division is:
Altogether, this makes a total of 985 tons of quartz crushed, which yielded 2,685 ozs of gold.
Even beyond this, no less than 13 new discoveries have been made, as follows:
and a few others of which I have no particulars as yet The whole of this is strictly authentic. I have just heard of some good finds near the Woolshed, Ovens River, but beyond that they are reported as looking well. I have no information but will endeavor to visit them during the week.
From information received from the Upper Dargo I learn that John O'Neill, who was on his way from Harrietvilie to the Dargo, has been lost in the snow. My informant, who was organising a search party, states: "There is little doubt but that the unfortunate man has perished, nothing has been seen or heard of him since last Thursday".