New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

The forum has moved to community.paydirt.co.nz, see you there!

This forum is now an archive to preserve the knowledge and finds posted here.

Gold Fossicking on the Arrow (& in NZ?) RIP - From a fossicking nation to a bunch of litigators.

Derek		Posted : Tuesday, 18 November 2014 8:07:51 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 18/11/2014(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: Wellington Thanks: 1 times		As a youth in the 70's and 80's I fossicked for gold up and down the Arrow river - from the headwaters of the Richburn to Whitechapel and had a fantastic time doing so. It was the family holidays in Arrowtown, followed by my own trips which generated a lasting love of the Arrow river & gold fossicking there. I only got about 15 g over a 15 year period, but that's not the point. My last big trip was over 20 years ago as I now live in the North Island. Now I'm looking at a going on holiday back down to Arrowtown, with a young lad of my own to introduce to gold fossicking. I thought I'd check out the Arrow river again. But very sadly I have been reading this forum among others and I find that various people have laid claims which cover to practically all of the Arrow river. I find it hard to understand why it this allowed to happen in what was essentially a large recreational area (from Arrowtown to Macetown). Actually it makes me pretty angry. I think that the law should be changed to treat non-mechanised fossicking more like fishing than mining. We pour scorn on the Brits for 'privatising' their rivers, where only the privileged few can go fishing, shame on us for doing the same with prospecting, and especially so in a holiday area. (Sorry, but the DOC gold-panning areas are way, way too small and for me a waste of time).

gavzilla		Posted : Tuesday, 18 November 2014 8:56:15 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 24/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 60 Location: queenstown Thanks: 12 times Was thanked: 34 time(s) in 18 post(s)		I wouldn't be to quick to turn your nose up at the public fossicking area, as you must well know the arrow river changes shape and depth on a weekly basis, I for one have found many ounces of gold in the area just opposite the town where most seem to drive past in a hurry to get up stream! Sometimes it's the obvious areas that get neglected as the brain is telling you every man and his dog must of been there! Actually my biggest haul came from the bank of the macetown road that thousands of tourists and locals alike go past right in town, over the course of a week digging a few hours after work I got close to 1 1/2 oz also the guys with me must of acumilated the same if not more? I to have been from the top of macetown all the way to the junction of the arrow/kawarau, working most side streams along the way and have never hit a spot again like it. You still get stories in the paper about big nuggets coming out, even a few weeks back a tourist driver bent down to do a quick pan in the same spot that every other driver usually stops and pulled out a $1800 nugget! It may not be your childhood spot,but rest assured the arrow is still doing fine, and if you really want work a claimed area - most owners are quite good buggers and will let you sluice or pan.

Golddigger7		Posted : Wednesday, 19 November 2014 8:31:28 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		LOL Gav, the Macetown road almost dissappeared with your workings. Yes Derek, I am one of those grumpy claim owners on the Arrow. Not sure what your problem actually is as the Arrow River has always been under some claim or other since I can remember, and mainly by large Australian companies. You should be pleased to know that the Arrow River is now under Locals control and will more than likely remain that way. As for letting everyone have a go, well sorry, this isnt really a possibility as we have concessions and the like with strict conditions which are enforced. Things can be arranged, an nothing is excluded provided peoples make a proper proposal to me for acceptance, and abide by it. New Zealand just isn't the same country it used to be, and all gold claims are treated as a commercial enterprise by the Crown, and with that comes a raft of liability issues. So I simply cant say to anyone, yep go for it she'll be right, cos that just puts me in the gun. I am considering 'subletting areas', but as mentioned above, have to research liabilities and terms, and how concessions would be affected. This is very much in its embryonic stage so dont expect anything this year. Regards GD7

gavzilla		Posted : Wednesday, 19 November 2014 9:12:34 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 24/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 60 Location: queenstown Thanks: 12 times Was thanked: 34 time(s) in 18 post(s)		Yer sorry about that! you know what it's like when your chasing the yellow stuff! a month or so later the river washed the whole road away anyway, so it was good timing on our behalf. Gd7 which area is your claim? From new chum up?

Golddigger7		Posted : Wednesday, 19 November 2014 9:40:06 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		no, from Soho creek up and past Macetown. The fossicking area goes up a little further than new cums from what I can make out, prolly just a little up from the footbridge.

Derek		Posted : Wednesday, 19 November 2014 8:33:20 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 18/11/2014(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: Wellington Thanks: 1 times		Thanks gavzilla and Golddigger7 for your comments. Not just the gold that I'm after, near town there is no camping & no feeling of getting away from it all. I guess I must have been working those Aussie claims in the old days... so were many others. I think there was a faded sign on the Rich Burn, no one took much notice. I still think the law should be changed though, apparently Aussie is more of a fossicker-friendly, but on youtube it looks a bit too much like mars to me...

kiwijw		Posted : Thursday, 20 November 2014 6:28:11 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		AAAhhhh.....The mighty Arrow. Welcome to the forum Derek. There is still gold to be found in the Arrow. It isnt all doom & gloom. I usually detect for gold as I didnt want to tread on any toes with regards to claims on creeks & rivers. So I take to the hills miles away from any water ways & so on no ones claimed ground. The water ways are filled with metal rubbish from the old mining days & so a bit of a pain when detecting to find all that 'crap'. Here is last weekends results from detecting up in the hills. Gold on the left from Saturday & on the right from Sunday. Two different locstions. Yes, NZ has changed over the years. More so since you were a lad. Conservation is much more in the spot light these days & none more so than from the government. Trouble is with that crowd there are rules for them & rules for us. Crickey.....I dont know where to start on that one. Lets just mention a farther & son who were taking a few rocks from a pile of old crapy tailings for a rock garden at their home. They were prosecuted to the letter of the law. It isnt as though there is any shortage of rock tailing piles all over the country side down here. Strange too how they go on about how ugly the past mining has left the landscape......so you think this father & son were doing them a favour removing this "eye sore". But it is ok for the government to dam (Clyde) a river system....flooding up stream for miles & covering god knows how many millions of crapy old rock piles....not to mention all the old miners rock hut shelters & old mine workings etc etc. As I said....rules for us & rules for them. I went up the Arrow for a sluice box the other week after work for a couple of hours with one of my home made sluice boxes. Its ok Dave... LOL :) l wasnt on your claim but in the recreational area. I was quite suprised with what I got for the small effort & a couple of hours. Bit of colour showing in the ribbed rubber mat at the head of the box. One clean up Second clean up There is nothing quite like seeing the colour of gold coming from beneath the black iron sands when you swerll the water around the pan. So there is still reasonable gold in the recreational area. Also if you want a get away from it all camping experience there is a DOC camp ground at Macetown. Although at xmas time you may not be alone. There is also a DOC camp ground up in Skippers. Good luck out there JW :)

Golddigger7		Posted : Thursday, 20 November 2014 7:20:13 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		Good work John, think I saw your truck parked at the side of the road on Saturday...mmmm, might have to send the wife out to clean up there ;-)

cabbydave		Posted : Thursday, 20 November 2014 4:57:50 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 7/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 19 Location: Blenheim, NZ Thanks: 3 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		i know its been a while since i posted on here but rest assured i havnt been reading then out poaching more like work getting in the way. However i was in queenstown for the finish of the silver fern rally and went to arrowtown saturday morning hired a pan for 3bux and had a go about 5min walk upriver. specks of gold on my 2nd pan yeeha! Such a stunning area you have down there esp for this 1st timer to the region and i was wrapped seeing the gold.

Derek		Posted : Thursday, 20 November 2014 8:24:26 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 18/11/2014(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: Wellington Thanks: 1 times		Hi Kiwijw, I'm very impressed with what you got detecting & with the sluice box, thanks for your post and photos. I'm surprised there still is some gold in the DOC panning area - and without digging up the road! I noticed on the maps that only the riverbed is claimed, although all the creeks going into the Rich Burn also - still I found nothing in those creeks - I had a pan & a pair of tweezers & a scope. The Rich Burn up to Anderson's Battery was my favorite spot, some nice crevices, well picked over but still the occasional little piece (my biggest find, 2 bits about 0.4g each or so together in the same spot). I usually camped about 80 yards from the river behind a mound so the tent was hidden from the road. The longest time I spent there was a month, by myself in a small tent, I think it that was at the end of1989. A fantastic holiday. Golddigger7 - From Soho Creek to past Macetown on the Arrow - I never had much luck there, not with a scope & some tweezers anyway and hardly any fines in the pan (where I looked anyway, but no shortage of blacksand, especially near Macetown). A friend of mine did find a little match-head size bit after breaking off a bit of rock on that large flatish-Island area of bedrock (not sure if it still is visible) in the river on that long stretch up from the Soho Creek bend. I guess your claim is the sort of section that lends itself to a large suction dredge or the like, I always wondered if there was much gold left in that stretch. Cheers, Derek

Derek		Posted : Saturday, 22 November 2014 7:29:02 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 18/11/2014(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: Wellington Thanks: 1 times		Thanks again JW, I've now bought a detector and will come down to the Arrow again this summer. For my 50th birthday I was going to come down & re-live old times, but maybe that is never possible and certainly not in this case. But I have walked many of the hills & valleys off the Arrow and have a few ideas about where to detect. Anyway, I think only the riverbed is claimed and a few yards away fair game? If I don't find anything my partner will kill me as the detector was not cheap. I can buy good equipment now that I am older, just not time. A great pity that access to the river has been pretty much stopped, though not through ill-will on the claim holders. Like always it's all the governments fault/incompetence/ignorance/and wanton ignorance/and who cares anyway as long as they get through the next election cycle. Yes, the Clyde Dam, we took one for the team, a beautiful and unique valley lost and what happened? They went on to sell the dam to private interests. If it had been private in the first instance I would wager that it wouldn't have progressed. I could go on, but not the forum I guess. But to more mundane matters, does anyone think I can get a RAV4 to Macetown without drowning it? There used to be one bad ford after a long stretch of dry road past Soho creek, on a trail bike I could avoid it by going off-road, but that won't work with a car. Edited by user Saturday, 22 November 2014 7:29:49 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Golddigger7		Posted : Friday, 28 November 2014 11:05:25 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		Hey Derek On a dry day you should have no problems getting to Macetown. On another note for all of you who think the Arrow Fossicking area is no good, think again, look at Johns photos and do some research, at least 3 gold lodes were worked on river right thru this area, with a few others a little further up stream, so who knows how much gold continues to fritter out of the bank (river right) everytime it rains. Regards GD7

Golddigger7		Posted : Tuesday, 2 December 2014 7:47:51 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		the three lodes were called alpha, delta and zeta, not sure on there richness, but if you can get a copy of Parks geological report 1909, then you may have a better idea :-)

Derek		Posted : Thursday, 4 December 2014 9:34:59 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 18/11/2014(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: Wellington Thanks: 1 times		Yes thanks for pointing that out, the book is available online https://archive.org/details/reportongeology00huttgoog There are many old mines around though that have been dug out & worked over and no longer are releasing any gold. But I'm not really one for lots of digging, my preferred instruments are a scope & tweezers, that's why the Rich Burn is my favorite. Anyhow, I can still wonder up it, which is nice to do on a fine day. There is just less interest without being able to scrape the crevices for the yellow metal. In the same wider area, Moke creek was very good, although I used a pan to find some color. DOC should have also claimed that as was a beautiful stream with historical interest. In fact I think they could have claimed the entire Arrow/Shotover/Moke creek area as it could have encouraged fossicking tourism and added more money to the country than they will get from the claims. Still, I guess the area has more than enough tourists already.