New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi All

To night I have gifted to Chrispy my Minelab Etrac. And tomorrow with luck his Minelab Gofind60 arrives. That is for his son. But Chrispy will have a jolly good play with it methinks. I put this post here, as there is where most of us hangout. Why you might ask. Well when I asked for some NZ and British coins to load onto the Etrac.(On this forum) Chrispy was the only one that responded and was prepared to send them to me. He didn't know me, or if I was a phantom. Since then we have become good and close friends. I originally loaned him the Etrac. But how can you take back a Detector that he has come to love and fully understand and use it to its full capability. His finds show that. So it is now his.

I have my CTX3030, buggar I can't go re learn the Etrac. Its in your hands now Chrispy, look after it and it will look after you. Happy hunting mate

Cheers Trev as always " The Hatter"

Agreed. You are just a few feet away from that pot of sovereigns a.lol

Awww that was a nice thing to do Hatter, more history will now be saved with that beast of a machine.
There Truly is a Santa !!

Hi All

Strange how you guys mention sovereigns. So I shall share a wee secret with you. Many years ago I bought a Sea Chest at an auction. It was locked with an ancient padlock and the contents were unknown. When I opened it, there was some old rotting clothes in it, and little of value. I really only wanted the Sea Chest. But I discovered it had a false bottom. And on opening that I found a dairy, well preserved and intact. The dairy belongs to " William Arthur Smith" a member of the " Armed Constabulary" he was returning to England after his time in NZ from 1864 till 1898. I have managed to learn that prior to boarding his ship, he passed away. How his sea chest came to be at the auction I have no idea.

But his dairy was intriguing to say the least. As a member of the NZ Armed Constabulary he was tasked with, along with his fellow troopers, of escorting the " Cobb and Co " Coach from the gold fields of the West Coast to Christchurch, carrying gold bullion in the form of flakes and nuggets. And on this occasion 600 pounds worth of gold sovereigns, and that is a lot of sovereigns.

I now quote from his dairy.

"Twas a wet and rainy day here in Hokitiika, New Zealand, as we mounted our fine steads, to once again escort the Cobb and Co Coach to Christchurch. Loaded with 4000 ounces of fine gold and bullion, and 600 pounds in the form of sovereigns. The coach being so heavy required four extra horses, hackled in to carry the load. We reached the Pass in two days. But the inclement weather persevered, and it was indeed tough going. I sometimes wonder why I left my mother country to come here. On top of the pass, the track was somewhat washed out and very precarious indeed. We dismounted and walked our steads across. As always keeping an eye out for Bush Rangers. The Coach Driver Henry was not inclined to tackle this precarious section of the road. So one of my troopers volunteered to take his place. Well the horses knew Driver Henry well, but not so my Trooper. Half wayy across the precarious section the lead horse reared, and all was lost. Trooper Jones managed to jump clear, and as he did so he managed to disconnect the hackles, allowing the eight horses, to safely reach the other side and safety. But alas the coach was lost. Over it went into the deep ravine. Spewing its golden treasure. We left an armed guard at the site and managed to make the Bealy before nightfall. On arriving in Christchurch two days later, we reported the loss of the Coach and the authorites said they would take care of it. As we saw the coach breaking up it was like a golden shower as the bullion was unconstrained as were the sovereigns. The corner by the cliff, at the hairpin bend, came to be called . " Soveriengs Folly" I shall stop now as I am at last in Auckland,awaiting my ship to take me back to my mother country. Damm NZ and damm the weather. But they are a fine people.


After much research I do believe I have found the site. Gotta be something left. eh. What you reckon.


Cheers Trev aka " The Hatter"

Yes, very cool story. Just having that amazing piece of local history in the form of a notebook from that era, is gobsmackingly incredible....let alone the tantalizing information contained within!
I'm still keen to take up your previous invitation and get within the" thick of the fray" if you'll have me Sir Hatter.

And here's why, there was an attempt to establish a town there.

The first attempt to establish a town near Arthur's Pass was made between the confluence of the Bealey and Waimakariri Rivers. It was named Klondyke Corner for the site was very cold, receiving no sunshine in winter, hence its name is reminiscent of the Alaskan gold rush settlement. The year 1865 saw about 100 people encamped; 208 sections were surveyed and an ambitious street plan mapped out. Eighteen months later everyone but the telegraph operator and a police sergeant had moved to the much sunnier present day site of Bealey.

Tourism began early in the area; one of the pioneers was a man named O'Malley, proprietor of the then illustrious Bealey Glacier Hotel from 1882 to 1901. He personally guided his guests to the head of the Waimakariri Valley to gaze at the numerous glaciers. Arthur's Pass National Park was established in 1929.

Sorry, but them Kea scatter all the treasures (purely for FUN!)
But I'll still be having a look for Barrington's swag of gold.

I'd really enjoy hearing more about that treasure ship, that buried their bounty upon the west coast?