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Lammerlaws treasures - relics of the Goldfields...plus Gold finds.

1864hatter		Posted : Friday, 6 January 2012 9:37:40 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,007 Location: Auckland.... Thanks: 49 times Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)		Nice work lammerlaw good to see you finding some gold. Obivously you havnt got all the gold out ther yet. Well done
		And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!

Lammerlaw		Posted : Friday, 6 January 2012 9:44:41 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: 1864hatter Nice work lammerlaw good to see you finding some gold. Obivously you havnt got all the gold out ther yet. Well done Thanks Matt - we are heading back within the next couple of days - that was 34 grammes including a 6 grammer. May head up into Central yet. I am keen on a week at Macetown.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Friday, 6 January 2012 9:53:20 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		To finish with the British revolvers the last offering is this fourth Model Tranter - it is cased and was purchased from Alexander Thompson & Son 16 Union Place, Edinburgh in Scotland. This is marked on both the Trade Label and on the gun itself so once again an original set. The Escutcheon in the lid of the gun case is engraved James Dixon Esq - I would think that James Dixon Esq was an adventurer - not travelling, mining and venturing out to the colonies due to necessity but because he was either a remittance man, an adventurer or from a well to do family with financial backing - this particular set would have been at the very top of the top shelf. No average miner could ever have afforded such a weapon. Even the case is not beige lined but rather it is lined in pig skin. The gun itself is once again a big .50 caliber or 38 bore dragoon - a veritable hand cannon and comes complete with all accessories and then some - tins of percussion caps, bullets, powder flask, screw driver, pewter oil bottle, nipple wrench, bullet mold, spare nipples and tin of whale grease - which I like the smell of and wouldnt mind on hot toast! It is a wonder that some of the miners who left home with such a heavy case didnt throw away the case and just retain the gun with the basic tools, mold, powder flask etc carried loose in their pack. This particular set is also bulky and the final photo shows the case of the dragoon compared with a standard case. I was interested to note a few years back a fellow brought in to show me a Tranters Patent .38 bore ( .50 calibre ) bullet mold - he had found it in the SHotover river - another reminder of the Great Flood that took the lives of so many miners back in 1863. It is also based on the Adams action and frame so that the Adams and Tranters had a close association and were more or less the same gun. Once again these guns were manufactured to carry against tribesmen and for use in areas where the enemy came tough! It is surprising how many of these dragoon guns ended up out in New Zealand. This particular one ended up in New Zealand via Colonial Canada. Edited by user Friday, 6 January 2012 6:02:24 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified Lammerlaw attached the following image(s):

Lammerlaw		Posted : Saturday, 7 January 2012 9:22:44 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Intermission - half time and a photo of 34 grammes of gold found last weekend - Gold - thats what it is all about and what those who once owned and used these reliics were seeking. Lammerlaw attached the following image(s):

1864hatter		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 7:27:43 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,007 Location: Auckland.... Thanks: 49 times Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)		Nice one!
		And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!

simon		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 10:05:14 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 7/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 789 Location: Central Otago Thanks: 33 times Was thanked: 239 time(s) in 150 post(s)		lammerlaw, that put's my efforts to shame. takes me ll of summer to find that much on my local. and lucky to find a piece as big as the smallest shown in your photo. i think i need to find a new spot. the local area is good though for escaping this heat. just have to keep clear of it after 6pm when the sandflies have dinner. made the mistake of being there later in he day on saturday with no wetsuit and got eaten. yesterdays mistake was wearing my wetsuit. was boiling as i was only half in the water. someone has started daily dredging upstream which doesn't make visibility too great either. going to head out there later again and do some exploring further up a side creek. i don't think it's ever had much gold but willing to prove otherwise. i've found a speck or 2 there before but haven't been too far up. was in dunedin last week and decided i would try a different route home via outram and middlemarch. some very scenic country through there. hardly and traffic, good road. only took 20 minutes longer the the usual highway. amazed at how much the deep stream and i think it was the shannon creek have dug into the ancient landscape through there. was in a hurry to get back to work. next time i'm going to take my camera (i'm a photographer) and stop every few metres as there's so many old building on the middlemarch side, plus the views over the valley.
		WWW

Lammerlaw		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 10:10:47 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: simon lammerlaw, that put's my efforts to shame. takes me ll of summer to find that much on my local. and lucky to find a piece as big as the smallest shown in your photo. i think i need to find a new spot. the local area is good though for escaping this heat. just have to keep clear of it after 6pm when the sandflies have dinner. made the mistake of being there later in he day on saturday with no wetsuit and got eaten. yesterdays mistake was wearing my wetsuit. was boiling as i was only half in the water. someone has started daily dredging upstream which doesn't make visibility too great either. going to head out there later again and do some exploring further up a side creek. i don't think it's ever had much gold but willing to prove otherwise. i've found a speck or 2 there before but haven't been too far up. was in dunedin last week and decided i would try a different route home via outram and middlemarch. some very scenic country through there. hardly and traffic, good road. only took 20 minutes longer the the usual highway. amazed at how much the deep stream and i think it was the shannon creek have dug into the ancient landscape through there. was in a hurry to get back to work. next time i'm going to take my camera (i'm a photographer) and stop every few metres as there's so many old building on the middlemarch side, plus the views over the valley. Hi Simon - when I lost my job and the stress was gone...well sort of...I put on weight considerable and can no longer get into my skin diving suit - its about twenty six sizes too small...I most certainly could not have worn it today even if I could have got into it as the oppressive heat on just wearing it and half out of water would have roasted me and the water was extremely warm as well - in fact the creek was the lowest I have ever seen it in all these years - this weekend was for only about ten grammes and I did a lot of work - in fact if the Police took my fingerprints right now they would draw a blank as I have more or less worn my fingers smooth but also cut and messed quite considerable - didnt put gloves on. Are you close to the Arrow - I think it is criminal fact that any individual can take out a claim on this river and it is the greatest place in this country for anyone to go and pan or fossick - it should be declared a Public Fossicking area to and above Macetown. My son did better than me recently - he achieved something I have never managed to achieve even though I have dreamt of it - with my Minelab he discovered a previously unknown and obviously unworked quartz reef - it was the detector that found it I think - it is a thin reef with pieces of gold perhaps five millimetre across embedded in it. They are really very attractive and impressive for reef gold in New Zealand. Edited by user Tuesday, 10 January 2012 10:03:56 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

simon		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 10:30:40 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 7/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 789 Location: Central Otago Thanks: 33 times Was thanked: 239 time(s) in 150 post(s)		lammerlaw: no, not the arrow. i usually go up the 12 mile as it's closer to home than the arrow. not too much up there though as its a pretty small creek. just a good place to get out of town and experience nature. lots of old workings up around the track too which i have been exploring. whenever i think i have found them all i find something new or someone tells me of something new. i should be on the arrow more but as you mentioned it is all claimed up with several new recent claims on top of what was already under claim. a shame especially on the stretches closer to town. there is a lot of overburden in the river which doesn't make it easy either. all the high terraces that got sluiced of gravels in the old days all ended up in it. i have gotten a pretty good eye at picking out the height of the old levels on the likes of the 12 mile and the arrow. it's interesting to hear that your creek is the lowest its been since you've been there. its definitely been a hot dry one so far. so many place to head to before the rain comes which i'm sure it will in a large quantity before too long as it always seems to do when you're trying to reach a waterway's depths. also interesting to hear your son has located a new unknown reef. i also have to relocate a reef where someone detected a good amount of nuggets. i don't think he's heading back there and was surprised how well he did with a detector he was new to and didn't know the area. just have to get around to getting in there. the heat in the backcountry is not an inspiration at the moment. i would much rather be waitdeep in water than out amongst the schist. keep up the good work.
		WWW

diggerjoe		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 11:08:31 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 21/09/2011(UTC) Posts: 36 Thanks: 24 times Was thanked: 23 time(s) in 15 post(s)		Hi Simon and Graham, I was thinking of heading over Central next month and having a look at the Arrow and maybe the Shotover and Gabriel's gully. Still think the Arrow's it's worth it with all the claims on it now. If I can wrangle it might sneak over to the coast and have a look at Moonlight Creek and the Waiho River.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 11:37:20 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Simon I will one day put on my one sixth share of a day in the Arrow years ago when my uncle, my cousins husband a friend and myself went up there - We drove my Landrover down the Scoles Tunnel then walked upstream.just below Arrow Falls we got six ounces in one go - I kept one ounce of my share and it was all nuggety and chunky stuff - Not so long ago I took my wife and kids up there to have another look and had forgotten how far we walked when I was there with my uncle. In fact I was somewhat disorientated. Strangely enough up as far as you could drive a 4WD there is a little flat area where you could camp in amongst the trees and a small area was scoured to bedrock with a large number of rather nice flakes sitting on it - all I had with me was tweezers and a small bottle...and then the bottle fell into the river...goodbye gold! I am sure that there is a huge amount of gold up there yet. I always had a soft spot for the Arrow and Arrowtown - love the museum there. I understand my Great Grandfather sewed the roof of Bully Hayes Prince of Wales (Was it) hotel there back about 1862.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 11:43:40 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: diggerjoe Hi Simon and Graham, I was thinking of heading over Central next month and having a look at the Arrow and maybe the Shotover and Gabriel's gully. Still think the Arrow's it's worth it with all the claims on it now. If I can wrangle it might sneak over to the coast and have a look at Moonlight Creek and the Waiho River. In my opinion those claims on the Arrow should never have been allowed as it is one of the most popular spots for tourists and holiday makers to go gold panning and it was short sighted of the Lakes District Council in conjunction with the Tourism Industry to have it declared a Public Fossicking area. The Shotover has many promising possies as well I think. And to prove that gold is where you find it my son - who is less talkative than I am - but also a lot younger...surprise, surprise and therefore more reluctant to give information - and who also stalks this forum - found an extremely nice Gold Nugget within feet of a walking track to the river - beside the Main Road between Cromwell and Arrowtown...gold is where you find it...theres plenty there yet! Edited by user Monday, 9 January 2012 11:45:03 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

mineforgold.co.nz		Posted : Monday, 9 January 2012 11:53:39 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 299 Location: Nelson Thanks: 58 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 35 post(s)		I hope to get down to the Cromwell/Queenstown area maybe next week - I hope he has left me a nugget somewhere.
		Own: Lobo SuperTraq, Garrett ATPro, Minelab Excalibur
		WWW BLOG

Lammerlaw		Posted : Tuesday, 10 January 2012 9:49:12 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: mineforgold.co.nz I hope to get down to the Cromwell/Queenstown area maybe next week - I hope he has left me a nugget somewhere. I am sure that he has left you more than one - good luck for next week and may you find more than you expected and go home well satisfied and itching to go back. Edited by user Tuesday, 10 January 2012 9:50:05 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Lammerlaw		Posted : Tuesday, 10 January 2012 7:13:02 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		The second to last revolver I am presenting here was reputed to have been carried on the West Coast Goldfields and was described briefly earlier in this thread.. It is a Coopers Patent revolver and is suspiciously like the Colt 1849 in .31 calibre and its bigger brother the Colt Navy 1851 in .36 calibre both after which it is obviously copied. It is actually a better gun than the Colt for three reasons relating to its design. Grease grooves go along the cylinder arbour instead of around it, the cylinder has an extension to stop grease and black powder residue getting onto the cylinder arbour where it goes through the cylinder thus jamming the gun and finally the cylinder locking feature is not a fragile pin between each nipple but a slot for an extension of the hammer to fit into thus locking the cylinder. The most noticeable difference however is that the Colt 1849 and Colt Navy 1851 were single action only - that is they had to be manually cocked by pulling back on the hammer until it engages the sear and then the trigger pulled to discharge it. The Coopers Patent revolver was double action and single action so could be manually cocked or fired merely by pulling on the trigger - as earlier stated a great deal faster but not as accurate. They are certainly an attractive and streamlined little revolver and as a good back up heater would have been ideal. A miner would also have found one useful as he could have just kept it hidden in his pocket and therefore appear to be unarmed while at the same time be a force to pick on so that any miscreant who wanted to rob him would likely find himself staring down a one way hole to Purgatory. These guns though uncommon are listed as being 'Civil War' revolvers but no self respecting soldier would have thought of carrying one as a first weapon as the .31 calibre was marginally too light - they were popular as a back up gun - probably more of benefit in a saloon over a game of cards or as an intimidator to defenceless homeowners whose house, garden, chickens or horse you wanted to pillage along the line of march! It could be reasonable to assume that the miner who carried it on the Wild West Coast goldfields was an American and very possibly a Civil War veteran who had left that recent conflict to face a new adventure in the colonial frontier of New Zealands West Coast which prior to 1865 was virtually uninhabited and by 1867 had a population bordering thirty thousand Edited by user Wednesday, 11 January 2012 8:21:17 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified Lammerlaw attached the following image(s):

Lammerlaw		Posted : Monday, 16 January 2012 8:43:52 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		ALISTAIR - DAN (Madsonicboating) and NATHANIEL (Digahole) - I have just come back from my place and after due consideration if you are prepared to assist with helping get rid of gorse and broom then send me an email and we will work something...No promises to how much gold you might - or might not get but you would be welcome to look and to use my place as a base to go and look at the wider country in general as well. If you choose to come then I will tell you where it might be best to look, where I have looked, have not looked and some of the pitfalls...being a good walker has its advantages. As far as the gold goes its good news and its bad news - a few weeks ago I got 34 grammes in two days, the week after I got ten - the last few days were a wash out with me getting no gold and then coming home to give my Belgium guest four grammes from my main lot to take home as a souvenir because he got only a few colours...the weather was so bad that it was very liiting as to what we could do but get in touch and you will be welcome to help out and welcome to look for gold...keeping in mind that in the last month or so two nuggets each over 6 grammes have been found on my place plus numerous one grammers. If you are into hunting then my place is also next to DOC land...thats if my place is too small to stretch your feet - and I have never walked my boundary in one day yet. You are welcome to bring guns and its a great place to teach the kids to shoot or merely pop away at tin cans, target or the odd wild pig. Edited by user Wednesday, 18 January 2012 11:46:30 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Lammerlaw		Posted : Monday, 16 January 2012 8:52:24 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		...and now for the second to last of the miners revolvers. If my guess is correct it came to New Zealand in late 1866 or early 1867. It is a Colt Navy revolver in .36 caliber. The navy Colt was the most popular of the percussion Colts - this one was made later in the piece in 1866 at Samuel Colts factory in the USA then sent to England where it was proofed with British proofs then sent to New Zealand. At about the time it was sent to New Zealand the New Zealand Police accepted delivery of quite a number of them I believe and due to the British proofs I would consider it highly likely that this was one of them. Some one had made, in the dim and distant past an effort to disguise it by hammering it with a couple of different instruments to put marks in it and it may have had Police identification or ownership identification obliterated from the side of the frame by bruising. Basically a couple of different objects were used to deface it as the bruises are two shapes and the same throughout. I think that it is highly likely that it was stolen and defaced to disguise it...strangely the serial numbers are intact and all parts match and are original. Despite all that it is still in good working condition. It was discovered in the roof of a house near the banks of the Clutha river when the house was being demolished in the 1930s so it definitely has Otago History and classifies as a Gold fields gun. As a matter of historical interest Wild Bill Hickock favoured this model gun and carried two of them, both Von Tempsky and Colonel Porter carried them and used them during the New Zealand Wars also termed the 'Maori Wars', they were on issue to the New Zealand Police and the ranking officers of the Police on the Otago Goldfields were armed with them, twelve or so ivory handled ones being issued and to date none of the ivory handled ones has ever turned up to the best of my knowledge. Edited by user Sunday, 22 January 2012 9:25:08 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified Lammerlaw attached the following image(s):

Lammerlaw		Posted : Saturday, 21 January 2012 1:37:50 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		This is the last photograph of a revolver to be put into this article. Its history is really quite interesting - it now resides in a museum which has no right to be its custodian for reasons I shall relate in a later paragraph. It is also the only item from these relics which I do not own though it is a family gun...currently in a museum. The owner was a very early settler to Otago having arrived here prior to the 1850s but left to go overseas to seek his fortune ending up at the Australian goldfields before returning to New Zealand and heading to Gabriels Gully where he and his partner decided had taken dray loads of timber and constructed cradles and sluice boxes, making a fortune out of the venture before heading through to Arrowtown. I have absolutely no doubt that if this pistol could talk then it would tell stirring accounts of the life at the Arrow and especially of the antics of Bully Hayes, buccaneer and badman. The owner of this pistol and his partner sewed the calico for the roof of Bully Hayes Prince of Wales shanty and later on the partner spilled the beans on Bully Hayes cheating at cards in California with the result that his ear was cut off - the reason he wore long hair...the rest of this story is history so I shall not recount it here. The miner who owned the gun purchased it at Whitfields store in Melbourne and although the gun is described as a 'Whitfield revolver' it is not - it is a top quality Beaumont Adams, the best money could buy. The man who carried it was my Great great grandfather. The pistol was donated in pristine condition to the museum in question in 1947 by my Great great uncle Alexander Miller of Woodhaugh in Dunedin - it can easily be seen how well the museum has cared for it and treasured it - it is now a mere relic...I would strongly recommend that anyone thinking of donating to museums think twice - the lid of the case has been smashed, the case has been trashed, the gun stolen and buried then recovered, a museum staff member/assistant/volunteer curator has stolen some accessories to compliment his own collection I understand he has stolen the nipples from the gun to put into a pistol he owns and has exchanged the cleaning rod for a broken one - such is the fate of my Great great grandfathers gun. I clearly remember a well known gun collector showing me a pistol he had purchased and telling me that it had no nipples so he stole them out of a pistol in the saidmuseum - little did I know that it was my own family gun...he is an elderly man now - what does one do? Edited by user Tuesday, 24 January 2012 7:13:56 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified Lammerlaw attached the following image(s):

chrischch		Posted : Tuesday, 24 January 2012 8:19:41 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/08/2011(UTC) Posts: 811 Location: Christchurch Thanks: 192 times Was thanked: 105 time(s) in 104 post(s)		Those old guns sure are neat......and you are right....they sure could tell a tale or two!
		Fisher Goldbug Pro, Fisher F2, Garrett Propointer.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Tuesday, 24 January 2012 9:31:32 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: chrischch Those old guns sure are neat......and you are right....they sure could tell a tale or two! I like the goldfield guns but only collect revolvers and long arms - I will put a small selection of them on later if theres sufficient interest. The double action Coopers revolver came from up Christchurch way and prior to that was on the West Coast so its story together with my families gun would be really interesting as I think it would have come here with an American and I might also assume that he could well have served in the Civil War as these Cooper revolvers were popular reliable stand by or back up guns with soldiers, easily hidden in clothing and being double action extremely fast to use and fire.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Wednesday, 25 January 2012 1:22:39 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		The old time miners each had their own psychology, their mannerisms and personalities and these often are evident in what they left behind and how they left them. Many years ago when I was actively looking for relics I made many observations relating to the habits of individual miners - one group of miners had stacked all their bottles along the back wall of their hut, neatly and methodically, another group when they left the district left their work boots neatly inside the hut in a row as though they were returning, another group went outside their hut and threw all their bottles at a rock across the gully, some simply dropped their bottles into shallow exploration holes and others threw then in and broke them, others abandoned their tools when they left lying anywhere while others stacked them together as though, once again to return. The most common tools to find were shovels and picks then large forks for shifting rocks, spades for cutting into peat and dirt and pick/hammers with one pick end and one hammer end. The next items to be added onto this thread are a couple of tools which I picked up on my property and which I find of great interest, one in its construction and the other because it still has its brand and makers name clearly visible. How the former came to be so well preserved I haven no idea but its condition and the fact that its main features are evident tells us how the shape and construction of shovels has changed since the 19th Century.

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