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Do you remember my escape from Alcatraz? Well I had to run for it- I led my pursuers a merry dance before they finally caught me. Instead of sending me back to Alcatraz, they sent me here! To the Kawarau Gorge in the Otago Goldfields.
When I arrived the Europeans were working together with the Chinese on the first level of the Goldfield, hacking out the rocks from the hill side with pick and shovels.
I was told that the first 2 men who found gold here were so determined to keep their find a secret that they walked 45 kilometres to Wanaka for fresh provisions rather than go to the nearest town and risk others realising that they had struck gold. However word soon got out and the area was full of hungry prospectors. These 2 men were extremely clever- they sold small sections of land to the incomers for a dollar a time .They sold hundreds of lots- in today's money they were millionaires! and they did not have to do any work for it!
Another man realised that the workers would need food, clothing and equipment. He brought it by horse back across the hills and sold it to these workers. He too became a millionaire without finding any gold!
The gold here is not found in large quantities but it is extremely pure and therefore very valuable.
Just before I arrived many of the Europeans were beginning to tire of this hard work ( many of them found no gold) and were starting to drift away home, leaving it to the Chinese to continue the work. They are very determined and organised workers. Through hard work they were proving to be much more successful in their endeavours. They worked their way up the hill and made extensive finds.
After seeing their success I became quite excited at the thought of becoming rich- however my hopes were dashed when I realised that I would be working with fellow prisoners in dangerous locations, tunnelling into the rocky hillside. I would have to work in narrow, dark places, hacking out the rock in very confined spaces. Worse- anything that I did find would become the property of the government- not fair is it!
We blast out the rock by firing high pressure jets of water and creating channels for the water to flow back into the river. They have build dams in the hills above us and use this water to power their jets. I told you our job was dangerous1
When the rock has been blasted we load int into little trucks which we push on tracks to the surface- this is really hard work! You should see the machinery they use to crush the rock- it is a huge quartz crusher powered by water. Some one told me that they brought it over the hills to here in small sections and then reassembled it. Wow what a task.
Once the rock is in tiny pieces they start to pan it to find gold. First they shovel a pile of soil into a metal container and then fill it with water. Apparently Gold is heavier than the other rocks and sinks to the bottom of the pan. So they wash the rocks out of the pan slowly, layer by layer until there is not much left. Finally they search carefuly to see if there are any grains of gold. Some lucky people have found big nuggetts but most find nothing. The Chinese do best because they work hard and take great care as they work.
That is what I want to do, but I am stuck down this mining tunnel in the dark and cold until some one rescues me or lets me go.
What happens to Bertie?Stay with us to find out!
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