| Author: | Louis Becke | ISBN: | 1230000140500 |
| Publisher: | WDS Publishing | Publication: | June 9, 2013 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Louis Becke |
| ISBN: | 1230000140500 |
| Publisher: | WDS Publishing |
| Publication: | June 9, 2013 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
"Chinkie's Flat," In its decadence, was generally spoken of, by the
passing traveller, as a "God-forsaken hole," and it certainly did
present a repellent appearance when seen for the first time, gasping
under the torrid rays of a North Queensland sun, which had dried up
every green thing except the silver-leaved ironbarks, and the long,
sinuous line of she-oaks which denoted the course of Connolly's Creek on
which it stood.
"The township" was one of the usual Queensland mining type, a dozen
or so of bark-roofed humpies, a public-house with the title of "The
Digger's Best," a blacksmith's forge, and a quartz-crushing battery.
The battery at Chinkie's Flat stood apart from the "township" on a
little rise overlooking the yellow sands of Connolly's Creek, from
whence it derived its water supply--when there happened to be any water
in that part of the creek. The building which covered the antiquated
five-stamper battery, boiler, engine, and tanks, was merely a huge roof
of bark supported on untrimmed posts of brigalow and swamp gum, but rude
as was the structure, the miners at Chinkie's Flat, and other camps in
the vicinity, had once been distinctly proud of their battery, which
possessed the high-sounding title of "The Ever Victorious," and had
achieved fame by having in the "good times" of the Flat yielded a
certain Peter Finnerty two thousand ounces of gold from a hundred tons
of alluvial. The then owner of the battery was an intelligent, but
bibulous ex-marine engineer, who had served with Gordon in China,
and when he erected the structure he formally christened it "The Ever
Victorious," in memory of Gordon's army, which stamped out the Taeping
rebellion.
The first crushing put through was Finnerty's, and when the "clean-up"
was over, and the hundreds of silvery balls of amalgam placed in the
retorts turned out over one hundred and sixty-six pounds' weight
of bright yellow gold, Chinkie's Flat went wild with excitement and
spirituous refreshment.
In less than three months there were over five hundred diggers on the
field, and the "Ever Victorious" banged and pounded away night and day,
the rattle and clang of the stamps only ceasing at midnight on Saturday,
and remaining silent till midnight on Sunday, the Sabbath being devoted
"to cleaning-up," retorting the amalgam, and overhauling and repairing
the machinery, and for relaxation, organising riding parties of twenty
or thirty, and chasing Chinamen, of whom there were over three hundred
within a radius of twenty miles.
"Chinkie's Flat," In its decadence, was generally spoken of, by the
passing traveller, as a "God-forsaken hole," and it certainly did
present a repellent appearance when seen for the first time, gasping
under the torrid rays of a North Queensland sun, which had dried up
every green thing except the silver-leaved ironbarks, and the long,
sinuous line of she-oaks which denoted the course of Connolly's Creek on
which it stood.
"The township" was one of the usual Queensland mining type, a dozen
or so of bark-roofed humpies, a public-house with the title of "The
Digger's Best," a blacksmith's forge, and a quartz-crushing battery.
The battery at Chinkie's Flat stood apart from the "township" on a
little rise overlooking the yellow sands of Connolly's Creek, from
whence it derived its water supply--when there happened to be any water
in that part of the creek. The building which covered the antiquated
five-stamper battery, boiler, engine, and tanks, was merely a huge roof
of bark supported on untrimmed posts of brigalow and swamp gum, but rude
as was the structure, the miners at Chinkie's Flat, and other camps in
the vicinity, had once been distinctly proud of their battery, which
possessed the high-sounding title of "The Ever Victorious," and had
achieved fame by having in the "good times" of the Flat yielded a
certain Peter Finnerty two thousand ounces of gold from a hundred tons
of alluvial. The then owner of the battery was an intelligent, but
bibulous ex-marine engineer, who had served with Gordon in China,
and when he erected the structure he formally christened it "The Ever
Victorious," in memory of Gordon's army, which stamped out the Taeping
rebellion.
The first crushing put through was Finnerty's, and when the "clean-up"
was over, and the hundreds of silvery balls of amalgam placed in the
retorts turned out over one hundred and sixty-six pounds' weight
of bright yellow gold, Chinkie's Flat went wild with excitement and
spirituous refreshment.
In less than three months there were over five hundred diggers on the
field, and the "Ever Victorious" banged and pounded away night and day,
the rattle and clang of the stamps only ceasing at midnight on Saturday,
and remaining silent till midnight on Sunday, the Sabbath being devoted
"to cleaning-up," retorting the amalgam, and overhauling and repairing
the machinery, and for relaxation, organising riding parties of twenty
or thirty, and chasing Chinamen, of whom there were over three hundred
within a radius of twenty miles.
