Farther along the line is Bardoc, from which place much rich gold has been won. It was at Bardoc that an accident recently happened in one of the mines, a poor man being killed by five tons of rock falling on him.
Twenty-six miles before we reached Menzies was Goongarrie, which a few years ago made a great sensation in the mining world.
Part of Lady Shenton Battery
Menzies was the nicest small mining town I had seen. There was a wonderful air of prosperity about it. As I walked up the principal street it seemed almost to say, “This is a good place,” and the people were extremely kind to the stranger in their midst. Until quite recently Menzies was one of the “back-block” towns, only accessible by coach from Kalgoorlie, a distance of 90 miles. The people in what we Australians call coach-towns always seem more genial and warm-hearted than those who can pop into a train and be whirled along to the metropolis, and Menzies only having had the train service recently has not had time to get spoiled. I think it is because of their isolation that people in these places, as a rule, hail strange faces with more pleasure than others do. There are some very nice houses in Menzies, and the hotels are especially good. The Grand Hotel (I can speak from experience) is a model of comfort. A very well-built post-office and court-house adorn the town, and there are many other substantial buildings in the place, which is, no doubt, a most important centre of business and industry, and which has made great strides during the last twelve months, especially since it received a new impetus from the advent of the railway. The town is literally surrounded by mines, not only of gold; copper has been found near in lodes of 50 feet wide, that bear 5 dwts. of gold as well as 60 per cent. of copper. Menzies is quite a young town, and is named after Mr. Menzies, the explorer, who, in 1894, went prospecting from Kalgoorlie to see if he could discover any more Kalgoorlies. After travelling some weeks he discovered some rich “shows,” and telegraphed to the syndicate, of which Sir George Shenton and the Hon. H. J. Saunders are head, to that effect. Application for ground was made and accepted, and works afterwards commenced, with what success may be imagined from the results of that noble mine the Lady Shenton, which, since 1897, has paid 12 dividends of over £88,000, besides expending large sums of money on machinery, &c. The Lady Shenton Mine occupies 36 acres of land. There is a splendid electric-light installation, both on the surface and underground, at the main shaft as well as in the crushing-sheds, and in many other places where it is useful. The total output of the mine is 97,278 ounces of smelted gold, exclusive of gold from tailings and concentrates, the latter sometimes giving a very high percentage of gold, since as much as 327 ounces had been taken from 73 tons when I was there; 14,000 tons of tailings were awaiting treatment. Some time ago, when Sir Gerard Smith visited the mine, luncheon was served to the visitors in the 300-foot level. I happened to be at the Lady Shenton Mine at “crib” time, and after “crib” the miners went out with their football to have a game before beginning work again. They were fine looking specimens of colonial manhood, and seemed thoroughly to enjoy their friendly game.
The sleeping tents of the miners are some little distance from the mine, but there were several dinner tents close by. The men form themselves into little parties of five or six, taking it in turns to act as house boy, or, as I should say, tent boy. In the day time the menu is cold, and looking at the stock of tins of preserved meats (elegantly termed tinned dog), fish, jam, milk, cake, and vegetables, it is easy to see that they do not neglect their meals. Why should they, since they are in the receipt of high and regular wages?
The next large mine is the Queensland Menzies, from which there have been large returns. There are some other first-class mines from which great things are expected. Four miles from Menzies is Kensington, where there are more good mines, also two splendid breweries. I next travelled across the country for about four miles, all alone, with only the pony I was driving for company; but happening, with my usual luck, to strike the right track and not get lost, I came to the Four Mile, where there is a little township (small settlement), and a magnificent mine called the Menzies Consolidated. There are 120 men engaged on this mine, who form quite a little colony by themselves. There is a fine tennis court, where several of the officials of the mine were enjoying a game. Mrs. Strickland, the sub-manager’s wife, insisted on getting tea and cake for me, and seeing that my horse also was refreshed after the heat of the day. On my way back to Menzies by another road, a metalled one this time, I passed many prospectors and dry-blowers, who all seemed quite satisfied with what they were getting. When I got in sight of Menzies I took a short cut through the Bush, and found I had to pass through abandoned alluvial diggings and several shut-down mines. I was glad to get back again on to the hard road and to Menzies, for the shades of night were falling fast. Next morning I learned from the paper that a murder had been committed by natives and the body found near Kensington the day before. I must have passed quite close to it, and am very glad I did not see it. Many crimes are committed in these remote parts, the perpetrators of which are never discovered. A long-standing mystery has just been solved: a man named McInnes disappeared about two years ago; he was known to be a thorough Bushman, and fora few days no notice was taken of his disappearance. However, as he did not return search-parties went out to look for him, but he was never found. Shortly after his supposed death his brother came from Victoria, took charge of his affairs, and vowed that he would never leave the colony until he had solved the mystery of his brother’s disappearance. This has apparently been done by a blackboy named Tiger, who found the skeleton of a man at the Bullarchi Rocks, 12 miles off, and Mr. McInnes, the brother of the missing man, being sent for, identified the remains as those of his long-lost brother. The poor fellow had evidently, in Western vernacular, “done a perish,” like so many others, in the course of searching for gold.
An extraordinary meteor was witnessed here a short time ago. A magnificent ball of fire shot across the heavens from the north-west to the north-east, leaving an almost straight trail of light behind it. At the head of this trail of light appeared a ball of fire, which became gradually diffused around the luminous trail or meteor in convolutions resembling the movements of a serpent. For some moments the display bore a likeness of a pillar of light with a serpent twined around it. Gradually this semblance was transformed into the figure of a man standing upright, with his arms partly spread and his hands clasped. This form grew gradually into an attitude as if the figure were about to spring, the head and shoulders being inclined forwards and the legs slightly drawn up, and in this attitude it remained till the luminosity, gradually becoming paler, was absorbed in the silver light of the breaking day. Altogether the phenomenon lasted from 10 to 15 minutes.
