(No. 90.) 18 9 0. PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA. DISTRICT SURVEYORS' REPORTS. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by His Excellency's Command. 0 7 LJ·T.\1, ~-T· ;fi:1::UL\D.-:fOl'if'.I ··s•u···•. iD<Y,TT\r' 'J:llV··~·:l:V·Ci·" ·R·S'-- _· :'· R·, ..·E·P,,:\:-c;)l'T,ls, · · '\:./:J.:\,J::, '• . Latrobe, 9th · February, 1890; SIR, I HAV:E tlJe hq;r1or to forward to. you m.\' ,!nnu,µl Rtp.ort_ for the year 1889 on the Survey District. und·er tn-y_:charge. During the year I have surveyed twenty-three sections, aggregating 114T acres, appli~d for· unde1; the· 24th section of "The Waste Lands Act;" aµ_d_ 4_4,_ s_ep_ti_pns, c_omprising 1358 acres, under the Gold Fields. and Mineral Lands Act. The comparison between this and previous years shows a large falling off in both the agricultural and mine_ral industries:_ this has, somewhat surpris_ed me, inas_much.as the yields and prices for farm produce have' been 'exceptionally ·good;·· iii the m·o•re·· ·settled"localities' immediately adjacent to the cro,Yn property. Much of the settlers' sm:plus capital has been invested in partially improved properties, for· which there has' been· a :steady' demaniJi at"p1;ices 1;anging •froni:-two-to-six 'pounds• per acre. ; '.Dhe· gqod; and, med•ium ,quality' ~f•agricultura]Fland·a•vailable,for-selection in.dos/r,pro:x;imity to,the settle di pa,1\ts, of\my:. District- ·ha_si,al1• 1been; selectedi :; · the onlyrportions' no_w: lJlft-fit: for. cultivating_ purposes· is. -situate.d.r along,' the;slopes1of"' Gad!s ,If'ill,'tnear.-t.he. Mersey;-.and· Eor,thiRive.rs·;: most1 of,'this land; although somewhat.. rerpotii,. ·i:s e_~e_e_ptio_rmlly:;gqo_d,: an\l m.ul:\t'- be,of v,alue.' to .the S!l.le.ctor.. 'l'he, -new roadi lately formed. from. Circular Ponds, in conti-nuation of the road from Mole Creek Railway Station to- the Iy[ersey:. R~ve:r,. together with the railway facilities and re-construction of bridge_ ov.er that river, will bring the intending settler. witWn ,ea,~y, distan.c_e, of· a,:g~od, marJqit._ lVf:ost of the country in this dii-ection has been withdrawn from selection. 'This, I think, is unfortunate, as with care mineral land is so easily identified, and could be reserved on recommendation of surveyor, -OJ' a spe_cial ·claus!l in;,eJ'.ted·in, purchasing, agreement,_ to meet any possible contingency, thus allowiug the settler and mirier every chance to develop the country. 'fhe recent discovery of gold at Middlesex:- -Rises. has .. caused a demand for land in this direction,, and much might be made of the opportunity. I would recommend the survey of a township reserve at the crossing,-place:,.of: the'.V:an,])iemen!&,-L_and G_omp_any's.track. at. the. For.tit -Riy:er,,and subdivided ·.ifoeqµired, and_ the rest of the_ land on the east side of the river to be thrown open for selection. The east side of the­ rive-r--is,well:ada·pted fo1,_,a township, and would in no way interfere with the mineral field on the west. ]?astaraL The large nrea of.pastoral· Janel 'in this· District is' exceptionally ·goo di and· suitably adapted foi· slimmer· l'.ll!IS.; a_s a rule i t,i;,, w.ell watered and. healthy, easy of. access, and coula be. profitably worked in conjunction w'ith low-ly}ng: ·Jand in the· vicinity-of. Chudleigh. · Mineral. · During, the,.µast year minii1g ·has been• stead_ily progrcssing,.and .although not-s.o extensive,assin formei· years;cis,of a fa1.,-morn,llealthy,des.criJltion,_ · A.t .Mount,Claude Silv.er, l\'Ii\1.es some little prospecting has b(l_en·. done w,ith- cnco~raging_,i:'es.ults, b.ut::the sur_ronnding_country h,1s been,so· shepherded.from month to.,month, foi:-ye\l,rs., iri ,the.J10pe o(i11dui,i11g. inve_stors .. ofcayit:il to.p_roi']_JCcct as .. well _as develop, :the-mine;, that. nq;ori.e,. ou,t~Jde. the sy_n.~lic\l,te. h_as ,bee.n abl~<to get·-.on. to .the .field: I am .aware ,of.maf!y, who ,formed :a very.: high opin_io_n of tl.1isJ~ealityilep,ving iUn.disgust upo;n_]!Jai,ning the state of· affairs. T,he. insertion of a cl~use in the Mining and Gold Fields Regul'ations compelliilg the holdcr·-o{ a "Ptosp_ector'.s Protection: Oi·de/'··01; a "Reward Claim" to state what amount has been expended each quarter 'in' develuping his elaitn:.:..:.C.wo'rk: to be, estim;ite<,1-would remedy this evil,. espee!ially if his holding. was liable to forfeiture for false or "· qooked'"rep?rts. , · .A:t Cami)bell'~ Reward (gold); on the Fortll' 1River; some heavy··worklias' been,done for,scimetirii.e' past,. with, as yet, no very encouraging result:,; however, there appears to be every-indication .'of ultimate success •. This Company has spent .a large sum on its property, and until recently was surrounded by other claims upon which litt1e101\ nothing, was,_done · 4 "Forth :Rises to Middlesex."-This is comparatively a new field, extending westerly from the Forth River for five miles. A large amount of prospecting has been done, and results are highly satisfactory. The formation is soft and porous, and generally associated with sandstone, slate, and porphyry, and carries gold in a rich and easily discernible form. The various bodies of stone, of which there are many, run from a few inches in width to four or five feet, and occur at intervals for a distance of five miles. One company has large and expensive machinery on the ground ready for erection in the summer months. The difficul­ ties in working on this field have been great and trying : until quite recently there was nothing but a small bush track to the place, and that of' the roughest description; now a broader one has been constructed, but is in a frightful state after the heavy cartage in places. · The wire rope erected for survey purposes has been made to do duty for a bridge, and is in a very dangerous state and quite unfit for the heavy and continual traffic, and requires repair!! urgently. A bridge across this fording-place will be required at no distant date. With a little help or encouragement (more especially to those who have helped themselves, notably the Campbell's) this field will eventually develop into a large mining centre, and, I think, in the near future: · . Roads, B~idges, g-c. A road is much required along the west bank of the Mersey River from the bridge south through Liena Towi:;ship Reserve, Roberts' sections, and on to crown land beyond; it would open up some rich aoricultural land. This, with a bridge over the Forth River, as before suggested, are works that 'will soon b; required. In the meantime I would suggest that immediate repairs to the wire rope, with new hauling-line and fastenings, be made to ensure safety in crossing the river. The amount ( about five pounds) is small, . which, I presume, makes it harder to obtain. I have, &c. HENRY J. CHALMERS, Govemment Dist1·ict Surveyor Tlte Survey01·-General, Survey Department, Hobart. ANNUAL Report on South Buckingliamfor the Year 1889. Srn, I HAVE the honor to report that during the past year I have marked out thirty lots, varying ia size from ten to three hundred and sixty acres, and amounting in the aggregate to one thousand five hundred and nineteen acres. The greater portion of this land has been selected for agricultural purposes, and mostly by persons enlarging their former holdings, scarcely any new settlers having come into the district. There is still plenty of good land in the Parishes of Throckmorton, • Ranelagh, and Coningham, which will soon. be selected now that good roads are beinD'0 made in the different localities. I have, &c. HERBERT COMBES, District Surveyor. To tlte Surveyor-General, Survey Department, Hobart. REPORT upon Settlement of Crown Lands, Districts of Bucliingltani and Cumberland. Stone Buildings, 28tli June, 1890. Sin, DuRING the past year there has been a marked improvement in the amount of land selected in my district. This is partly owing to the opening up of the Russell's Falls Valley. In this locality about fifty .lots have been appliP.d for, amounting to about 6000 acres. Out of this amount 3625 acres have been surveyed, and many of the applicants have commenced work clearing, scrubbing, and burning off. At present the road is being made up to the first selections of Marriott's, but beyond this only a rough paek-track is available; and until a fair road is made through the selections it will be impossible for selectors to do much work on their lots. A good line 9f road has been laid out by me through the selections, and approved of by the .Public Works Department. This road can_ be extended into the Florentine Valley, where there is an area of 18,000 acres, about 12,000 of which is first-class land. This land is not likely to be selected until a better means of communication exists than is to be found at present. The natural outlet for the country is either by way of Russell's Falls or else east to Ellendale: the latter route I have not been over, but of the former I can speak from experience. There would be no difficulty in getting a first-class line of road through the Russell's Falls Valley aeross the range to the Florentine Valley.' .