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Wilcannia (WBC.1) dating from this period include accounts for the
manager and several miners at Wilcannia Copper Mines, and according to
Blainey (1973:136) a mineral lease was taken out at Thakaringa in June
1876 over land where silver had been found. Copper mines were
established at Cobar in 1872 and in October 1880 The Wilcannia Times
reported the discovery of galena (an ore of lead) in the Barrier Ranges.
However, on November 10, 1880 The Wilcannia Times reported the
discovery of gold on the Mount Poole Run, and indicated that publicity had
already been given to this information. Despite the suggestion of earlier
publicity no earlier reference has been found, but it does seem to have
eclipsed any subsequent news of galena deposits in the Barrier Ranges.
The Wilcannia Times was cautious in its approach:
'No authentic information has been received from Mount Poole since
publicity was given to the discovery of gold there, but some miner's rights
have been applied for. Through a source we can rely upon there appears
to be every prospect of a speedy settlement of the question as to whether
the gold exists in payable quantities. It is rumoured that about a hundred
persons are on the ground' (Wilcannia Times, November 10, 1880).
In the same issue the Times published a letter from 'an unsuccessful
goldseeker' which included the following comment
'I have heard from a reliable authority (Mother Dutchy's eldest boy) that the
manager of a station not a hundred miles from the prospectors' claim was
doing the hoop-la business behind one of the counters the other night. The
boy won't tell his name because he is a gentleman.'
Just what the colloquialisms used in this paragraph mean is uncertain. The
'hoop-la business' may imply the shanty-keeper was touting for business in
much the same way as the operator of a fairground hoop-la stand. The
meaning of 'Mother Dutchy's eldest boy' is completely obscure.
Bfainey (1973: 137) states that 'the Melbourne newspapers denounced the
rush as a trick of the local shanty-keepers', but I have found no
contemporary record to supports this and it seems Duncan McBryde,
licensee of Mount Poole Run and proprietor of an hotel at Milparinka
waterhole, was initially displeased by the invasion of gold-seekers and
others. The following notice was published in The Wilcannia Times on
January 20, 1881:
'Notice: All persons found trespassing on Mount Poole Run, driving or
removing stock without permission, will be prosecuted and persons in
charge of travelling stock are requested to give the usual notice at the
head station before entering the run. D.McBryde & Co., Mount Poole, 13
December 1880.'
However, in fairness to Blainey, inn-keepers along the routes to Mount
Poole were no doubt anxious to facilitate a flow of information which would