New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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Bullock Creek. Haast

The Hatter		Posted : Tuesday, 12 August 2014 5:44:06 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 21/05/2013(UTC) Posts: 259 Location: Westport Thanks: 62 times Was thanked: 320 time(s) in 125 post(s)		Hi Folks Way back there was a thread here about the secret Bullock Creek. Zimbo aka Eddie asked me if I knew where it was and what it is now called. So time to share it with a few more adventurers. I never heard back from Zimbo as to how he done up there. Bald Hill is argilite, similar to the Reefton quartz area. And is the obvious source of gold into Bullock Creek, and maybe a few of the other creeks that flow from it. I shall attach the pics and a few links for you gold detectives to work out just which creek is Bullock Creek but now has a different name. I dear say the Haast locals know exactly where it is. And three on this forum know. Maybe they left a few tidbits. Now a Minelab SDC2300 would be just the machine and its waterproof to three metres. Hint hint. [img][/img] [img][/img] Links. http://paperspast.natlib...mp;e=-------10--1----2-- http://paperspast.natlib...mp;e=-------10--1----0-- http://atojs.natlib.govt...amp;d=AJHR1887-I.2.1.4.5 http://www.paydirt.co.nz...-Haast.aspx#.UUzrL1e86hk http://books.google.co.n...ce=bl&ots=Um_Os5l0a- http://paperspast.natlib...mp;e=-------10--1----2-- http://www.archive.org/s...vgoog#page/n161/mode/2up Now lets hope all this works. Maybe Zimbo will let us all know how he did up that way. Cheers Trev aka " The Hatter"

The Hatter		Posted : Tuesday, 12 August 2014 8:41:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 21/05/2013(UTC) Posts: 259 Location: Westport Thanks: 62 times Was thanked: 320 time(s) in 125 post(s)		Bishop was obviously a bit of a, well lets be kind and say an entrapenur. He actually designed, built and sold gold dredges. It would appear that he kinda enlarged just a tad, the gold values at the mouth and slightly inland values of Bullock Creek. One can only assume the idea was knock off one of his dredges to a likely punter. The idea was to barge it down and land it on the beach. Obviously came to nothing. And hence the name Bullock Creek became known as Bishops Folly, probably a nickname at first, and a poke at our friend Bishop. But eventually it became known officially as Bishops Folly and the name remained. I think he ended up in quite a high position in Greymouth. Thats right he became the Superintendent of all State Coal Mines in the Greymouth area. That man had an interesting career, but he must have had quite a few brains. Gold history can be very interesting. I drove past Bishops Folly Creek Bridge about a year ago. There is a small track down to the creek and a small parking area there. About a one vehicle park. There was a 4 wheel drive parked up there when I went past. Goldminer or hunter or alternative crop grower, who knows. The link to the Handbook of NZ Mines, has lots of great info on South Westland and the West Coast in general. Read through it. The creek that flows off Mount Hercules, and has gold in it sounds kinda interesting. Its on a hairpin bend, but there is a large parking area about a 100 metres back from the creek. Those area's need a young bloke. At 66 its a bridge to far for me. And none of the ground is claimed down that way. (Mining Permit) A few beach claims and that is all. Cheers Trev aka The Hatter.

gjj109		Posted : Wednesday, 13 August 2014 5:59:35 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 14/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 464 Location: Thames Thanks: 217 times Was thanked: 194 time(s) in 115 post(s)		Thanks very much for that post. Most interesting and a lot of reading to do, if we get a couple of rainy days.

zimbo		Posted : Wednesday, 13 August 2014 8:38:44 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 22/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 72 Thanks: 5 times Was thanked: 29 time(s) in 18 post(s)		Good day hatter Its been a while, the reason why you haven't heard back from me this is because i still haven't made it back there for a look. I have had a busy summer dredging in moke creek we didn't get much but was a good learning curve. cheers eddie File Attachment(s): SAM_36081.jpg zimbo attached the following image(s):

The Hatter		Posted : Wednesday, 13 August 2014 9:30:15 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 21/05/2013(UTC) Posts: 259 Location: Westport Thanks: 62 times Was thanked: 320 time(s) in 125 post(s)		Hi Zimbo Good to hear from you. Yep sometimes those remote locations are just a bit to far. And judging by the now gone post on here about Bullock Creek its a fair hike up to the Golden Canyon. The inland cattle track is now a walkway and signposted. I find it hard to accept that the good gold was only found in the little side creek off Bullock Creek (Bishops Folly now of course) Its pretty easy to work out which creek after reading the papers past articles. It took a while (way back) to find that MOW report on road construction via google. And all was revealed. You really have to do some Detective work. Trouble on this site is the guests can read all the info, and man are those guests active. so if one wants to share some info with the members on here, the so called guests get a free look. People often ask me where they can get some good gold. My stock answer is. "If I knew I would be there myself" and not telling you. But if you want a bit of colour try this creek. But you won't get rich. In my younger days I lugged dredges up so many places in the Buller and Reefton area, and a few in the Grey Valley, its no wonder I now get a few twinges in my back. It was always a recce first, pan pick etc. And if it looked promising it was then lug the dredge in. Got a Minelab VLF Detector in the arsenal too. Bit old now but still works. I am awaiting with great interest to see how the Minelab SDC2300 goes, esp down south Otago and your area. Seems they are doing well with them on worked out patches in Aussie. Small bits but lots of them. Gold is gold, and it mounts up. I have always treated gold as a hobby, sometimes for me it has been a paying hobby, but the majority of the time I am paying the hobby. However having said that over the years I guess I have accumulated around 200 ounces. Most of that coming off a productive gold dredging claim me and my mate had somewhere in the Buller. Best time was 35ozs in 10 days, those were the days. Now I would be happy to just go out and score a few small flakes with the Detector or pan. And yes I am tossing up whether or not to get a SDC2300. Would love to have a shot down your way or Otago, with one of those, with some of the guys that know the country and have rights or permission down that way. Just the joy of detecting and finding is enough for me. Any gold I find they can have and I would only go when accompanied and in eyesight. The closer the better. I have known of guys dredging together and the odd nugget disappearing up the wetsuit sleeve. Gold does funny things to some people. Certainly not my way of doing things. Im kinda of pretty self sufficient these days in the ways of financial income. Well I have rambled on a bit. And yep Zimbo sometimes your back yard is the best place. Not far to travel, lower costs and a warm real bed at night. Cheers Trev aka " The Hatter"

5AMP		Posted : Thursday, 14 August 2014 9:23:04 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 3/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 57 Location: wellington Thanks: 105 times Was thanked: 16 time(s) in 11 post(s)		Thanks Hatter. I enjoy your posts. I am also in my sixties and it is getting harder to carry gear long distances but still enjoy the chase as a hobby though would have spent way way more looking for it than I have ever made. One place that it is not likely to be is Munro creek near Lake Moeraki where I had heard there was colour to be found-was down there recently and not a even a speck-at least where I tried.

Golddigger7		Posted : Thursday, 14 August 2014 4:49:20 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		Oh how we luv good old gold yarns, well done guys, got me thinking bout westcoast, but darn will be stuck up the Arrow finding gold all summer :-(

pc5001		Posted : Tuesday, 16 September 2014 10:25:43 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 5/08/2011(UTC) Posts: 26 Location: central otago nz Was thanked: 13 time(s) in 8 post(s)		I spent a weekend exploring this creek and its gorge last summer. Its a bash upstream for a couple of hours through log jams and the easiest route was up the river itself, I was crevicing so in my wettie n mask. Theres plenty of reef but most of it sheers away steeply into bottemless gravel...actually , theres no reef that extends across the stream. The gorge itself is very narrow, a series of deep pools and low waterfalls with bolts and anchors in the walls from back in the day. The walls are vertical and there is very little horizontal reef, the rock is well waterworn, very smooth with few crevices. I did get a little gold ,from a couple of cracks though.Looked like it was no secret tho,discarded sluicebox in the bush and several empty eveready battery wrappers in the area. I camped in a small area below the highway bridge and coming from central, i was looking forward to a good campfire but the whole area is pretty swampy and the closest dry firewood was down at the beach,about 600 m downstream.Mosquitoes,Ive never seen anything like it,ok up stream but at camp in the evenings,the air was black with them. So not a bad weekend,not much gold but good times.I went there by myself but wouldnt do that again,well out of the way and not the place to get caught if there was a thunder storm upstream.