Nelson Historical Society Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, October 1974
Diggers' Names
Diggers' Names
Gold Digging Commenced on the Tableland in the 1870s and many strange characters, including Chinamen, were attracted to the area. The diggers are responsible for such strange
names as Butcher Town, China Town, Starvation Spur, Balloon, Commiskey Creek, and Golden Gully which are still in use today. The Tableland is still dotted with prospecting holes which are full of water and a real trap for the unwary. There is no record of the quantities of gold found.
Edwin Moore, a mariner, who died of a heart attack on 18th February 1892 (aged 49) was buried on his claim in Cundy Creek. Because of the unusual circumstances an inquiry was held, a party consisting of E. D. Dunn (surgeon), Richmond Hursthouse JP (coroner) and Thomas Boyes travelling to the Tableland where, after a post-mortem and inquiry held in Moore's claim, the burial took place. The North-West Nelson Forest Parks Board intends to erect a cross over the grave.
Richards is remembered as the bad man of the Tableland. Some claimed he was well educated, the son of a clergyman. Charles Sixtus, an early settler in Pokororo, maintained that when he crossed from Melbourne to Wellington, Richards was the mate in the sailing ship. If this is so Richards does not seem to have ever disclosed his profession by any word or act, but he led a very solitary life.
Richards is supposed to have fought with many of the diggers one of whom, Billy Lyons, is quoted as threatening to use his 'squirt' on the next occasion. Over the years the question has often arisen as to what became of Richards. No one knows—he simply left his hut and gear and disappeared. Possibly some of the stories told about him were not altogether accurate.
Billy Lyons may best be described as the 'grand old man of Balloon'. He was said to be a neat, dapper little man very quick in his movements. Much of his long period at Balloon was spent in attempting to dig a ditch to bring water from Peel Lake for gold washing at Balloon. The ditch has never been finished. Lack of water was always the trouble in washing for gold on the Tableland. Billy Lyons' staple diet appears to have been what he called 'poultry', in other words plain weka.
Visitors who stayed with Billy Lyons praised his hospitality and said that he enjoyed western stories and spoke with an American accent. A revolver was always known as a 'squirt' to him. He was also renowned for his ability to toss tea into a boiling billy from a distance of ten feet, little of the tea, it appears, ever being spilt. One wonders!
In his later years Billy Lyons left Balloon and settled in a hut in the Pearse Valley and apparently died at Richmond.
Many people think that the old Balloon hut is a restoration of Billy Lyons' hut but this is not correct, nor is the site the same. The old Balloon hut was financed by the Wellington drapery firm of Kirkcaldie and Staines in 1906 for a gold mining project to pipe water from Peel Lake. Nothing came of this venture except Balloon Hut which is no longer of any use.
The Hodges were cockneys and appear to have had their share of hard times and humour and may be classed among the more successful diggers. They gave their name to Hodge's Creek in the Leslie Valley and the small creek with the bridge about a quarter of a mile from the Cobb track junction on the Flora side. The parallel water races on the western side of the main Peel Ridge are also their work. Hodge's Open on Mt Arthur is another place where their name remains today.
No Tableland history would be complete without mention of Mr and Mrs H. F. Chaffey. The Chaffeys lived in their cottage near the asbestos mine for forty years. Mrs Chaffey's name was in the old Arthur Creek hut in the Leslie Valley dated 1913.
During this long period he worked at track maintenance and hunted and prospected in some very remote areas. He was the caretaker of the asbestos mine and in the early years of this century was blade shearing in the Pokororo area. He was renowned for the size of the swag he could carry. I met him many times on the track and on each occasion was impressed by the size of his swag and his friendly, courteous manner to young people. In later years when the Cobb was opened up, Chaffey used the Cobb route and was no longer seen in the Graham Valley. His knowledge of the country was very great, but like so many high-country people, he did not divulge it. He died at his cottage in 1945, and his wife at Takaka a few years earlier.
In the depression after the 1930s, diggers again appeared on the Tableland and log and shingle huts were built in the Flora, Takaka and Leslie Valleys. When better times came the diggers returned to other occupations.