joined together: United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, and Portugal. Who can say what the future of gold-mining in the State will be? Fields eclipsing in their stores of mineral wealth those discovered by Bayley and Hannan may await the prospector, and other Coolgardies and Kalgoorlies may arise to swell the output of gold in the Commonwealth and to start another wave of population westward. With her area of 975,920 sq. miles, the possibilities of gold-mining in Western Australia are illimitable, and we are always on the threshold of fresh discoveries.

Total

With Hannan's discovery following close upon that of Bayley's, the gold fever reached an acute stage. The prospectors scattered to the north and to the east, and names such as Bulong, the Londonderry, The Wealth of Nations, The Lady Shenton, White Feather, Broad Arrow, and Mt. Margaret, now household words, began to attract attention. If nature at the outset was so coy, and it took years to wheedle from her the secret of her mineral treasures in Western Australia, the western State has had no reason to complain since. Compared with her eastern neighbours, Western Australia has been particularly fortunate. Alluvial gold is unrivalled in its power to attract population, and a few months after the discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie there were 2,500 men dryblowing around Mt. Charlotte and on towards the Boulder Hill. In Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland periods of depression followed and were consequent upon the exhaustion of their alluvial fields. But if the alluvial finds in Western Australia were rich, her 1eefs and lodes have proved of no less phenomenal wealth, and the one following upon the other at once placed the gold-mining industry on a solid and permanent basis.

The total output of gold in Western Australia from the year 1886 to November 30, 1901, has been 7,622,222 ozs., of a value calculated at £3 16s. per oz., to the end of 1900, and afterwards at £3 17s. per oz., of £29,049,673. The amount paid in dividends by Western Australian gold-mining companies up to October

The following shows the quantity of gold entered for export from Western Australia and received at the Perth branch of the Royal Mint from January 1, 1886, to June 30, 1901, and the estinated value:

1894

..

207,131.31

787,098 19 6

879,748 4 5

1,068,808 5 1

2,564,976 12 7

3,990,697 13 7

6,246,731 10 9

963,189

2,871,709

807,407

6,007,610 13 8

N. S Wales

6,562,675 0 0

Tasmania..

81,175

(11 months)

S Australia N. Territory New Zealand

3,190,940 1,194 521

316,220

Western Australia occupies one-third of the Australian continent, and onethird of the State is taken up by her nineteen goldfields. This area, which the gold-mining industry claims as its own, is about the size of the whole of the United Kingdom and Germany, or of the United Kingdom and France, or of the following European States if

£29,049,671 19 3

The value up to the end of 1900 was calculated at £3 16s. per oz., and since then at £3 17s. per oz. This applies to quantities and values of outputs given under the different goldfields.

THE CHAMBER OF MINES OF WES

TERN AUSTRALIA.

(Incorporated.)

It is usual in all important industrial centres to find Chambers of Commerce, Chambers of Manufacturers, Chambers of Mines, and kindred institutions, having for their objects the protection, of development, and encouragement commercial and industrial interests. In this respect Western Australia is no exception. Comparatively unknown a decade ago she has, by the rapid development of her great mineral resources, been raised to a position of special commercial prominence. The Chamber of Mines of Western Australia was created, under its present constitution, on January 1, 1961, by the fusion of the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie Chambers of Mines, the former established in 1895 and the latter in the following year. The usefulness and influence of the Chamber has grown with the expansion and increasing needs of the mining industry, and to-day it forms a very potent factor in the mining life of the State.

The President of the Chamber is Mr. Richard Hamilton, the general manager of the Great Boulder Proprietary Gold Mines. As an evidence of his popularity and the esteem in which he is held by his mining confreres, Mr. Hamilton has filled the president's chair of the Kalgoorlie Chamber of Mines for two suc

cessive years, and on the formation of the Amalgamated Chamber this year he was unanimously elected first president of the new body. The four vice-pres1dents are Messrs. W. L. Daniell (expresident of the Coolgardie Chamber), Thos. Hewitson (Associated Gold Mines), W. R. Feldtmann (Bewick, Moreing and Co.), and R. S. Black (Kal gurli Gold Mines). Mr. A. E. Morgans, M.L.A., is an honorary vice-president of the Chamber.

The affairs of the Chamber are directed by an Executive Council of fifteen members, consisting of the president, vice-presidents, and Messrs. J. W. Archibald, E. D. Cleland, T. F. Hartman, N. Keenan, Ralph Nichols, R. B. Nicolson, H. Lawrence Read, W. H. Rodda, J. A. W. Sutherland, and E. Thomas, M.L.A.

The departmental work of the Institution is carried out by five sub-committees, viz.:-Finance and Building Committee, General Purposes Com. mittee, Parliamentary Committee, Patents' Committee, and Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Committee.

The membership of the Chamber consists of five classes, viz.:-1. Full members, (2) associate members, (3) honorary members, (4) visiting members, (5) foreign members. The first class of membership is restricted to any Limited

Liability Company or No-Liability Company or any firm of Mining Engineers registered in the State of Western Australia, or any syndicate, owner, or association of owners of mineral or gold-mining lease or leases in Western Australia. The minimum subscription for full membership is £5 5s. per annum, but any member has the privilege of paying up to £15 15s. per annum, with the right to appoint a representative in the Chamber for each subscription of £5 5s. The present membership consists of ninetyfour gold-mining companies, two firms of mining engineers, and two associates.

The objects for which the Chamber is established are:--1. To take over the assets and liabilities of the Associations hitherto known and described as "The Coolgardie Chamber of Mines (Incorported)," and "The Kalgoorlie Chamber of Mines (Incorporaied)." 2. To establish such branch offices of the Chamber of Mines of Western Australia (Incorporated) as may be from time to time deemed advisable, and may be authorised by the rules and regulations. 3. To enter into any amalgamation, affiliation, fusion, or alliance with any other association incorporated according to law, and having similar objects. 4. To protect and promote the inining interests and industries of the Western Australian goldfields. 5. To consider all questions connected with the mining industry, and to promote public discussion thereon, 6. To promote and oppose legislative and other measures affecting the mining industry. 7. To collect and circulate statistics, and other information relating to the mining industry. 8. To communicate with and exchange Information upon mining matters with Chambers of Mines, or Government departments of Mines in Western Australia or elsewhere. 9. To establish and maintain libraries and museums of models, speciother mens, designs, drawings, and articles of interest in connection with the mining industry, for the use of members. 10. To act as arbitrators in the settlement of any disputes arising out of mining.

The head office and office of the general secretary (Mr. T. Maughan) is situate in Kalgoorlie, and the registered office has been conceded to Coolgardie for the first year, where a local committee and a local secretary (Mr. C. E. It is Stokes) administer local affairs. the intention of the Executive Council

tc establish local committees in all the most important mining centres as soon as practicable.

RICHARD HAMILTON, J.P., presiden: of the Chamber of Mines of Western Australia, is a native of Bendigo, Vic., in which town he was educated. After leaving school he served in the office of a civil engineer and architect, where he spent three years studying the theoretical side of his profession. This was succeeded by five years' close study of practical enginecring. Thence he went into mining pursuits, and was assistant to his stepfather, who was the owner of a large milling plant, and who had many interests in the Bendigo district. Mr. Hamilton, later on, went to India, where he was manager of the Honnali and Pulvanhulli gold mines in the Mysore Province. He retained this

RICHARD HAMILTON, President.

appointment for several years, and then returned to Australia, and spent a short period in the New England district of New South Wales. His next engagement took him to California, where he was associated with several mining properties on the Mexican border. In 1895, at

the request of Mr. Zebina Lane -at that time the consulting en. gineer of the Great Boulder Proprietary, Ltd. Mr. Hamilton came to Western Australia to fill the position of general manager to that company, and, upon Mr. Lane's retirement, was appointed their attorney. Under Mr. Hamilton's

able management almost the whole of the development of the famous Great

W. Le. G. DANIELL.

for many years engaged in stock and horse-breeding, and where he still owns his estancia. In 1895 he visited Western Australia, returning to England at the end of 1896. He again came to Western Australia towards the end of 1897 as local director and attorney of the West Australian Goldfields Company, the first English corporation to undertake goldmining on the eastern goidfields of this State. Mr. Daniell is also director and attorney of the Hampton Plains Estate and several other English companies operating in Western Australia. He was a Commissioner of the Paris Exhibition of 1900 for this State, and occupies a similar position with regard to the Glasgow Exhibition of the current year. Mr. Daniell was also a member of the executive of the Coolgardie Exhibition, 1899.

ROBERT SILVERS BLACK is a native of New Zealand, having been born in

R. S. BLACK.

1860, within a few miles of Gabriel's Gully, and claiming as his godfather Mr. Gabriel Read, the discoverer of that famous alluvial field. His connection with Western Australia commenced in March, 1895, when, after spending five years in silver and lead mining on the West Coast of Tasmania, he accepted the position of general manager to the Londonderry mine at Coolgardie. After conducting the operations of that property for five years he resigned, and was appointed general manager of the Kalgurli and Hainault mines, Kalgoorlie, positions which he at present holds. Mr. Black is a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and was an original member and vice-president of the Coolgardie Chamber of Mines. He is now one of the vice-presidents of the Chamber of Mines of Western Australia.

THOMAS HEWITSON, manager of the Associated Gold Mines of Western Australia, Ltd., is another of those whose mining experience dates from their earlier years, and who by the study of engineering has added a fund of knowledge to his practical experience. He was born in Pershore, England, and came out to Australia as quite a young man, landing in Victoria in 1856. He proceeded to Ballarat, where he was connected with several companies, and was of those who assisted to build up the famous Golden City. In the early '60's he was one of the first at the great Smythesdale rush, and during his Victorian career has had control of many

one

large properties, including the Port Phillip Company, the South Clunes, and other equally well-known mines. He

T. HEWITSON.

was thas engaged for twenty-seven years, and was as familiar a figure in Melbourne circles as he was in the mining districts, and for several years was a Justice of the Peace in Victoria. Early in 1895 he came to Western Australia, and for eighteen months was identified with the Murchison district, where he was connected with several mines. Leaving Cue he came to Kalgoorlie, and was appointed manager of the Ivanhoe, but in June, 1900, he severed his connection with that mine to take the managership of the Associated Gold Mines, which property he still controls. Mr. Hewitson was one of the Commissioners for W.A. of the Paris Exhibition, and holds a like position in connection with the Glasgow Exhibition. He is an executive councillor of the Chamber of Mines of Western Australia.

1896 he was vice-president of the Chemical and Metallurgical Society, and the two following years he occupied the presidential chair of the same institution. Arriving in Western Australia in February, 1898, he was engaged by Messrs. Bewick, Moreing and Co. as consulting metallurgist. For the last two years he has been superintendent of Hannan's Brown Hill Company, and is at present the Western Australian representative of Messrs. Bewick, Moreing and Co. Mr. Feldtmann is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, also of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, London.

THOMAS FRANKLIN HARTMAN, who has had a widespread experience of mining in its various branches, was born in Illinois, in the United States of America. Having completed his education, he at once commenced mining pursuits in his native country, and at Colorado and elsewhere he obtained extensive knowledge in lead, silver, and gold mines. Arriving in Western Australia in 1895,

T. F. HARTMAN.

he proceeded to Kalgoorlie, and immediately afterwards took charge of the Paddington Consols, and since then has been connected with several large undertakings, including the control of the Southern Development Company, the Ivanhoe South Extended G.M., and the Lake View Consols.

RALPH NICHOLS, who has been connected with many of the mines in the Kalgoorlie district, has had a most extensive experience in this industry, havy

ing practically been trained in it from his boyhood. Born in New York, and educated at Columbia University, where

on

he took degrees in mining and civil engineering, he followed the industry in his native land for twenty-two years, during which time he was manager of the world-famed De La Mar mine, and also of the Sutro Tunnel G.M. (now known as the Comstock Tunnel), and other workings. Coming to Australia in 1897 he was engaged as inspector of different properties the continent belonging to Mr. Gardner, the London mining magnate. After taking a brief trip to America, he returned to Australia, and came to this State, and accepted the managership of the Boulder Perseverance G.M., and under his control this property made marvellous progress and development. Mr. Nichols is also the local attorney for the Boulder South, Boulder Bonanza, and the Associated North-West G.M., Ltd. All properties Mr. Nichols has been connected with have profited greatly by the valuable services he has rendered the various corporations.

ROBERT B. NICOLSON is a native of Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated As at the Hawthorn Grammar School.

a youth he went to Queensland, where he spent several years in station life. He next proceeded to the Macquarie district, N.S.W., and for some time was engaged in mining pursuits at Ironbarks and Kiandra, and in the latter place also

dealt in stock. After spending six years in Melbourne, he came to Western Australia in 1893, and went prospecting. Later on he was manager of a mine at Menzies, and from it went to the Duke Gold Mine at Broad Arrow, which he left for the Paddington Consols, where he remained for two and a half years. When Mr. T. Hewitson relinquished the management of the Ivanhoe mine, Kalgoorlie, Mr. Nicolson was appointed to succeed him.

HENRY LAWRENCE READ is a native of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. He received his early education in England, and also at St. Peter's College, Adelaide, and eventually returned to England to complete his studies. After leaving school he spent several years at sea, and afterwards was connected with financial, commercial, and mining operations, which led to his spending a considerable period of time in Mexico, California, South America, and other parts of the

chairman and sole controller of the mineral section of the exhibition, and in his speech at the opening of the exhibition suggested to the then Premier, Sir John Forrest, that the collection be sent to Paris, and this was done. Mr. Read also formulated the scheme to send the now famous mineral exhibit to the Glasgow Exhibition, with the result that he was appointed chairman of a Royal Commission, established for the purpose, and from whom he received an unanimous vote of thanks for his gratuitous services to the Stale. Mr. Read is on the Commission for the Peace in the State, chairman of the Coolgardie and District Schools Board, and is also a member of the Coolgardie Hospital Advisory Board.

W. H. RODDA, manager of the Associated Northern Blocks, Kalgoorlie, is one of the few men who, having been connected with mining all his life, has not only been able to bring many years of practical experience to bear in the control of the valuable property he superintends, but having been a zealous student of the industry in all its phases, is possessed of scientific knowledge, which is invaluable in the position he occupies. He was born in Cornwall, England, but when a lad of eighteen he migrated to California, where he spent So many years that he regards that

out Central America, and when but twenty years of age became manager of a mine. Six years ago he proceeded to the Rand, and was appointed manager of the famous Lancaster mine at Johannesburg, which, under his control, was In 1899, opened up and developed. shortly before the outbreak of hostilitics in South Africa, he visited England, and after remaining in London for six months, came to Western Australia in the latter part of the same year, and, going direct to the Boulder, was appointed to the position he now holds. Mr. Rodda is a thorough expert and authority on all mining matters, and is a member of the executive council of the Chamber of Mines of Western Auscralia.

H. L. READ. world. His next move was to Western Australia, whence he came to represent the New Zealand Mines Trust in 1897. In Western Australia Mr. Read has been closely identified with mining matters, and was for two years vice-president of the Coolgardie Chamber of Mines, which, by the way, was the first chamber in Western Australia. Mr. Read was one of the chief promoters of the Coolgardie International Mining and Industrial Exhibition, and in connection with which he was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Finance Committee, and Judges' Committee. He was also

W. H. RODDA.

place as his native land. He has mined at Idaho, Nevada, Mexico, and through