hands, be somewhat hard to subdue, the consolation exists that the goldfield has turned up in the remotest corner of the province.” While the above article no doubt expressed the feelings of the then administrators of Canterbury, the age old lure of gold was too strong for the rank and file of the community, who lost no time in setting out for what they regarded as a land of promise, where fortunes could be won in a day, and as far as Christchurch was concerned, the long delayed rush to the Golden West became a reality.
The beginning of August, 1864, was marked by the arrival of more men, among whom were John R. Hudson and his partner, James Price, who reached Westland by way of the Taramakau Saddle on the 7th of the month mentioned. Hudson and Price were very well equipped, utilising two pack horses to convey their provisions and mining implements across the divide. All went well until they reached the Taramakau Saddle, where one of the horses lost its footing and fell, landing on a narrow ledge some fifty feet below. As it was this horse that carried their tent, blankets and food, it was essential that one of them should recover these very necessary articles. Hudson, descending the face of the cliff, and cutting the gear clear from the pack saddle, then decided it would be better to roll the horse into the ravine below than to leave it where
