excited by the rich mineral developments in South Australia that any deep interest was taken in local geology. News came from the sister colony late in 1845 and early in 1846 of the success of copper mining there, and when this was confirmed, and it was announced that a fortune or two had been made, settlers began to look about them. A few Western Australians migrated to South Australia.
A discovery of coal at Kelmscott was reported in 1845, but did not cause excitement. One colonist—Mr Birch, a Staffordshire chemist—had frequently stated that coal would probably be found to the southward of the Murray River. It had already been announced that coal had been discovered in that district, but there was no foundation of truth in the reports. About the middle of July, 1846, Mr. Beacham, a settler on the Murray, and his sons, while cutting a ditch in a cold stiff clay on the southern plain of the Murray, about 35 miles from Fremantle, came upon detached stiff specimens of a substance resembling coal. The same substance was met with at the bottom and on both sides of the ditch. Samples of the stuff were immediately conveyed to Mr. Birch, who pronounced them coal, but of the inferior quality usually found on the surface. Mr. F. C. Singleton, Government Resident on the Murray, with Mr. A. O'Grady Lefroy and Mr. G. Nash, instantly proceeded to make an investigation. Mr. S. Moore also visited the spot. They confirmed the report.
The Inquirer of 29th July, in making the discovery public, heartily congratulated colonists, and thenceforward exultingly published all information concerning such "an important and promising find." Excitement took hold of the public, and each resident of Perth eagerly watched for new developments, and numerous pilgrimages were made to the Murray banks. It was taken as a fortunate circumstance that the find lay near to the navigable part of the river. The coal was said to emit hydrogen gas when burnt.
Mr. Singleton wrote a highly favourable report to the Governor, and Mr. Samuel Moore supplied the Inquirer with additional particulars. The first stratum was found about three feet from the surface, and Mr. Moore compared it with the shale clay of Lancashire. In this pieces of a shining substance were embedded, which produced gas and flame when burned, and a slight smell of coal. Both Mr. Singleton and Mr. Moore believed that the locality was well worth searching for coal, and suggested that funds should be obtained to prospect. Mr. Moore even drew up a list of plans for the future. First, colonists must discover a "thick stratum of coal," and then foreign capitalists and English miners must be obtained to glean the hidden wealth, to erect a steam engine, and run an iron steam tug-boat up the Murray fit to tow barges to carry away the article.
And now the excitement became all-absorbing. The discovery of coal had its humourous aspect in Perth. Every resident seemed to be a coal "expert," and the ears of Perth people were everywhere assailed with such terms uttered in conversation as coal, granite, gneiss, grit, old red sandstone, primary, secondary, and tertiary. The situation is humourously summed up in the Inquirer:—"We cannot peep out of our door but we are assailed by, 'Have you seen it?' ' What do you think of this specimen?' The invasion of the Huns was a trifle to the hosts of specimens of blackboy, gum, charcoal, clay, and other swindling pretenders who march in hourly calling themselves coal, and if we fly from them we are met by gangs of iron, pyrites, mica, and such vagabonds, tramping along, with trumpets blowing, under the ensign of copper. We never did hope to see Perth so much awake. We dread that the excitement may be too much for the good town, which may suffer a relapse of another eighteen years' duration. Every unfortunate corpse of an old burnt gum tree is dragged from its resting-place, divided into morsels, wrapped in shrouds of whitey-brown paper, and triumphantly carried about St. George's Terrace in the waistcoat pocket of some excited citizen, clerk, or member of the Council, who with a pompous strut or a confidential wink lugs out the unhappy little blackened scrap and applies it to the nose of everyone he meets, with, 'Does it not smell like coal?'—till at length he reaches our office, and, bespeaking a special supplement for his discovery, deposits it, with solemn injunctions for its safety, on our table. What is the subsequent fate of the little wretch is a secret which in the present state of public feeling we dare not avow."
Regrets were expressed that there was no one in the colony of high geological attainments to definitely pronounce on the quality of the coal. News came to hand in Perth in August that an encouraging discovery of copper had been made at Toodyay. The ore was smelted, and yielded good copper. New flights of imagination pictured a wealth of this mineral equal to the best in South Australia. The report was a hoax, worked on the abnormal excitement pervading the community. Then at the same time basalt taken in by a coaster as ballast at Bunbury was declared to contain copper, and the hope was fondly entertained that copper mines would soon flourish in the southern port. It was also publicly announced that ore had been found somewhere in the colony which contained both tin and silver. The local Government considered the indications of coal so important that they offered a reward of 2,500 acres to anyone who discovered a coalfield.
The mining fever raged unabated throughout August. The Government was asked to send to England for an experienced geologist and pay him a salary of £200 per year for a few years. It was proposed to form a small company for the purpose of concentrating power and skill on mineral development. A meeting, with this object in view, was held in Perth on August, when Surveyor-General Roe took the chair. Several resolutions were unanimously carried supporting the proposal. Messrs. G. F. Moore, S. Moore, R. Habgood, J. W. Gregory, James Stokes, L. Birch, R. W. Nash, J. W. Davey, and J. Tare were appointed a committee to raise funds for the purchase of labour materials, to supervise boring apparatus lent by Mr. S. Moore, and to make arrangements for experimenting. The Murray coalfield was ordered to be the first locality exploited, and the committee, of which Mr. S. Moore was elected chairman, was instructed to apply to the Government for monetary and other assistance. Mr. S. Moore was warmly thanked for his services and liberality.
The committee immediately set to work, and at a meeting held on 16th September produced the prospectus of the company, which was to be termed the Western Australian Mining Company. The capital was fixed at £20,000, in 10,000 shares of £2 each—10 per cent., or 4s. per share, to be paid on the subscriber's name being entered in the books of the company. No calls greater than 10 per cent. per quarter were to be made unless by the authority of a special meeting of shareholders. The committee, or directors, elected were—Messrs. J. S. Roe (chairman), S. Moore, Wm. Knight, B. V. Vigors, H. C. Sutherland, and R. Habgood. Mr. Charles Sholl became honorary secretary.
It was announced a few days later that another discovery of coal had been made E.N.E. of Toodyay by the explorer Assistant Surveyor-General A. C. Gregory. That gentleman and his brothers returned from an exploration in the "interior" with what was alleged to be a large block of coal taken from a seam six feet thick. They found this at the basement of a cliff 210 miles north of
