Page 30 - rigneymaster

One Man’s Goldfield: the story of the Horseshoe Bend Diggings, William Rigney and Somebody’s Darling

Rigney came into conflict with his partners over the management of the claim. He
wrote to the son of one of his partners in 1892: "unless you give power of attorney to
your father my only safe course will be to sell out. I have no doubt that K or some of
his friends will give a good price for my shares as if he got mine he would very soon
have the whole affair - I would be very unwilling to sell but if K is to have it all his own
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way I will be compelled to do it and it will be all your own fault." [link to copy of
dispute letter]

Apparently Rigney did sell his shares. In 1896 Edie and Kirkpatrick made a net profit
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of six hundred pounds each from the claim.

Rigney took his profits from the sale of his shares and invested them in a scheme to
lift water from the river for use in mining.

A record of this scheme that has been located is a brief statement in the Tuapeka
43
44
Times [link], West Coast Times , and New Zealand Herald in 1892.

Figure 15 Reference to Rigney's "current motor wheel" invention

A further reference in the Tuapeka Times of 1892 suggests that Rigney ran into
difficulties when his application for a claim area in which to trial his invention was
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declined. [link to original record in Papers Past]

In 1894 the Wardens Court in Lawrence granted William Rigney a machinery site of 4
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acres at section 4 block 15, Crookston [link] which may have related to testing this
invention.

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On 16 December 1892 the Warden’s Court in Lawrence [link to copy of decision]
granted William Rigney a “residence site” at Horseshoe Bend.

Rigney’s acrimonious relationship with Messrs Edie and Kirkpatrick continued until at
least 1895 with Rigney objecting to their development proposals at the Warden’s
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Court. [link to original record in Papers Past ] and disputing their claim areas [link to
original record in Papers Past] .

41 Rigney, W. Personal correspondence from a private collection.
42 "The Otago Goldfields: Their Past History, Present Position and Future Prospects" Otago Daily Times. 1896
43 West Coast Times , Issue 9342, 13 June 1892, Page 4
44 New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8893, 1 June 1892, Page 6; Sourced from Papers Past; National Library of New Zealand
45 Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1906, 22 June 1892, Page 3 Sourced from Papers Past; National Library of New Zealand
46 Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 4154, 17 November 1894, Page 3 Sourced from Papers Past; National Library of New Zealand
47 Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1957, 17 December 1892, Page 3 Sourced from Papers Past; National Library of New Zealand
48 Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 4194, 10 April 1895, Page 3 Sourced from Papers Past; National Library of New Zealand

© Jeff Robertson 30