Waiuta
Waiuta | |
---|---|
West Coast | |
District | Buller District |
Electorates | West Coast-Tasman Te Tai Tonga |
Waiuta is the location of a historic mining town on the
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Blackwater_Mine_bush_railway.jpg/220px-Blackwater_Mine_bush_railway.jpg)
The town of Waiuta was developed to provide accommodation for workers in the goldmine.
Prospering Town
By 1936, there was a record 601 people living in Waiuta. Of those, many were from other countries, like Yugoslavia, Italy and Australia. It was in that year that the town had become the most ethnically diverse, more than most other parts of New Zealand. By 1910, a miners' hall was built, for social gatherings and meetings. Waiuta's first school was also built, and by 1933, there was a total of 113 children. The last major building to be built was the cottage hospital in 1916.
Sudden Decline
The Second World War triggered a gradual decline in the number of miners. Between 1939 and 1946, men employed by the company fell from 240 to 113.[5] The amount of gold eventually reduced to less than one third of the pre-war amount, making it difficult to recruit miners after the war.[6]
On July 9, 1951, the Blackwater Shaft collapsed and the flooded mine was abandoned.[7] With no alternative employment in Waiuta, many people left to settle elsewhere. Buildings were dismantled, and within a couple of months Waiuta became a ghost town, with nothing to offer.
Waiuta today
Nowadays, Waiuta is managed as a historic site for many tourists to visit, as very few buildings still remain. Waiuta offers overnight stays at the Waiuta lodge, where families can stay for as long as they wish. Tour guides are part of a group called “Friends of Waiuta” which was formed in 1985 to teach tourists the town's history, ecology of the area, and promote it as a tourist destination. They work with the Department of Conservation who manage the historic town and gold mines.[8] The group includes over 120 working members and holds meetings three times a year. The Department of Conservation is undertaking a project to restore the house belonging to Jos Divis, a miner and photographer who documented life in the mines and Waiuta.[9]
In 2020 Whispers of Gold: a tale of boom and bust and a West Coast Town that refused to die, a documentary film about Waiuta was released.[10] A documentary Jos – The Forgotten Photographer Who Saved a Town (2023) was made about Jos Divis's life and work.[11]
On 13 December 2019, it A $15 million commercial loan was announced the NZ government to Tasman Mining from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) to re-establish the Blackwater gold mine.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Waiuta". Reefton Works. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "The town of Waiuta - Waiuta | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ^ "Historic Waiuta Goldmine". newzealand.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Wright, Les. "The Town of Waiuta". New Zealand History Online. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Wright, Les. "The Town of Waiuta". New Zealand History Online. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "From boom to bust". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ISBN 0-473-00360-0.
- ^ "Waiuta". Reefton Works. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ McMahon, Brendon (2023-05-01). "Work under way to restore historic cottage in West Coast ghost town". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ Ashby-Coventry, Esther (2 September 2020). "Chance to see documentary golden opportunity for Noelene". Stuff. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ Naish, Joanne (2023-03-17). "New documentary aims to honour the 'inventor of the selfie', Jos Divis". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ "Reefton going for gold again". RNZ. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
External links
- Friends of Waiuta
- New Zealand History online - Waiuta
- Department of Conservation - Waiuta
- Whispers of Gold at IMDb