Golden dream: A walk on the historical side of mining hopes at Waihi Beach
‘They were all going to get rich, but it never worked out’
There’s gold in them thar hills . . . or so they thought. Waihi Beach’s north end has a history steeped in mining — albeit mostly futile — and longtime local Ian Robinson will be outlining its interesting history at Echo Walking Festival’s Waihi Beach North End Mining History walk.
Essentially, the attempt to find gold was a failure, Ian says.
“They were all going to get rich, but it never worked out,” he says.
“So many tried to get gold out of it, they all came on horse and cart and they all played around with it but nobody was successful.”
During the walk, Ian will be pointing out what’s left of those days and still visible.
He says there are quite a few remnants in the area if you know where to look.
Ian — who has been awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for services to lifesaving and the community and has been a world champion triathlete, a councillor and a JP — says he has always found mining fascinating.
“I was brought up in Waikino. Everything from Waihi went to Waikino to be processed, all the quartz from these areas.”
A brief history
Prospecting of quartz veins started in Waihi Beach north about 1894-96. The Waihi Beach United Goldmining Company was eventually formed with the intention of testing the area and it was interested in the Treasure Island Reef.
The decision was made to sink a shaft that reached a depth of 356 feet. Areas were created northward and southward with the expectation pockets of richer, payable ore would be found.
Workers’ huts, a blacksmith shop and other buildings popped up.
But mining did not prove economic enough to sustain considering the difficulties with accidents, flooding, extracting the ore, pumping and transportation of coal for the boilers and loss of life. The caves were all eventually filled in.
● Source: Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 43, September 1999
● For more Echo Walking Festival information see page 16.