The West Coast Gold Rush, on the
West Coast of New Zealand's
South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867.
Description
The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found near the
Taramakau River
The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of ...
in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau. In 1865–66 gold was discovered at
Okarito,
Bruce Bay (the scene of the Hunt's Duffer gold rush), around
Charleston and along the
Grey River.
Miners were attracted from the
Otago Gold Rush
The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...
, and from
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia where the
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capit ...
had nearly finished. By the end of 1864 there were an estimated 1800 prospectors on the West Coast, with many in the
Hokitika
Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...
area. Hokitika was in 1866 the most populous settlement in New Zealand with a population of more than 25,000, and boasted more than 100
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s.
The
Canterbury Provincial Council in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
tasked their provincial engineer,
Edward Dobson, to examine every possible pass to the West Coast from the watersheds of the
Waimakariri,
Taramakau and
Hurunui Rivers. After finishing his examination, he declared that "Arthur's pass" was by far the most suitable to get to the gold fields; his son
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
had discovered a pass in 1864.
The provincial government decided that a road was to be built between Christchurch and Hokitika over
Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explorin ...
, a distance of , and Edward Dobson was put in charge of the project.
The road was opened on 20 March 1866.
In 1867 the rush began to decline, though gold mining continued on the Coast for some years. In the 1880s, quartz miners at
Bullendale
Bullendale is an abandoned mining settlement in Otago, New Zealand. It is the site of New Zealand's first industrial hydro-electric power plant. Located in rugged and remote countryside, it has survived to become of historical significance, and se ...
and
Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63&nb ...
were the first users of electricity in New Zealand.
[McKinnon, M. (ed.) ''New Zealand Historical Atlas: Ko Papatuanuku e Takoto Nei'' (Auckland, David Bateman, 1997) ppl,44. ]
The main towns on the West Coast had been established, as well as many gold rush towns like
Okarito (at one time the largest town on the Coast) and
Charlestown (later renamed Charleston), which both almost vanished when the miners moved on. The Coast was the second-richest gold-bearing area of New Zealand after Otago.
In popular culture
Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton (born 24 September 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International In ...
's novel ''
The Luminaries
''The Luminaries'' is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton. Set in New Zealand's South Island in 1866, the novel follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast settlement of Hokitika to make his fortune on ...
'', which won the
2013 Man Booker Prize The 2013 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded on 15 October 2013 to Eleanor Catton for her novel ''The Luminaries''. A longlist of thirteen titles was announced on 23 July, and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles, announced on 10 ...
, is set in Hokitika during the West Coast Gold Rush. This setting was partly inspired by Elsie Locke's classic New Zealand children's novel ''The Runaway Settlers,'' which also features the gold rush.
See also
*
Mining in New Zealand
Mining in New Zealand began when the Māori quarried rock such as argillite in times prior to European colonisation. Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century.
New Zealand has abundant resources of coal, silver, iron ore, li ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
''Gold on the West Coast'' from Te Ara, Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''The Wakamarina and West Coast Gold Rushes'' from the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New ZealandGold Fever – articleMap showing goldfieldsGold discoveries – Wakamarina and the West Coast
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History of the West Coast, New Zealand
New Zealand gold rushes
1864 in New Zealand