The Pike29 Memorial Track is a

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

track located near the

Paparoa National Park Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The park was established in 1987 and encompasses . The park ranges from or near the coastline to the peaks of the Paparoa Range. A separate section of the park lie ...

in the

Grey District Grey District is a Districts of New Zealand, district in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, New Zealand, Runanga, Blackball, New Zealand, Blackball, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, and settl ...

of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. The track was created as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

for the 29 miners who lost lives in the

Pike River Mine disaster The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mine, coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a metha ...

. The track is a branch of the

Paparoa Track The Paparoa Track is a shared hiking and mountain biking track in Paparoa National Park on the South Island of New Zealand. The track was created as a memorial for the 29 miners who lost their lives in the Pike River Mine disaster. The track i ...

, the tenth Great Walk created. Both tracks were originally scheduled to open in 2018. The Pike29 Memorial Track opened in February 2024, four years after the Paparoa Track. The Pike River Mine portal features a memorial and interpretation centre.

Track history

In November 2010, a methane explosion at the Pike River Mine killed 29 men and entombed them. Family members of the men then worked with government and asked for a visitor centre to be built, and a new track built to Great Walks standard be constructed that linked the Pike River Mine site on the eastern side of the

Paparoa Range The Paparoa Range is a mountain range in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It was the first New Zealand land seen by a European – Abel Tasman in 1642. Part of the range has the country's highest protection as a national par ...

with

Punakaiki Punakaiki is a small village on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located between Westport, New Zealand, Westport and Greymouth on , the only through-road on the West Coast. Punakaiki is immediatel ...

on the West Coast. This was to serve as a memorial but also as a source of income from tourism, compensating for the loss of income to the region of the mine. In his role as acting Conservation Minister, Nick Smith and family representatives announced on 29 January 2015 that the track would be built and that the land around the mine would be added to the existing

. The

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

had been tasked with a feasibility study and prior to that work having been completed, it was estimated that a track would be built. Some families regard the area as sacred and maintain that people should not cycle or walk across the mine site; they were opposed to the track construction. Smith confirmed the track on 15 November 2015, confirmed that it would go from Blackball to Punakaiki, and that of new track would be built. It would connect existing tracks—the Croesus Track and the Pororari River Track—and a side track would be built to the Pike River Mine site. At the mine, a visitor centre and a memorial were to be built. It was confirmed that the main track could also be used for year-round mountain biking, which is unusual for National Parks but was favoured by the family group to maximise the tourism potential for the West Coast. It was announced that would be added to the national park. The side track to the Pike River Mine—named Pike29 Memorial Track—was to be long and at the time, it was expected for the tracks to open at the end of 2018. Two 20-bunk huts on the Paparoa Track were part of the proposal. The arrangements were formalised in March 2017 through amending the Paparoa National Park Management Plan as construction activity in a National Park is otherwise not permitted. Track construction was to start later that autumn and the huts were to be started the following summer, with a construction budget of

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...

10m. The name of Paparoa Track was chosen by the family group of the deceased miners. It was not until July 2017 (i.e. winter) that construction did start, as announced by Smith in mid-July 2017. The projected track opening had shifted to April 2019 by then. Three different companies were tasked with building sections of the overall project, with Nelmac Limited assigned to one section of the Paparoa Track (from the bushline above the Moonlight Tops Hut to the junction with the Pike29 Memorial Track) and the Pike29 Memorial Track. After the change to Labour Government later in 2017, part of the tourism support package announced in December 2017 by the

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) *Ministry of Touri ...

, Kelvin Davis, went to Blackball in support of the tracks under construction. The Paparoa Track was officially opened on 1 December 2019 and after a major slip had been repaired, the track was fully open on 1 March 2020. However, some time after the Pike River Recovery Agency was established, the contractor was removed from the Pike29 Memorial Track. The contractor returned in February 2022. The track officially opened in February 2024.

Footnotes

References

External links

Paparoa Track and Pike29 Memorial Track, Department of Conservation
{{Grey District Grey District Hiking and tramping tracks in the West Coast Region Articles containing video clips Pike River Mine disaster