Some Local History and Background

Early settlers to the West Coast were a special breed, able to withstand the rigors of the early Northern West Coast and it's remoteness, building a lifestyle around a strong community spirit. The major influx of settlers arrived between 1864 and 1867, boosting the Coast population - from 250 to 26000 in the three years of gold booms.

The region is populated by only 31,000 people, known by New Zealanders as 'Coasters', a term synonymous with friendliness and hospitality. Isolated from the rest of New Zealand by the Southern Alps, Coasters have developed a distinctive culture of their own, where the pioneering values of self-reliance and hospitality are as strong today as they were 100 years ago.

The human history of the West Coast is particularly rich. First came the Maori seeking sacred pounamu (nephrite jade, or greenstone) at its sole sources in New Zealand. Gold fever in the 1860s brought Europeans, many of whom stayed on to start farming, forestry and fishing - and tourism businesses. Today you'll find museums and historic buildings, fine food and cuisine, a range of accommodation and first-class local guides who add to your enjoyment of the West Coast's hundreds of natural, historic and adventure experiences.

DENNISTON
The discovery of coal bearing deposits during the same decade was to eventually lead to the establishment of a more stable and ongoing industry in coal mining. From 1867 the coal mining industry began in earnest, and by 1895 Denniston in the north had become the largest coal producer in this country. Substantial coal operations continue today, to contribute to the Northern West Coast economy .Between 1880 and 1967, the Denniston Incline brought coal down from the Rochfort Plateau and the mines at, among others, Banbury, Burnett's Face, Coalbrookdale, Wharatea and Iron Bridge. The Incline, with it's steepest section at a gradient of 1 in 2.2 carried 15 wagons an hour (with a total capacity of 120 tons), to the railway at Conns Creek at the foot of the incline. In it's time over 13 million tonnes of coal went down from the plateau to the ships at Westport .Fondly known by the locals as 'the eighth wonder of the world', the Incline was ingeniously engineered, based simply on gravity and logistics. Major earthquake damage among a number of other factors, saw the final closing of the Incline in 1967.

REEFTON
Originally Quartzopolis, and then Reeftown, was the first location in the Southern Hemisphere to have a public electricity supply system. It became operational in 1888, and the generation system finally gave way to better systems in 1948.Other small towns in the Northern West Coast have come and gone over the years of high gold and coal productivity, but photographs, memories and relics of the era are still there, and are all part of the strong foundation on which the Northern West Coast is based.

CHARLESTON
Charleston’s origins owe much to gold prospector William Fox. He was born in Ireland in about 1826 and as a young man became a sailor, then a gold prospector. He was on the Californian goldfields about 1850; then on the Victorian goldfields in Australia; and on the Tuapeka goldfield in Otago in 1861. In 1862 Bill Fox's prospecting activities in the Arrow district excited intense interest. In 1864, Fox traveled to the West Coast. He prospected widely for gold and first discovered it at Fox Creek, a tributary of the Arahura River behind Hokitika, in January 1865. According to local historian Les Wright, in July 1866 Fox organised a prospecting voyage to what was later named Fox River but didn't find gold there. He led the party on 50 km north to where Charleston would later be, but although they found gold in the sand there, it was too fine to save. So Fox went south to Okarito to find out how the miners there were extracting it from fine sand.In August 1866, while Fox was away, Timothy Linehan took the credit for the Pakihi ('Parkeese') field which later became known as the Charleston field. At first, goods going to 'Parkeese' were landed at Woodpecker Bay, south of Fox River, and humped about 20km north to the goldfield. Then Capt Charles Bonner managed to squeeze the ketch 'Constant' into a tiny bay near 'Parkeese' and the town that formed around this new landing spot, Constant Bay, was named Charleston, probably in his honour. Reed (2002) indicates that the community was originally known as 'Charlie's Town', and then 'Charles Town', before settling on the current name.In November 1866 Fox made a rich strike at Brighton (now Tiromoana), about 10 miles south of Charleston, and in May 1867 a strike near Charleston itself precipitated the last real 'rush' on the West Coast. Brighton was a much bigger town at the start, but Charleston lasted longer and the two have been confused in places. In 1867 Brighton and its environs had 53 hotels while Charleston had 37. The population of Charleston during the gold rush is often exaggerated with 30,000 or even 100,000 being mentioned. At the peak of the gold rush, the population of the entire West Coast is believed to have been only 35,000. The early 1867 census, at the peak of the Charleston rush, showed 5,000 on the entire Charleston field and 6,000 on the Brighton field ten miles to the south.

COALTOWN MUSEUM , Westport
Historical exhibitions - coal, gold, lumber, aviation, shipping, brewery, earthquakes, transport, minerals and photographic displays. Two separate filming areas covering coal, timber, gold and mineral.

 

 

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Birds Ferry Lodge, Westport, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand.
Tel 021 337 217
Free phone Customer Line in New Zealand 0800 212 207

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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