Our
eyes gradually adjusted to the dark
and the structures around us were
lit by our torchlight. In front of
us a massive cavern had been hewn
from the rock. The shapes of machinery
and beams became clearer and the constant
drip, drip, drip of water echoed around
us.
"Water
was the miners' biggest problem,"
Phil Mulhern, who runs Beach, Bush
and Heritage Walks, explained the
structure in front of us. "This
would have been a mine shaft, but
as the miners went deeper there was
a need to remove the water. They made
this into a pumphouse and most of
the machinery is still here today."
The
trip into the depths of the hills
was part of a walk into the Karangahake
Valley organised by Phil. We had often
driven through the valley on our way
to Paeroa, noting the rusting machinery
and derelict concrete structures alongside
the road. Without knowing about the
area's gold mining we had previously
walked along the old railway line.
Since the line's closure it has become
a walkway, although the vintage railway
runs from Paeroa to Waikino. Now we
were catching up on some lost time.
We
met Phil at the Waikino Station Cafe
and Visitor Centre. The Waikino Railway
Station had been relocated from Paeroa
in 1991 and completely restored on
its present site.
Over lunch and coffee, Phil explained
some of the area's history. His knowledge
and passion for the gold mining era
culminated in an afternoon tour of
the remnants of the gold towns. "The
first major gold finds were in the
late 1800s at Mackaytown and Waitekauri."
he said, "The timber and gold
went together, as they needed to cut
the timber for mine shaft supports
and as firewood for kilns and boilers."At
Waitekauri, just over the hill from
Waikino, it was hard to imagine a
thriving gold mining town as today
only some concrete, steel and chimney
remnants of the buildings remain.
Next
was a walk up the Waitawheta River
Valley which joins the Ohinemuri River
at Karangahake.
More remains dotted the sides of the
river and track. As we wandered, Phil
explained more of the wealth of gold
mining history. "The top level
of the mine was up there," he
pointed to a series of openings high
above us. "The lowest level was
16 layers down and they were all interconnected.
"There are more on the other
side of the river. The Department
of Conservation is restoring that
walkway and some of the shallower
mine shafts. Eventually they'll be
opened up and visitors will be able
to walk up one side of the valley,
cross on the swing bridge and then
walk back down the other side."
In
the valley above us the sound of happy
voices echoed around the hills. A
school group descended and crossed
the river as we waited to cross for
the walk back to the carpark. Phil's
passion for the area's history had
brought the goldmining era almost
to life. That history, coupled with
the spectacular scenery of the gorge
made walking the Karangahake Valley
something really special. There's
much more we didn't see and next time
we'll look Phil up - and allow a whole
day.
