The presence of gold in New Zealand had been known from the beginning of European colonisation. As early as 1842 whalers discovered traces in the Coromandel district, while, almost simultaneously, one of Arthur Wakefield's survey parties found traces in the Takaka River, near Nelson. Nothing was done about these discoveries and, as the early prospectors were only interested in alluvial gold, there appeared little likelihood of any sustained rush to New Zealand sites. By the early 1850s, however, the authorities were concerned at the increasing stream of settlers who were leaving for the Australian and Californian gold-fields. Early in 1852 certain influential citizens of Auckland offered £100 reward (later increased to £500) for the discovery of alluvial gold in payable quantities near the capital. In September 1852 Charles Ring, of Coromandel, claimed the reward. A small “rush” occurred, but this lasted only from November 1852 till January 1853, less than £1,500 worth of gold being found during the whole period. A few miners continued to work at Cape Colville and Mercury Bay, but by June 1853 most had departed.
The next important discovery occurred in Nelson, where many minor “finds” had already been reported. By October 1856 it had been established that gold existed in payable quantities, but the Provincial Government showed no inclination to encourage miners to exploit the field. A few local settlers drifted to the Aorere Valley, near Collingwood; by February 1857 there were about 60 miners in the district. Three months later there were 1,500. The miners' interest centred on the Collingwood-Takaka district and by August 1859 nearly £150,000 worth of gold had been exported from Nelson. Hochstetter, who visited the field about this time, reported that returns were falling rapidly and that there were only 250 miners working around Collingwood. By this time most of the settlers had returned home and there had been no rush from Australia.
Between 1857 and 1859 Government surveyors reported seeing traces of gold on the West Coast districts. In November of the latter year Rochfort reported that his party had found gold “in vast quantities” in the Buller River. It was not until two years later, however, when Reuben Waite exhibited gold won from the Buller River in a jeweller's window in Nelson, that any real interest was taken in the discovery. A few miners hastened to the locality, but no concerted rush occurred.
Gold had been known to exist in Otago long before Gabriel Read's discoveries and, according to one popular tradition, Tuhawaiki is said to have told Tuckett of its presence as early as 1844. Throughout the 1850s settlers reported minor discoveries in many parts of the province. In 1858 Black Peter found gold near Lawrence and, in the following year, near Tokomairiro. In July 1860 Blacklock and Roebeck found it in the Mataura district. By the end of the year gold had been reported from all parts of Otago, but it was still not believed to exist in payable quantities. In March 1861 Samuel MacIntyre, an old Californian miner, found gold in payable quantities in the Lindis Pass area and a small rush developed; however, bleak winter conditions soon forced the miners to abandon their diggings.
In view of later rushes to the New Zealand gold-fields, one may wonder why these did not begin earlier. The answer lies in the fact that while early prospectors had a keen eye for topographical features resembling those of the Australian and Californian goldfields, they possessed little knowledge of the geological formations in which gold might be found; and this, together with the miners' preference for alluvial gold, led them to ignore in certain districts rich quartz reefs.
In May 1861 Gabriel Read, an experienced Australian prospector, discovered gold in Otago, and during the two succeeding months many men left Dunedin to try their luck on the Tuapeka field. By the beginning of August there were 2,000 diggers camped on Read's location. From Gabriel's Gully men swarmed into neighbouring valleys where further strikes added to the prevailing excitement. By October 1861 there were 4,000 men working at Waitahuna alone. Between July and December 1861 Otago's population rose from something under 13,000 to over 30,000, more than half of the new arrivals coming from Australia.
The cold winter of 1862 caused the Otago rivers to fall to an unprecedented low level. In these conditions Hartley and Reilly, two Californian miners, were able to prospect sand bars along the banks of the Clutha River. On 15 August 1862 they deposited 1,000 oz of gold at Dunedin and claimed the reward for the discovery of a new field. As soon as it was known that this bonanza had been found on the Dunstan (near present-day Cromwell), many diggers rushed there from Tuapeka; and by 5 September there were 3,000 men on the new field.
In the meantime there were many rumours circulating about the doings of a digger named Fox, who was said to have “struck it rich” somewhere in the Otago interior. Fox had, indeed, found gold on the Arrow on 9 October 1862. He managed to keep the location of his discovery quiet for a short time, but persistent rumours of a rich “strike” attracted many diggers to the area. In November a further discovery in the Shotover Valley (near Queenstown) confirmed the existence of the Wakatipu field and by December there were 3,000 diggers working the two rivers. A month later there were 6,400 diggers in the district and several shanty towns had sprung into being.
The peak of the Dunstan and Wakatipu rushes culminated in disaster brought about by the freak winter conditions of 1863. In May 1863, however, the Parkers, Solan, and Warren struck gold in the Taieri-Manuherikia area near the present town of Naseby. As the new field proved more accessible than earlier finds, many diggers rushed there; and by the end of July there were nearly 2,000 men working around Naseby (Hogburn and Mount Ida). The Taieri was the last occasion in Otago in which the Australian miners took part in large numbers and when the peak of the rush faded, the Otago goldfields lost much of their glamour.
After the Collingwood fields declined, some prospectors moved eastwards through Nelson Province into Marlborough, where gold had been reported in small quantities. Early in 1864 four prospectors discovered a rich deposit of alluvial gold in the Wakamarina River near Havelock. The news spread quickly and by 14 May there were 4,000 miners on the location. As the Otago alluvial fields had begun to decline, many Australian diggers flocked to Marlborough, and the Wakamarina soon boasted 6,000 men working around Canvastown. Granted that 25,000 oz of gold were won in 1864, the nature of the field — many rich surface pockets and few steady workings — soon showed that the rush could not be long sustained, and before long many miners were attracted to the new fields on the West Coast.
Although the Buller goldfield had been eclipsed by the more spectacular finds in Otago, new miners continued to be attracted to the area. By 1862 there were about 300 men working on this field and, from the reports of surveyors and prospectors, it was known that there were extensive alluvial deposits on the Taramakau River and its tributary, the Hohonu. In the latter part of 1864 many miners drifted into Westland and located claims around Greenstone, Goldsborough, Stafford, and the Waimea diggings. By the end of the year there were 1,500 miners on the West Coast; Hokitika had been founded, and miners were still arriving. As the news spread, miners came from Otago and even from Victoria. By April 1865 there were 7,000 miners in the district, and by September there were over 16,000. These were not concentrated at any single strike, but were spread evenly among many camps in the hinterland between Hokitika and the Grey River. Towards the end of the year there was a rush to the rich field at Okarito, in South Westland, and, shortly afterwards, to another at Bruce Bay. News of fresh discoveries in the Grey district encouraged many to prospect in that direction, and in August 1866 the rush to Charleston began. In November of the same year Fox, of Arrow fame, made a rich strike at Brighton (now Tiromoana), about 10 miles south of Charleston. In May 1867 Addison, an American negro, made a strike near Charleston which precipitated the last real “rush” on the West Coast — the rush to Addison's Flat. By this time the West Coast gold boom was showing signs of steadying as the alluvial deposits were exhausted. About this time also, the proclamation of the Thames goldfield began to attract many miners to that district.
In 1857 Charles Heaphy visited the deserted Coromandel diggings and reported the existence of very considerable quartz deposits. This was confirmed two years later by Hochstetter and Von Haast. No attempt to exploit the field was made until September 1861, when the Auckland Provincial Government became concerned at the exodus to Otago. Although Donald McLean arranged with the Maoris to permit prospectors to explore the region, few miners took advantage of this before mid 1862, when parties of Australians arrived from Otago; however, tensions arising from the “King” movement soon led to the partial abandonment of their workings. Thames was proclaimed a goldfield in February 1864, but, although many quartz miners made their way to the new field, their influx did not reach “rush” proportions until 1867–68, when alluvial miners began to arrive from the West Coast. Those who came soon found that there was little alluvial gold in the district; others, who had staked rich quartz reefs, found they lacked capital to install the costly machinery necessary to work their claims. Groups of miners formed partnerships; in 1868 there were over 600 such partnerships and 320 small companies in existence. The first battery, “Great Expectation”, was erected in November 1867, and set the style for the whole field. Despite this, the cost of working quartz claims remained prohibitive and most of the smaller groups were forced to sell their interests to the large companies formed by such Auckland financiers as F. Whitaker, Thomas Russell, R. Graham, and John Logan Campbell. After 1869, the last year of the small companies' bonanza, returns fell rapidly and many who had originally rushed to the field were forced to become labourers in the employ of the large companies. The Hauraki Thames, and Ohinemuri gold-fields were the scene of the last major gold rush in New Zealand, and after the first boom the surviving companies settled down to a long period of steady production which lasted into the twentieth century.
After the alluvial deposits were exhausted the large companies continued to recover gold by the mercury-amalgamation process. By 1890, however, many people feared for the industry's future. In 1889 the cyanide process was successfully tested in New Zealand and, before long, there was a revival of activity on the Thames and Ohinemuri fields. The new process also enabled the Waihi Co. to develop the low-grade gold and silver ores near Waihi and begin a “boom” period which lasted well into the present century.
In Otago and the West Coast, sluicing became the normal method of recovering gold. By 1890, when returns were again declining, dredging became the principal mode of production. In 1886 the Dunedin, the first steam bucket dredge, was built, and during the next decade, as technical difficulties were overcome, many dredges appeared on Otago rivers. The dredging boom lasted from 1898 to about 1913. In 1903, the peak year, there were 201 dredges working in Otago-Southland, the majority on the Clutha and its tributary, the Kawarau. There were also a further 63 on the West Coast. Today the Kaniere dredge, which works the river near Kumara, is the sole survivor of this era.
Between 1857 and 1960 over 27 million ounces of gold were exported from New Zealand. This has been valued at nearly £125 million.
by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.