The first was the Puponga coal company line at the base of Farewell spit. This line ran from a mine out into Golden bay, and is covered in Peter Dyers book which is a cracking good read. I've reproduced a map of the original line here.
Driving along the road the first sign on anything vaguely ancient is the remains of the wharf extending out into the harbour.
"It would look better without all the water in the way..."In the next shot we can see the first causeway built when the companies wharf was further north as shown on the map. It was replaced by a later track alignment which is far harder to get at as it lies on private land. and is a bit further south on the map. the current road runs along this causeway
The modern road roughly follows the line on the map until it gets to the bins and mine at the other end. This is on DOC land and is an easy graded 2 minute walk. Even then there was some skepticism articulated by the lady of the house.
"You want me to come up there?"The first evidence for anything ever having been here is a large retaining wall.
I then ran into problems caused by A) not having brought the copy of the bins map I have and B) DOC not having a plan anywhere on site. This is a pity as some other sites I've seen like this (Cross Creek, Charming Creek to name 2) have excellent displays putting the remains in their original historical context. I hope its something that they rectify in the future.
A bit of poking around in the flat bit above the retaining wall however produced a few more items. a pair of tracks leading into a slip which I assume is where the mine haulage line came out.
The remains of the hauler lined up with this.
Further along was a skip tipper(try saying that fast 3 times on Christmas day).
There was also some evidence further along the same level back towards the car park of several other small drives, with some coal still in evidence in the area.
So, if you ever manage to make it to this remote part of the country (and the guys who built the road across the Takaka hill were paid by the curve) this little spot is well worth a visit. I've also discovered that there were some other industries that could be worth checking out up here including an ironwork's location in the same area as a brewpub that could repay a few days investigations.
Finally, when we started out on our days wanderings, the lady of the house asked why there was a bungee cord in my backpack." Just in case" was the reply. McGiver eat your heart out.
"Walking repairs"
2 comments:
A line (or remains of) I would love to visit one day. I must get hold of the Puponga book too.
Another year gone eh - congrats to you and the team for all the blog work you've put in this past year. Always fascinating reading.
Have a relaxing few days ahead, and few wheat beers for me !
made the trip to farewell spit with wife and 3 boys in 2004. took the guided tour onto sandspit and we stopped along the way for commentaries. saw the wharf remains at low tide and our guide gave a very good history of the coaling operation. would love to do some exploring next trip. also amazed to find out that their is a quarry somewhere in the vicinity for dolomite fertiliser. its a type of fossilized shellfish fertiliser rich in magnesium. from memory it is the best quality dolomite in N.Z. or anywhere else for that matter. not sure if it is still operating.congrats on another milestone. this blog is the first web page I click on when surfing the net.
I reckon the Piha tramway above auckland would have been a fascinating spectacle in its day. often thought it would make for a great NZ120 modular layout. track running around the beach over rocks with firefly? chuffing a load of timber to the makeshift wharf. maybe oneday!
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