Waiuta’s Reef of Gold
By Tara
Nestled south beside Reefton, Waiuta is now a small ghost town that was long ago used for mining gold. Many lived there until 1951 when the village became a historic site. It was home to enormous tanks and mining reefs.
Town History
Near the town the Birthday Reef of gold was discovered on the 9th of November 1905 by four prospectors exploring the upper reaches of Blackwater Stream. Someone bought the reef for $500, then after proving it valuable they sold onto London-based Gold Fields Company for 30,000 pounds. The money was worth it as the mine was dug to 900 meters deep over the next 45 years resulting in 750,000 ounces of gold.
Mining Rock
The owners of the reef basically cut out masses of rock to then be loaded through tunnels and brought to the surface. Timber props came in handy for stopping the tunnels from crashing down. Most land around the mine was cleared for timber costing them thousands to make the tunnel more sturdy.
Waiuta Life
As years passed Waiuta became famous for its sports teams which drew people from far away causing the town to get bigger. Their main sport was rugby and Waiutas team ongoingly did well in local games. Because of Waiutas location down the road, the tiny block of houses had to become independent in case of lack of food. As the 1930s settled in the town then had 600 people living there.
Later Years
At the end of the road on the 9th of July 1951 when the mine was used for ventilation and pumping water the cave collapsed and could no longer reduce water and gas. The company decided that rebuilding the mine would be too expensive so all was abandoned and nobody lived there.
