OUR HISTORY
Mining
The first discoveries of gold in the area were recorded in the Otago Witness in May 1862, with reports of gold being discovered in the Murphys Flat Area, situated four kilometers east of where the Macraes township was established. Further reports of gold were made in May 1863 in the Highlay Hill area, and Macraes Flat area in 1865. The news of the Macraes Flat find quickly spread and by 1865 areas at Murphys Flat and Macraes Flat boomed with miners, an article published in the Otago Witness on the 8th May 1865 reporting that over 500 miners were residing in the area. The hummocky area to the east of the road through Macraes Flat became the site of extensive alluvial mining. The Duke of Edinburgh reef mine and others in the Round hill area were successful in the 1870’s.
Chinese miners also populated the area and continued mining the area after the majority of other miners had left the area. By 1870 it was estimated that 100-300 Chinese miners were residing in the Macraes area. A Chinese settlement was established near the Macraes township on Gifford Road, in an area colloquially known as the upper township. The only remnant of this Chinese settlement is that of the house Louis Gay Tan who was a prominent merchant and interpreter who arrived in NZ in 1867. However, in many ways it is does not represent the settlement as most Chinese were poor and lived and small huts, whereas the size, style and permanence of Gay Tans house support that he was comparatively wealthy.
In addition to gold, scheelite, from which tungsten is obtained was also discovered and mined for in conjunction with gold mining, or exclusively. Over time a variety of different gold mining techniques were employed in the Macraes area. Initially alluvial mining techniques were employed but by 1866 there were reports of shafts being utilized to allow for quartz mining. Obtaining gold from quartz involved several steps, in the first instance the quartz had to be blasted from the bedrock schist, in tunnels of underground mines. The ore produced was crushed in water to a fine slurry in large stamping batteries. The gold was then liberated and extracted when the slurry was dissolved in mercury or cyanide.
An area that continued to be mined over a prolonged period is Golden Point, first opened in 1889 and remnants that represent the different types of mining that were undertaken in the Golden Point area are still visible and can be explored today. Various companies undertook operations in the area over time. The Golden Point Mining Company battery remained in operation until the 1950’s at which time it was dismantled. The Maritana Company Battery ceased gold processing around 1905 but began processing scheelite in 1911 as during both World Wars the tungsten from the scheelite was used to build the armour plating and heavy guns. This battery remains today as part of the Golden Point Reserve.
NENTHORN
Another area that became a prominent gold mining area was situated at Nenthorn which is located off Ramrock Rd in the Nenthorn Valley. In 1888 William McMillan found the first gold-bearing quartz, while rabbiting and lodged a prospecting claim at the Warden’s Court in Naseby, but he was followed back to the area and a gold rush followed. Companies associated with the gold rush included Croesus (the richest), Consolidate, Hibernian, Just-in-Time, Brake-of-Day, Glen Ken, Wealth of Nations, Home Rule, Gladstone and Homeward Bound. In 1889 it was reported that Nenthorn was to become the up-country city of Otago, with a town established. The main street housed a post-office, seven hotels, two banks, a dance hall, a black smith, the Nenthorn Recorder and hitching posts.
However, by 1900, mining in the Nenthorn ceased to continue due to difficulties in extraction which meant that most of the mines were failing to pay. This meant that all businesses in the area were closed and many of the buildings were moved away to Macraes or to nearby farms. The school was moved to Dunback. Today only a limited number of reminders of the town and gold rush that ensued there remain. Aerial photos do reveal the location of the main street, and there are remains of the St Bathans hotel. Scattered through the area there are also stone remnants of buildings and tussocks conceal open mine shafts.
