With summer just around the corner, we started to make plans for the Labour Day weekend (which is in mid-October in NZ). It has been a wet spring here and although we had hoped to do some mountain biking over the long weekend, we decided that the tracks would be too muddy and that we would be better to stick to some shorter walking tracks.
We headed out over Lewis Pass and after stopping at the small town of Reefton for a pie and coffee break, we continued on toward Waiuta. We left the main road behind, well main by New Zealand standards, and headed up the valley passing through the tiny settlement of Blackwater. Little remains of the town of Blackwater except for the colourful school.
From Blackwater we continued along the dirt road towards the site of the former mining town of Waiuta. Just outside of the town is the site of the Prohibition Shaft. The shaft was part of a huge network of underground workings that were part of the Blackwater Mine. At almost 880 metres (2,625 feet) deep, this was the deepest mine shaft in New Zealand and took workers almost four minutes to return to the surface from the deepest level, which was around 200 metres (656 feet) below sea level.
We headed back down the hill towards the remains of the town of Waiuta where we enjoyed reading about the history of the town. From 1905 – 1951 the Blackwater mine was the most productive mine on the West Coast and was the second richest in New Zealand. The community of Waiuta thrived and as part of the towns 25th Jubilee celebrations they installed a swimming pool fed by a local stream.
Despite the growing community in Waiuta, the mine remained the only employer. On the night of the 9th July 1951 a major cave-in of the Blackwater shaft cut off critically important ventilation & pumping systems.
The mine closed almost immediately and withing three months only about twenty residents remained. Buildings were removed and used in other nearby towns such as Reefton and Ikamatua.
Although some of the structures had been removed, there were many that remained. We were particularly intrigued by the three-sided fireplaces like the one in the background of the photo above.
After spending some time walking around the town and learning the history we decided it was time to explore some of the other tracks and mine workings in the area.