Veronica Track (Cedar Creek Road) near Mt Greenland, and town and mine remains PHOTO ALBUM

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DescriptionThis photo shows a remaining unmodified piece of the Veronica Track (Cedar Creek Road). This section is west and south of the Mt Greenland 4 x 4 road/track which is elsewhere on top of the old Veronica track line. This pack track went to the township of Veronica (named after Veronica Gagliardi the reef discoverers daughter) which serviced mining operations at the quartz reefs which were near by. The old pack track hits the current 4 x 4 track about 5 minutes walk above Veronica township site which is where a recent hut dating back to about 1980 is situated next to the remains of a miners boarding house. This pack track dates from the early 1880's and was still used well in to the 20th century. For me it was easily followable but a lot of wind thrown trees, a few slips and the odd bridge gone means that it is not an easy walk!

Today I spent 5½ hrs on or near the track following it for several km's. I came across one old hut site beside the track east of Medhurst Creek and a benched branch track dropping toward the Mikonui River which I followed for a while before retracing my steps and continuing toward Veronica. Fairly close to the Veronica end is another branch track and there is a water race beside the track for a short distance. (these will be associated with one of the quartz mines)

Where this photo was taken there were quite a few powelliphanta snail shells.

For more:
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WCT18960519.2.10.2?query=Veronica%20township
Veronica township had a hotel and two stores in 1888
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18880123.2.7?query=Veronica%20township

ALSO
I've posted about the former mining township of Veronica and some of the surrounding quartz mines on the south side of Mt Greenland before. On a recent visit I photographed various old building remains at Veronica that are in the scrub beyond the "modern" hut and remains of the boarding house which are beside the 4x4 track and easily found. Also there are photos of the battery site and one of the adits down in the headwaters of Cedar Creek which are seldom visited.

Pics v2 on
More building ruins in the scrub beyond the boarding house ruins at the former mining township of Veronica. This one was quite substantial!
v4
This is the furthest away from the boarding house of the ruined iron buildings at Veronica. It was lined with gelignite boxes that had been deconstructed. [I've posted a photo of these hut remains in the past taken from a different angle]
Boots, bottles and bricks. A few of the relics encountered near the buildings at Veronica. I left this stuff at the Mt Greenland Hut and much other similar stuff where I spotted it.

Hand winch at the "Cedar Creek Reefs" battery site.

Remains of pelton wheel at the battery site. I had to cut a bit of scrub to make this visible for a photo.

Battery house remains. shaker tables etc would have been in here? The actual stampers and remains of an ore hopper are behind this lot.

A glimpse of the tops of some stampers in the background.

A set of five stampers. There is another set of five stampers beside this lot but out of shot.

Cyanide tanks.

A winding mechanism. The handle looks similar to those from a timber jack. Maybe it was for opening and closing a valve?

Left to right; stamper head shoe, pelton wheel cup, old block and misc piece of iron.

Adit of the William Tell Co. mine no 2 level (lower level). This drive was subsequently used and expanded by the Mt Greenland Gold Quartz Mining Company. Note the tram rail in the foreground. A tramway ran from here down to the battery. It had to run through a gorge and in places was supported by rock bolts in to the cliff face like a gallery. Elsewhere it was pencilled in to the rock face, or on bridges and sections of trestle. Most the timber work has collapsed and rotted but there is enough remaining to see what had been there and that building the tramway was a major exercise.

PhotographerGlenn JohnstonDate of PhotoBetween 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2017Map^[1]ContributorGlenn Johnston

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Location (city or town)Mt GreenlandPersonVeronica GagliardiLandmark (Place)Vernonica track

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LinkFacebookDate Created21st November 2017

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