Meikles Hut

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DescriptionYesterday three of us popped in to Meikles Hut while heading past it on a trip to the Moonlight tops. This hut which has been derelict for a number of years is in a sad state. Ten years ago it was out of repair but still useful shelter and you could use the fireplace to boil the billy. Thirty plus years ago it was in excellent condition after an NZFS restoration/rebuild. These days goats live in the hut and it is very rotten in places. Sometime this hut will topple and just remain as memories.
Date of PhotoBetween 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2018Map^[1]ContributorGlenn Johnston

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Location (city or town)Moonlight TopsLandmark (Place)Meikles Hut

Category Information

Category TagOld buildings

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LinkFacebookDate Created8th January 2018CommentsDean Jamieson Seen that hut
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 9:08am
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Craig Smith
Craig Smith Bit like croesus garden gully hut but obviously a lot worse. If they dont make money off it they won't do jack. Surprised they havent pulled it down like a lot of others around the country. People think there is an old hut there in case if emergency and its gone.
Like · Reply · 6 · Yesterday at 9:12am
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Dean Jamieson
Dean Jamieson
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Like · Reply · 3 · Yesterday at 9:17am
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Wayne Jon Burnett
Wayne Jon Burnett Sad to see that this is how doc spends our money. Someday someone will need a old hut like that and will die because its not there or gone. Why cant they take a million dollars out of the 1080 budget to fix them up for us all
Like · Reply · 7 · Yesterday at 9:36am
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Wayne Jon Burnett
Wayne Jon Burnett Or unuseable
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 9:48am
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Bill Parlane
Bill Parlane working be to rebuild have done to other huts like this beets just talking
Like · Reply · 5 · Yesterday at 9:36am
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Brendon Lee Meagher
Brendon Lee Meagher Dam ryt mate if every1 put up 20 dollars then tht would show tht coasters r mor worryed about our history then doc eva have
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 9:44am
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Brian J Hunter
Brian J Hunter Brendon...according to our new government they are increasing Docs money by double or treble, and doubling the amount of 1080 drops,so they should be able to fix some of the huts around the place .but, I guess they don't wont them in the bush.
Like · Reply · 2 · Yesterday at 9:59am · Edited
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Don Bird
Don Bird Doc do not want people in our bush end off story
Like · Reply · 3 · Yesterday at 10:11am
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Brendon Lee Meagher
Brendon Lee Meagher 1080 will destory everything
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 10:21am
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Brian J Hunter
Brian J Hunter I thought the Bush belonged to all NZ. ??
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 10:28am
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Bill Parlane
Bill Parlane Brendon Lee Meagher so true all talk must have to much spare time
Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 10:41am
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston I'm already involved in maintaining old huts and tracks closer to home on a volunteer basis with the "Permolat Group" and solo efforts. So I for one don't just talk about it!
Like · Reply · 5 · Yesterday at 10:58am · Edited
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Bill Parlane
Bill Parlane rebuild a few years ago very satisfireing when you go back to use in later years
Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 10:54am
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Brendon Lee Meagher
Brendon Lee Meagher Me ether ill put up the 1st 20 .
Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 11:00am
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Bill Johnsen
Bill Johnsen Love to see Mt Davy track upgraded from both sides and couple of huts up there...great views and be some great photos taken dusk and early morn ..got makings of top day walk with a stay on top...be lots tramper/walkers about when Pike track open...
Like · Reply · 4 · Yesterday at 11:00am · Edited
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Mason Cooksley
Mason Cooksley Spent many a night in this hut. shame to see it in this condition
Like · Reply · 2 · Yesterday at 11:34am
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Craig Smith
Craig Smith My memory of it is that it doesnt see a lot of sun and could be quite damp so if it isnt getting used a lot and no fire it could deteriorate pretty quick.
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 12:22pm
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Donna Marie Morgan
Donna Marie Morgan Mother Nature takes her ground back in no time
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Laura Mills Detlaff
Laura Mills DetlaffGroup Admin Admins T
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 12:31pm
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Peter Merry-rose Dixon
Peter Merry-rose Dixon Sad
Like · Reply · 22 hrs
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Jenny Leach
Jenny Leach It would be a shame for it to be gone
Like · Reply · 21 hrs
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Mark Marinan
Mark Marinan Bernice Gross, Clinton Meikle, Simon Jackson, Alan Meikle, Bev Meikle, Bec Meikle, Leanne Rasmussen.

The Meikle Hut was probably named after your Blackball Meikle family.
Like · Reply · 13 hrs
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Clinton Meikle
Clinton Meikle It was I've been talking to Brad we might go and fix it up next summer with Alan's help being the only carpenter in the family..
Like · Reply · 13 hrs
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Yvonne Brown
Yvonne Brown I was thinking surely it wouldn't take a 1,000,000 to fix it just folk with common sence and gifted materials, would be awesome to preserve it.
Like · Reply · 5 hrs
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Craig Smith
Craig Smith Just as long as DOC lets them. Great idea.
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Gregory Ross
Gregory Ross I guess the Moonlight / Croesus route doesn't get the tramping traffic to warrant a good hut at the Moonlight end.
Like · Reply · 5 hrs
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Craig Smith
Craig Smith Probably not. Its a different animal to the croesus. Maybe with the new track and hut system coming along the numbers could increase. Mind you they are putting a few new.huts in so they probably dont want one like that there. People might want to stay in it or something lol
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston For readers info; As part of the Pike 29 Memorial Walk a new 20 bunk hut is currently being built by a DOC contractor on the tops above Moonlight Creek. This hut will be approx 1½ hrs walk beyond Meikles Hut if departing from Andersons Flat carpark in the Moonlight. This new hut will likely be accessed mainly off the existing Croesus Track and the still to be finished link from the Inland Pack Track behind Punakaiki. A spin off from this is likely to be more trampers visiting the Moonlight valley.
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 hrs
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Gregory Ross
Gregory Ross Thanks for that interesting update Glenn. Moonlight gold workings are so very interesting and very different in many ways to other typical Westland tailings areas. Maybe there are still a few big nuggets sitting in the Moonlight catchment; it's a huge rugged watershed, mostly unexplored probably.virtually.
Like · Reply · 5 hrs
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston I've recently realised that there was a lot more quartz mining activity in the head of the Moonlight above Meikles than I previously thought and have pin pointed a few areas I want to poke around. I didn't have much time this recent trip but we did notice stuff of interest close to the track. John picked up on a collapsed adit near where I'd spotted a rusting shovel head. Gravity or someone had left some trolley wheels beside the track in one place since my last visit.
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston From page 206 of Trevor Johnston's book, "A place called Moonlight"... Messrs Fiddes and Meikle , yesterday came in to Greymouth with 69 ounces, 3 pennyweights, 17 grains of gold, as a result of only a fortnight's work. This was in 1935 when the party of four subsidised miners hit a rich patch. The party consisted of three Meikle brothers; Ben, James and Jack plus Bert Fiddes.Peter Merry-rose Dixon
Sad
Jenny Leach
It would be a shame for it to be gone

Clinton Meikle
It was I've been talking to Brad we might go and fix it up next summer with Alan's help being the only carpenter in the family..
Yvonne Brown
I was thinking surely it wouldn't take a 1,000,000 to fix it just folk with common sence and gifted materials, would be awesome to preserve it.
Craig Smith
Just as long as DOC lets them. Great idea.

Write a reply…

Gregory Ross
I guess the Moonlight / Croesus route doesn't get the tramping traffic to warrant a good hut at the Moonlight end.

Craig Smith
Probably not. Its a different animal to the croesus. Maybe with the new track and hut system coming along the numbers could increase. Mind you they are putting a few new.huts in so they probably dont want one like that there. People might want to stay in it or something lol

Glenn Johnston
Author
For readers info; As part of the Pike 29 Memorial Walk a new 20 bunk hut is currently being built by a DOC contractor on the tops above Moonlight Creek. This hut will be approx 1½ hrs walk beyond Meikles Hut if departing from Andersons Flat carpark in the Moonlight. This new hut will likely be accessed mainly off the existing Croesus Track and the still to be finished link from the Inland Pack Track behind Punakaiki. A spin off from this is likely to be more trampers visiting the Moonlight valley.

Colby Colbert
Les Kemp
Gregory Ross
Thanks for that interesting update Glenn. Moonlight gold workings are so very interesting and very different in many ways to other typical Westland tailings areas. Maybe there are still a few big nuggets sitting in the Moonlight catchment; it's a huge rugged watershed, mostly unexplored probably.virtually.

Glenn Johnston
Author
I've recently realised that there was a lot more quartz mining activity in the head of the Moonlight above Meikles than I previously thought and have pin pointed a few areas I want to poke around. I didn't have much time this recent trip but we did notice stuff of interest close to the track. John picked up on a collapsed adit near where I'd spotted a rusting shovel head. Gravity or someone had left some trolley wheels beside the track in one place since my last visit.

\
Glenn Johnston
Author
From page 206 of Trevor Johnston's book, "A place called Moonlight"... Messrs Fiddes and Meikle , yesterday came in to Greymouth with 69 ounces, 3 pennyweights, 17 grains of gold, as a result of only a fortnight's work. This was in 1935 when the party of four subsidised miners hit a rich patch. The party consisted of three Meikle brothers; Ben, James and Jack plus Bert Fiddes.
Greg Ross
I have always said there's a lot more gold remaining in that catchment than was ever taken out, and in all of the Westland goldfields. Moonlight undoubtedly has some rich pockets left such as the one Passini found where he unearthed his 40oz nugget. However, it's a vast area in which to find the needle in the haystack, without stripping the mountainsides of their forest.

Greg Ross
Passini's Hut chimney, Moonlight, 2014. G.Ross
No photo description available.

Glenn Johnston
Author
Peter Passeni found an 87½ oz nugget in the upper Moonlight. This hut became vacant but was still usable in my mothers youth and people would use it to camp in a bit like a tramping hut I suppose.

Clive Webster
Has anyone ever written and published a book on remote old huts in New Zealand ? Would be a great pity if hits like this are never remembered.

Craig Smith
Not as many left as there used to be and DOC seem to have a habit of pulling them down. If they don't get revinue out of them or they are accessible near a good hut they seem to get neglected and deconstructed

Glenn Johnston
Author
Yes there are books but Meikle's hasn't been included. Permolat (Remote Huts Westland) has a small archive of photos and info about huts that have now gone on their website. as does Deer Cullers Inc. Here is a link to the Permolat one I've helped with. http://remotehuts.co.nz/huts/archive/
Removed Or Lost Hut Archive: Remote Huts
REMOTEHUTS.CO.NZ
Removed Or Lost Hut Archive: Remote Huts
Removed Or Lost Hut Archive: Remote Huts

Matthew Howard
I've stayed in this hut a few times and with the kids when they were little. It was a good old hut

Lisa Britt

Have been here also. A bit like a tardis. Takes u back in time !

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Meikles Hut

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