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Gold Dredge on the Taramakau River.1958.

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DescriptionPhil Olson.." My father worked on the Arahura dredge and later the Kaniere which was shifted to Taramakau and continued under the name of Kaniere Gold. Went onboard the taramakau with dad as a kid and it was so scary walking that little gangway bridge down on the bank edge . All that murky water and then the noise of it working was so scary for a kid. My dad had a fall from high up while stopped for repairs. He fell down onto the deck then into the murky water between bucket line and pontoon. He said he remembered coming up but couldnt swim. If not for the brave efforts of the late Alan Singer saving him he'd of drowned. He was I think only 23 at the time."

Aerial photograph taken by Whites Aviation.

Dredge on the Taramakau River, near Kumara, Westland, West Coast. Ref: WA-46798. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/32055453Date of PhotoJune,1958Map^[1]ContributorHeather Newby

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Location (city or town)TaramakauOrganisation (eg business)Taramakau Gold dredge

Category Information

Category TagGoldminingaerial

From Facebook

Date Created4th February 2019CommentsPhil Olson My father worked on the Arahura dredge and later the Kaniere which was shifted to Taramakau and continued under the name of Kaniere Gold. Went onboard the taramakau with dad as a kid and it was so scary walking that little gangway bridge down on the bank edge . All that murky water and then the noise of it working was so scary for a kid. My dad had a fall from high up while stopped for repairs. He fell down onto the deck then into the murky water between bucket line and pontoon. He said he remembered coming up but couldnt swim. If not for the brave efforts of the late Alan Singer saving him he'd of drowned. He was I think only 23 at the time .Great to see this article on facebook. Brings back many memories and stories my dad told me of how the dredge worked, the friends he worked with and the fun times.
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Heather Newby
Heather Newby thanks Phil .. very interesting. I added your story to the Recollect post
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Noeline McCaughan
Noeline McCaughan What a disgusting mess it all left behind. Yes I agree the dredge gave work for some locals over a period of a few years, but then it left and so did the jobs. A great area on a great river was changed beyond recognition, the Greenstone river valley desecrated and destroyed and how much advantage was it for the locals who were left jobless and having to deal with the resulting mess.
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Alan Mitchell
Alan Mitchell Another greenie spouting off
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James Codyre
James Codyre Noeline McCaughan should go look at the area at Ngahere that dredge the dug over and now it is rolling paddocks of good grass instead of the former gorse and broom.?
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Noeline McCaughan
Noeline McCaughan Thanks for reading my comment, no thanks for your cynical dismissal. Take note I am a born and bred West Coaster, my family were there from the first days of the area being settled, I have grown up in a family of miners and farmers and have a had a lif…See More
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Noeline McCaughan
Noeline McCaughan James Codyre I am aware of that, and agree it has been well restored, my criticism is aimed at the areas that have never had any work done to make good the spoiling. For instance, look at the dredge tailings between Mawheraiti and Ikamatua, I remember…See More
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James Codyre
James Codyre If you were to drive up Redjacks Road you will find areas of abandoned tailings that are in the process of being restored in good free draining paddocks.The old dredges worked under different rules and there were not so many greenies around.
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James Codyre
James Codyre A few years of feeding out silage and hay plus the animal droppings has restored the tailings to great paddocks that drain well and are rush free on the areas of two farms that have been in our family since the 1860's.
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Colleen O'Neill
Colleen O'Neill Noeline McCaughan I agree my uncle Passmore use to complain about it tremendously.
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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James Newby
James Newby So photo is taken looking up the river?

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Gold Dredge on the Taramakau River.1958.