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Roa village.
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DescriptionRoa village.
Alexander Turnbull Library.
Westland Co. 4438. 1/1.Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
Alexander Turnbull Library.
Westland Co. 4438. 1/1.Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
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Location (city or town)Roa
Category Information
Category TagCoal Mining
From Facebook
Date Created4th June 2019CommentsAnnie Cooper I lived here with my Grandparents The McDougalls if it is Roa I don't remember what it looked like then
Felicity Pudds It seems to be looking back to
Viv Sheehan Looks very familiar, the second building on the right side has me puzzled but then again this is a very early photo.
Wendy Gilmour Viv Sheehan hello Viv , very old photo but after the house., 2nd on right came down another built that was where we lived, but was way different when I came along in 1953 ha ha
Wendy Gilmour Oops
I'm talking of left side
Debz Muston There was a coal mine there in the late 80,s. Dad worked in there till it collapsed one morning taking him with it.
Felicity Pudds Debz Muston I'm sorry, what was your father's name?
Helen Nolan The ROA mine is still operating & owned by Francis Mining Ltd. where Mr Muston was employed
Debz Muston Yes he was bill muston and I so didnt realise it was still running. He died in September of 89 in the mine.
Craig Smith Debz Muston was he buried in a loader?
That was up the hill not far from the underground
Debz Muston Yes he was. From what I was told he went to check the mine first then as he was coming down it collapsed burying him in the cab.
Cathy Howat Debz Muston Sorry to hear that. I am from mining stock on both sides of the family. Mum and Dad moved to Picton in 1957 so I grew up there. Lost members of my family as far back as Dobson in 1895 and, and as recently as Pike River. Mum's fsmily, the Armstrongs, from Runanga owned the Bryandale Mine, later sold and name changed to the Kiwi
Debz Muston Cathy Howat dad was well known on the coast. He worked for birchfields for years and at the roa mine. Bloody hard worker for sure.
Lyn Gosling My Dad was an UnderViewer at Roa mine when i was at High School, then he got a job a Manager at a different mine.
Kathryn Cox So sad Deb I was on the Blackball ambulance that day.often think of that trip.
Debz Muston Kathryn Cox omg would have been awful for you especially knowing who it was. Thankyou so much for being there that day.
Kathryn Cox Debz Muston didnt really know your dad but knew your mum.just sad there was nothing we could do.
Debz Muston Kathryn Cox that's ok. The big fella upstairs must have needed him more.
Kathryn Cox Yep
argaret Standen I remember as a child visiting relatives in ROA. Think the family name was Mcbride.
Maurice O'Flaherty this is roa
Wendy Gilmour This is Roa , I lived there until I was 7. When I started school in Blackball we went on a busCeol Mhor NZ
Ceol Mhor NZ Wendy Gilmour your house would have been way down the road towards BB, perhaps that one on the left, Faversham if I remember rightly.
Wendy Gilmour This photo is way before my time, but as time went on the garage on the bottom right hand side , you can only see the roof, is where my father , Don ( Pah ) Mc Fadyen always kept his cars
Rowena Dunn Definitely Roa. Some of the houses are still there. There are still 3 on the left side of the road and the 1st one on the right is still there.
Dorothy Wills
Great photo
Derek Hayward
Great photo
Donald Pearson
Those were the days.
Alex Graham
Looks like at Kellys Creek
Kathryn Ward
My grandmother travelled from the East coast to the Westcoast on a coach. Said they had to walk on the downhill parts to make it easier on the horses.
Ceol Mhor NZ
what year was the railway formed, see the rail cutting top right of corner.
Peter Kerr
! am no expert on the area but the ralway seems high for this to be Roa . Could it be Faversham, between roa and Blackball? Faversham had a pub, looks like one on the right.
Ceol Mhor NZ
Heather Newby I think there are plenty of people whom will confirm this pic, way better than what I recall. Pretty sure thats the rail cutting though , it shows on a lot of Roa pics.
Felicity Pudds It seems to be looking back to
Viv Sheehan Looks very familiar, the second building on the right side has me puzzled but then again this is a very early photo.
Wendy Gilmour Viv Sheehan hello Viv , very old photo but after the house., 2nd on right came down another built that was where we lived, but was way different when I came along in 1953 ha ha
Wendy Gilmour Oops
I'm talking of left side
Debz Muston There was a coal mine there in the late 80,s. Dad worked in there till it collapsed one morning taking him with it.
Felicity Pudds Debz Muston I'm sorry, what was your father's name?
Helen Nolan The ROA mine is still operating & owned by Francis Mining Ltd. where Mr Muston was employed
Debz Muston Yes he was bill muston and I so didnt realise it was still running. He died in September of 89 in the mine.
Craig Smith Debz Muston was he buried in a loader?
That was up the hill not far from the underground
Debz Muston Yes he was. From what I was told he went to check the mine first then as he was coming down it collapsed burying him in the cab.
Cathy Howat Debz Muston Sorry to hear that. I am from mining stock on both sides of the family. Mum and Dad moved to Picton in 1957 so I grew up there. Lost members of my family as far back as Dobson in 1895 and, and as recently as Pike River. Mum's fsmily, the Armstrongs, from Runanga owned the Bryandale Mine, later sold and name changed to the Kiwi
Debz Muston Cathy Howat dad was well known on the coast. He worked for birchfields for years and at the roa mine. Bloody hard worker for sure.
Lyn Gosling My Dad was an UnderViewer at Roa mine when i was at High School, then he got a job a Manager at a different mine.
Kathryn Cox So sad Deb I was on the Blackball ambulance that day.often think of that trip.
Debz Muston Kathryn Cox omg would have been awful for you especially knowing who it was. Thankyou so much for being there that day.
Kathryn Cox Debz Muston didnt really know your dad but knew your mum.just sad there was nothing we could do.
Debz Muston Kathryn Cox that's ok. The big fella upstairs must have needed him more.
Kathryn Cox Yep
argaret Standen I remember as a child visiting relatives in ROA. Think the family name was Mcbride.
Maurice O'Flaherty this is roa
Wendy Gilmour This is Roa , I lived there until I was 7. When I started school in Blackball we went on a busCeol Mhor NZ
Ceol Mhor NZ Wendy Gilmour your house would have been way down the road towards BB, perhaps that one on the left, Faversham if I remember rightly.
Wendy Gilmour This photo is way before my time, but as time went on the garage on the bottom right hand side , you can only see the roof, is where my father , Don ( Pah ) Mc Fadyen always kept his cars
Rowena Dunn Definitely Roa. Some of the houses are still there. There are still 3 on the left side of the road and the 1st one on the right is still there.
Dorothy Wills
Great photo
Derek Hayward
Great photo
Donald Pearson
Those were the days.
Alex Graham
Looks like at Kellys Creek
Kathryn Ward
My grandmother travelled from the East coast to the Westcoast on a coach. Said they had to walk on the downhill parts to make it easier on the horses.
Ceol Mhor NZ
what year was the railway formed, see the rail cutting top right of corner.
Peter Kerr
! am no expert on the area but the ralway seems high for this to be Roa . Could it be Faversham, between roa and Blackball? Faversham had a pub, looks like one on the right.
Ceol Mhor NZ
Heather Newby I think there are plenty of people whom will confirm this pic, way better than what I recall. Pretty sure thats the rail cutting though , it shows on a lot of Roa pics.
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West Coast New Zealand History (10th Jun 2021). Roa village.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 29th Apr 2026 20:12, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/25430