A HISTORY OF BLACKBALL: GOLD RUSHES IN OTAGO AND MARLBOROUGH, 1861-64

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DescriptionThe border of the province of Nelson ran down the middle of the Māwheranui. All the land to the north and west was controlled by the provincial government of Nelson. All the land to the south and east of the Māwheranui was controlled by the provincial government of Canterbury.
The people of each of the two provinces were divided in their opinion about gold diggings. Wealthy landholders and other conservatives feared diggers and diggings. Merchants, shopkeepers, tradespeople, small farmers and workers, on the other hand, longed for diggings.
At the same time, the two provinces were bleeding young men to the southern province of Otago. The southern province began to be rushed by goldseekers in the winter of 1861, when crowds started washing for gold in the Lindis Pass. A far bigger rush then broke out at Gabriels Gully. Nelson diggers struck their tents, swagged up, tramped down to the coast and took ship for Otago. They were followed soon by men from Victoria, New South Wales, North America and Europe.
Otago was a far richer field than any others had been so far in New Zealand.
Gold overnight became a huge industry. One out of every four members of the whole colonial workforce at the time of the census in the spring of 1861 was a digger in Otago. Otago goldfields were of such ‘great extent and richness,’ wrote a journalist, they ‘immeasurably’ surpassed the Victorian or Californian diggings.
Marlborough was the next province to be rushed, when in the middle of 1864 new finds were ‘boosted’ at Wakamarina. After toiling away, shovelling and washing, diggers learnt that the field was not rich and was hard to work. They trekked away. Some went back to Otago. Others gave up goldseeking altogether, at least for now.
The mass, however, swarmed off to what were said to be wonderful new finds elsewhere – glitteringly rich diggings in Southwest Nelson and in West Canterbury.
Or in other words, the West Coast.
Pic: watercolour of a typical gold digger of the 1860s: a young man wearing yellow moleskins and a red sash; an alternative to the sash was a red shirt. Artist: W H SpeerDate of Photo1860`sMap^[1]ContributorStevan Eldred-Grigg

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Location (city or town)BlackballEventA HISTORY OF BLACKBALL: GOLD RUSHES IN OTAGO AND MARLBOROUGH, 1861-64

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Category TagGoldmining

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Date Created22nd March 2021CommentsDorothy Wills
Interesting article
· Reply · 3d
David Perry
Back in 1985 a group of concerned group of prominent Nelson citizens tried to put thing right regarding gold duty as per this public statement
May be an image of text that says 'MEMORANDUM RESPECTING THE COLLECTION OF RIFER present on he the Kiver river, The declared south, Canterbur sido side Grovernment Nelson some Provincial facilities exist Grey establislment recently discovered River Nelson, population and great the Nelson province duty collected Nelson. through Cus- justice consumed Nelsoni it-i boundaries benefit gold miners the begun, he West Grey have been one nished, ear, excellent bank tho no consumers who from the Southern Hemi tested quality where steamer ofmoderato only hat and House instructions eatablishment Custom north side fthe question the: necessary instructions (ine) Assembly Honour- RICHMOND, DOMETT, WELLS, ellington, August 18, 1865. MILEB.'
· Reply · 3d · Edited
Dennis Gibbs
When the Education Boards ran schools Ikamatua was in the Nelson Board and Totara Flat was in the Canterbury Board, as was Moonlight.

Roger Howell
Sorry what is the Mawheranui?
Do you mean the Grey River?
Roger Howell
Cynthia McCaughan No in my age group of Coasters none of us has ever heard of it.

Roger Howell
Cynthia McCaughan we knew Mawhera as the Maori settlement which later became Greymouth.

Roger Howell
Philip May’s book The West Coast Goldrushes does not mention the Grey River in those terms.
His book would be the definitive account of the history of the Coast.

John Rosanowski
Oops, hit the wrong key. I think, to be accurate, Maori just called the river Mawhera. Later when they came across its main tributary they called this minor river Mawheraiti.

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A HISTORY OF BLACKBALL: GOLD RUSHES IN OTAGO AND MARLBOROUGH, 1861-64

Editing is temporarily disabled