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West Coast map - Eve of goldrush, 1864
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DescriptionWest Coast map, eve of goldrush, 1864.
From the book, "Hokitika Goldfields Capital" by Philip Ross May. Date of Photo1864Map[1] ContributorTony Kokshoorn
From the book, "Hokitika Goldfields Capital" by Philip Ross May. Date of Photo1864Map[1] ContributorTony Kokshoorn
Shown in this image
Location (city or town)West CoastEventWest Coast map, eve of goldrush, 1864Gold town map
Category Information
Category TagGoldmining
From Facebook
Date Created24th June 2021CommentsJim Wilson
The Hurunui Saddle preceded Arthur’s Pass I think.
Warner Nut Curry
Thats a beauty thanks Tony
Roger Howell
Totara diggings I think was the early name for Ross. Yes
Craig Norman
Roger Howell My grandmother was born on the Ross gold fields, My great grandfather and her older brothers had a claim there. Family legend has it that the "Honorable Roddy" giant nugget was found on their claim, about 6 months AFTER the had sold it,
Roger Howell
Craig Norman bad luck for your great grandfather Craig.
At least it wasn’t a “duffer” claim.
Gary Robert Little
Roger Howell and still gold being found there
Glenn Johnston
That line drawing is from the book, "Hokitika Goldfields Capital" by Philip Ross May. It can be useful to record sources of copied material.
Paul Robin
Glenn Johnston not just useful. It's good manners.
Cherrie Mcglashan
Phil May grew up in Ross-a relation of ours.
Glenn Johnston
I met Phil a number of times and listened to him deliver a couple of speeches/lectures. As a school boy his books helped feed my interest in West Coast History. His book "The West Coast Gold Rushes" is my favourite history book dealing with the West Coast.
Roger Howell
Glenn Johnston yes Glenn, that book is the authoritative work on the gold rushes for sure!
Glenn Johnston
Phil was guest speaker at one Westland High School breakup at which I received the cross country senior trophy and afterwards he sought me out and we chatted about cross country running and history. Phil was a good runner in his day!
John Rosanowski
Dang !! I just hit a wrong key. Unbelievably there was only "Pacific and Asian History," a Stage One unit which included ANY NZ content. I got to know him well, and he supervised my MA thesis on The Midland Railway. He was my academic hero. I dedicated my History of the West Coast to his memory. It's not the book he would have written; his would have been an academic study, whereas I was trying to break new ground with a magazine-style heavily illustrated history based on key stages which I aimed at the ordinary reader.
Mary Moffitt
Glenn Johnston My tutor at University. Wonderful person. Kept in touch if we wrote for information and ideas.
Gavin Davy
Maybe Rog, the Totara Valley is just north of Ross township.
David Coach-man
my great great went to Greenstone
Colleen Yee
Good to see a map showing the ruggedness of the land. Are there maps like this of the Grey Valley
Alan Beck
Published historians incl Bernard Conradson, Patrick O'Farrell.
John Lester
West Coast Times, 9 December 1865
HALF A HUNDRED-WEIGHT OF GOLD.
On Thursday a rumor was in circulation that fifty-eight pounds weight of gold had arrived in town from the Three-Mile bush south of the Grey ; and the fortunate individuals who brought it being those men who first opened the beach diggings, and created such an excitement in Hokitika on making known the best golden result of the discovery. Well knowing the importance of either the truth or falsehood of such an report being made manifest, we made immediate enquiries, which, we are happy to say, turned out most satisfactorily, Watson and party, the prospectors in question, having placed in Mr Proctors hands for smelting 683 ozs 15 dwts of gold, roughly retorted, that when smelted yielded the magnificent result of 674 ozs 8 dwts ; this return leaving a margin of 9 ozs 11 dwts 18 grs. for dross nnd inferior metal only. This, doubtless, will be interesting to our beach miners, as it gives them some idea of the loss they are likely to sustain on the gold through smelting. The sample w have quoted may be considered as remarkably clean, showing what perfection our miners have already attained in retorting their amalgam, considering, the very primitive appliances they have at their command for th purpose." At our special request, Mr Proctor very kindly hunted up some of his old smelting memoranda, which recorded that this party the first time they visited him, left gold that, after smelting, weighed 1,240 ozs 15 dwts 12 grs ; a short time afterwards the crucible again being called into requisition to purify another parcel, which yielded 138 ozs 18 dwts 18 grains these quantities in the aggregate weighing 2,053 0z 17 dwtn 12 grs, the estimated value of which 3 pound 10s 3d per oz, 7,830 pounds 7s 10d, a very pretty sum, we must confess, for four men to divide amongst themselves, giving magnificent wages, allowing nine months to have been the time it took them to collect it ; for on an average the monthly return per man was 217 pounds. The above facts are striking illustrations of the wondrous resources of Westland — resources, we venture to say, it will take many years to exhaust.
Alan Beck
1960. Westland Centennial, Ross. In the spirit of the era, a local claimed to have "The Honourable Roddy".
Craig Norman
John Lester My grand mother's family mined a claim at Ross. She always said there was still huge amounts left in the ground. Watching "Parker' from the Yukon touring what appear to be very lucrative mining operations is proving her correct. ( he was impressed at how "Clean'/pure the gold is. )
John Lester
Craig Norman More left in the ground,than taken out of it
Terry Harding
Interesting that the Paroa River ( I think what we now know as the New River is hown as running pretty much as it was a few years back ( all the way north to Paroa.
Liz Hay
Philip Ross May came from Ross, and was a popular history lecturer at Canterbury Uni when I was a student there. I thoroughly enjoyed his NZ history lectures. His book mentioned here, was the definitive text on the topic, at that time.
The Hurunui Saddle preceded Arthur’s Pass I think.
Warner Nut Curry
Thats a beauty thanks Tony
Roger Howell
Totara diggings I think was the early name for Ross. Yes
Craig Norman
Roger Howell My grandmother was born on the Ross gold fields, My great grandfather and her older brothers had a claim there. Family legend has it that the "Honorable Roddy" giant nugget was found on their claim, about 6 months AFTER the had sold it,
Roger Howell
Craig Norman bad luck for your great grandfather Craig.
At least it wasn’t a “duffer” claim.
Gary Robert Little
Roger Howell and still gold being found there
Glenn Johnston
That line drawing is from the book, "Hokitika Goldfields Capital" by Philip Ross May. It can be useful to record sources of copied material.
Paul Robin
Glenn Johnston not just useful. It's good manners.
Cherrie Mcglashan
Phil May grew up in Ross-a relation of ours.
Glenn Johnston
I met Phil a number of times and listened to him deliver a couple of speeches/lectures. As a school boy his books helped feed my interest in West Coast History. His book "The West Coast Gold Rushes" is my favourite history book dealing with the West Coast.
Roger Howell
Glenn Johnston yes Glenn, that book is the authoritative work on the gold rushes for sure!
Glenn Johnston
Phil was guest speaker at one Westland High School breakup at which I received the cross country senior trophy and afterwards he sought me out and we chatted about cross country running and history. Phil was a good runner in his day!
John Rosanowski
Dang !! I just hit a wrong key. Unbelievably there was only "Pacific and Asian History," a Stage One unit which included ANY NZ content. I got to know him well, and he supervised my MA thesis on The Midland Railway. He was my academic hero. I dedicated my History of the West Coast to his memory. It's not the book he would have written; his would have been an academic study, whereas I was trying to break new ground with a magazine-style heavily illustrated history based on key stages which I aimed at the ordinary reader.
Mary Moffitt
Glenn Johnston My tutor at University. Wonderful person. Kept in touch if we wrote for information and ideas.
Gavin Davy
Maybe Rog, the Totara Valley is just north of Ross township.
David Coach-man
my great great went to Greenstone
Colleen Yee
Good to see a map showing the ruggedness of the land. Are there maps like this of the Grey Valley
Alan Beck
Published historians incl Bernard Conradson, Patrick O'Farrell.
John Lester
West Coast Times, 9 December 1865
HALF A HUNDRED-WEIGHT OF GOLD.
On Thursday a rumor was in circulation that fifty-eight pounds weight of gold had arrived in town from the Three-Mile bush south of the Grey ; and the fortunate individuals who brought it being those men who first opened the beach diggings, and created such an excitement in Hokitika on making known the best golden result of the discovery. Well knowing the importance of either the truth or falsehood of such an report being made manifest, we made immediate enquiries, which, we are happy to say, turned out most satisfactorily, Watson and party, the prospectors in question, having placed in Mr Proctors hands for smelting 683 ozs 15 dwts of gold, roughly retorted, that when smelted yielded the magnificent result of 674 ozs 8 dwts ; this return leaving a margin of 9 ozs 11 dwts 18 grs. for dross nnd inferior metal only. This, doubtless, will be interesting to our beach miners, as it gives them some idea of the loss they are likely to sustain on the gold through smelting. The sample w have quoted may be considered as remarkably clean, showing what perfection our miners have already attained in retorting their amalgam, considering, the very primitive appliances they have at their command for th purpose." At our special request, Mr Proctor very kindly hunted up some of his old smelting memoranda, which recorded that this party the first time they visited him, left gold that, after smelting, weighed 1,240 ozs 15 dwts 12 grs ; a short time afterwards the crucible again being called into requisition to purify another parcel, which yielded 138 ozs 18 dwts 18 grains these quantities in the aggregate weighing 2,053 0z 17 dwtn 12 grs, the estimated value of which 3 pound 10s 3d per oz, 7,830 pounds 7s 10d, a very pretty sum, we must confess, for four men to divide amongst themselves, giving magnificent wages, allowing nine months to have been the time it took them to collect it ; for on an average the monthly return per man was 217 pounds. The above facts are striking illustrations of the wondrous resources of Westland — resources, we venture to say, it will take many years to exhaust.
Alan Beck
1960. Westland Centennial, Ross. In the spirit of the era, a local claimed to have "The Honourable Roddy".
Craig Norman
John Lester My grand mother's family mined a claim at Ross. She always said there was still huge amounts left in the ground. Watching "Parker' from the Yukon touring what appear to be very lucrative mining operations is proving her correct. ( he was impressed at how "Clean'/pure the gold is. )
John Lester
Craig Norman More left in the ground,than taken out of it
Terry Harding
Interesting that the Paroa River ( I think what we now know as the New River is hown as running pretty much as it was a few years back ( all the way north to Paroa.
Liz Hay
Philip Ross May came from Ross, and was a popular history lecturer at Canterbury Uni when I was a student there. I thoroughly enjoyed his NZ history lectures. His book mentioned here, was the definitive text on the topic, at that time.
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West Coast New Zealand History (11th Jan 2023). West Coast map - Eve of goldrush, 1864. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 10th Apr 2026 04:45, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/29551