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ALBUM - Croesus Track .1982 .
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DescriptionCroesus Track 1982 .
Photo 1: K Hope , D Knipe .
Photo 2: Hut near top .First hut Blackball side.
Photo 3: Garden Gully battery .Date of Photo1982Map[1] ContributorBrian Hope
Photo 1: K Hope , D Knipe .
Photo 2: Hut near top .First hut Blackball side.
Photo 3: Garden Gully battery .Date of Photo1982Map[1] ContributorBrian Hope
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Location (city or town)Croesus TrackPersonK Hope D Knipe EventCroesus Track .1982
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Date Created21st January 2022CommentsMarion McIntosh
Been there
Elaine Barrow
Great walk. We did in a day with 2 young keen kids. About 1985
Glenn Johnston
I first went up there in the 70's when the battery at Garden Gully was still overgrown. Top Hut, Garden Gully Hut (since replaced by a replica) and the Garden Gully Battery (was originally the Croesus Battery in a branch of Blackball Creek but was shif… See more
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Glenn Johnston I 1st walked it mid 70’s, it’s a beautiful walk.
Ngaio McKee
I have walked the track in a day
Gregory Ross
Inside Top Hut in Nov. 1971, during one of our many 1960s-1970s hunting trips up there. There were no bunks in the hut in those days; you slept and sat on toitoi straw on the floor. We built crude bunks in the hut in January 1973 during a major re-buil… See more
Ray Port
Great memories.
Walked or ran it many times.
Chris Walker
The Ces Clark hut at the top is in memory of my uncle, who tragically suffered a medical event whilst restoring the Croesus Track and hut in 1986. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away on same track not more than 6 months later. My gran would fret everytime my Mum and I, when back in Blackball, would go up the Croesus. Tis a beautiful walk.
Glenn Johnston
Chris Walker I worked for Ces in forestry days both in the Paparoas and the other side of the Grey valley opening up old gold miners tracks and looking for gold mining areas worth developing as tourist/recreational attractions. Ces was a good man. It is fitting that he is commemorated in the hut named after him. (that hut hadn't been built when I left the Coast at the end of 1980)
Chris Walker
Glenn Johnston Uncle was in the process of building the hut to replace the old top hut, when he died. Haven't been up there in a while but understand it's been done up since 86.
Glenn Johnston
Yes it has. I've been a regular visitor since 2007 when I returned to the Coast.
Chris Walker
Hopefully when my brother and I take our families and mother down to Coast later in the year, we'll be able to get up there.
Gregory Ross
Chris Walker I met Ces in 1976 as my mate and I were tramping up to Top Hut, we bumped into him while he was working on the track near the upper hotel flat. The track had not been worked on for many decades and Ces gradually opened it up to a good stan… See
Chris Walker
Gregory Ross my first trip there was a heli-hike in January 1987. Feel such pride knowing the great man behind the honour. Even though he use to trick us kids he had got us lost when we use to do the chimney walks
Ian Petersen
Went there with a rifle company from 2/1 RNZIR and enjoyed the view from the Loo, back in the late 80s.
Bob Laing
I lived up on Mt Ryall for a month in early 1967 as a radio operator for an offshore sciecmic oil survey. There were 5 shore based high radio sites for navigation purposes. We then moved our site to behind Hari Hari. The job was well paid, I did a lot of deer stalking and shot a very rough 14 point stag on Ryall. What an adventure for an 18 year old. The main reason I took the trip was for the helicopter trips. I thought how else was I ever going to get into one of them. I stayed in he Ces Blazey hut in the early - 1990s for a night and went to Barrytown the next day. Fantastic part of the world.
Gregory Ross
Bob we saw that portable hut on Mt. Ryall one day while hunting there in 1968. Next time we went up there the hut was gone, and I'd thought maybe I'd been seeing things.... Now I know that I did actually see your hut there sitting right on the main divide of the Paparoas, about a mile north of Croesus Knob.
Bob Laing
Gregory Ross
Not us. We lived in two tents just below Ryall on the W Coast side. One tent for two of us, the other for the radios.
Saw quite a few deer up there. One mob of 7 one day. They were over toward the old aerial rope way tower. Presumably the old timers had a quartz mine up on the top.
Gregory Ross
Must have been your tents we saw. Yes, there were a lot of deer up there then, nobody but a few locals and a very few CHCH hunters hunted those tops. The choppers went in there in 1972 and got some good tallies. The last deer I bagged up there was in January 1976, an 8-pointer quite close to old Top Hut where we were staying.
Bob Laing
Gregory Ross
Great days at that time to be young and lots fitter. Great part of the world. On my bucket list to go back to.David Howden
Good hike didn't think Tony Mac could walk that far lol
David Howden
That's the proper name for it great photo
Denis King
Tony Mac and I walked the track to the hut, approx 1hr 30mins, shorts tee shirts, back pack each, 12 pack DB a porterhouse steak each, bread buttered.
Next day down to the Barrytown Pub, couple of beers, wives picked us up. Perfect day/nite out.
Heather Newby
Author
Admin
Denis King sounds great!
Denis King
Heather Newby and we talked some serious BS!!
Heather Newby
Denis King the best!
yWayne Rogers
Denis King Did Possum contract,That Area , Dangerous country
Been there
Elaine Barrow
Great walk. We did in a day with 2 young keen kids. About 1985
Glenn Johnston
I first went up there in the 70's when the battery at Garden Gully was still overgrown. Top Hut, Garden Gully Hut (since replaced by a replica) and the Garden Gully Battery (was originally the Croesus Battery in a branch of Blackball Creek but was shif… See more
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Glenn Johnston I 1st walked it mid 70’s, it’s a beautiful walk.
Ngaio McKee
I have walked the track in a day
Gregory Ross
Inside Top Hut in Nov. 1971, during one of our many 1960s-1970s hunting trips up there. There were no bunks in the hut in those days; you slept and sat on toitoi straw on the floor. We built crude bunks in the hut in January 1973 during a major re-buil… See more
Ray Port
Great memories.
Walked or ran it many times.
Chris Walker
The Ces Clark hut at the top is in memory of my uncle, who tragically suffered a medical event whilst restoring the Croesus Track and hut in 1986. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away on same track not more than 6 months later. My gran would fret everytime my Mum and I, when back in Blackball, would go up the Croesus. Tis a beautiful walk.
Glenn Johnston
Chris Walker I worked for Ces in forestry days both in the Paparoas and the other side of the Grey valley opening up old gold miners tracks and looking for gold mining areas worth developing as tourist/recreational attractions. Ces was a good man. It is fitting that he is commemorated in the hut named after him. (that hut hadn't been built when I left the Coast at the end of 1980)
Chris Walker
Glenn Johnston Uncle was in the process of building the hut to replace the old top hut, when he died. Haven't been up there in a while but understand it's been done up since 86.
Glenn Johnston
Yes it has. I've been a regular visitor since 2007 when I returned to the Coast.
Chris Walker
Hopefully when my brother and I take our families and mother down to Coast later in the year, we'll be able to get up there.
Gregory Ross
Chris Walker I met Ces in 1976 as my mate and I were tramping up to Top Hut, we bumped into him while he was working on the track near the upper hotel flat. The track had not been worked on for many decades and Ces gradually opened it up to a good stan… See
Chris Walker
Gregory Ross my first trip there was a heli-hike in January 1987. Feel such pride knowing the great man behind the honour. Even though he use to trick us kids he had got us lost when we use to do the chimney walks
Ian Petersen
Went there with a rifle company from 2/1 RNZIR and enjoyed the view from the Loo, back in the late 80s.
Bob Laing
I lived up on Mt Ryall for a month in early 1967 as a radio operator for an offshore sciecmic oil survey. There were 5 shore based high radio sites for navigation purposes. We then moved our site to behind Hari Hari. The job was well paid, I did a lot of deer stalking and shot a very rough 14 point stag on Ryall. What an adventure for an 18 year old. The main reason I took the trip was for the helicopter trips. I thought how else was I ever going to get into one of them. I stayed in he Ces Blazey hut in the early - 1990s for a night and went to Barrytown the next day. Fantastic part of the world.
Gregory Ross
Bob we saw that portable hut on Mt. Ryall one day while hunting there in 1968. Next time we went up there the hut was gone, and I'd thought maybe I'd been seeing things.... Now I know that I did actually see your hut there sitting right on the main divide of the Paparoas, about a mile north of Croesus Knob.
Bob Laing
Gregory Ross
Not us. We lived in two tents just below Ryall on the W Coast side. One tent for two of us, the other for the radios.
Saw quite a few deer up there. One mob of 7 one day. They were over toward the old aerial rope way tower. Presumably the old timers had a quartz mine up on the top.
Gregory Ross
Must have been your tents we saw. Yes, there were a lot of deer up there then, nobody but a few locals and a very few CHCH hunters hunted those tops. The choppers went in there in 1972 and got some good tallies. The last deer I bagged up there was in January 1976, an 8-pointer quite close to old Top Hut where we were staying.
Bob Laing
Gregory Ross
Great days at that time to be young and lots fitter. Great part of the world. On my bucket list to go back to.David Howden
Good hike didn't think Tony Mac could walk that far lol
David Howden
That's the proper name for it great photo
Denis King
Tony Mac and I walked the track to the hut, approx 1hr 30mins, shorts tee shirts, back pack each, 12 pack DB a porterhouse steak each, bread buttered.
Next day down to the Barrytown Pub, couple of beers, wives picked us up. Perfect day/nite out.
Heather Newby
Author
Admin
Denis King sounds great!
Denis King
Heather Newby and we talked some serious BS!!
Heather Newby
Denis King the best!
yWayne Rogers
Denis King Did Possum contract,That Area , Dangerous country
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West Coast New Zealand History (25th May 2025). ALBUM - Croesus Track .1982 . . In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 7th Apr 2026 02:23, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/30575