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ALBUM - Kaniere Dredge working not far from Kumara.ca.1980.
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DescriptionKaniere Dredge working not far from Kumara about 1980.Date of Photo1980Map[1] ContributorBruce Keddie
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Category TagGoldmining
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Date Created23rd November 2022CommentsIan Andrew Jonson
Was that the biggest dredge to work in NZ?
Alec Birch
Ian Andrew Jonson Kaniere and Arahura were both around 3400t and were the biggest at the time they were built but the Austral NZ on the Clutha at Lowburn was the biggest ever. Kaniere has outlived them all, the Austral NZ ran out of ground in 1952.
John Kerr
Alec Birch How many ton was the Austral? Haven't heard much about that dredge. A few big wooden ones in the Yukon, I think all the gold dredging technology came from NZ?
Alec Birch
John Kerr Yes, the machines were largely developed in NZ, don't know much about the Lowburn dredge at all, but just looking at the photos you can see that she was a bit of a monster.
May be an image of outdoors
Reply41m
John Kerr
Alec Birch Monster alright!
Teiri Tinomana
Where is the dredge located now?
Kevin Sheehan
Teiri Tinomana Teiri from Karamea?
Teiri Tinomana
Kevin Sheehan yes that's me
Kevin Sheehan
I knew it was bro but thought I'd just check, how's life going for you these days?
Alec Birch
Teiri Tinomana parked up beside the Grey river about where Redjacks creek comes in.
Reply1h
Simon Hugh Rae
Does anyone have a start date for this dredge? My father (Duncan Rae) worked on 'a' Kaniere dredge before moving to Blackball for Ngahere dredge construction. He was an electrician 'specialising in installation of lifts & heavy machinery' according ot…
Rob Collins
Simon Hugh Rae January 1939
Alec Birch
Simon Hugh Rae was fabricated, along with her sister Arahura, at Addington Railway Workshops and assembled at Kaniere where she worked until 1953, she was then dismantled and shifted to the Taramakau opposite Kumara starting work in 1957 and worked until 1978 when she was again moved to the Grey at Ngahere restarting in 1987. Shes a bit like Granddads axe with a whole bunch a rebuilds along the way, but the guts of it is still the Kaniere.
Christine Hogg
Alec Birch The dredge was still at Kaniere about 1960, I was born 1955, and remember seeing the dredge when we visited Grandma who lived in Kaniere Tram
Simon Hugh Rae
Thank you for all this information, Alan - Dad talked of Kaniere and Arahura, and we have photos of sections laid out for assembling - at one of the sites. He didn't label any of his photos. Dad also had close friends at Addington Rlwy Workshops. I like the Grandad's axe touch! We left the Coast 1951/2 as Ngahere was running out of steam (or land to dig)
Liz Hay
The sound of my childhood for many years.
Alec Birch
Liz Hay Once heard, never forgotten.
Bob Laing
Paul Cullen
Paul Cullen
Bob Laing think I went to visit it once that I can remember
Stephen Lucas
I remember a school visit when I was in primary school
Richard Atkinson
Brad Tacon
Troy Ngata
Call Tony Beats or Parker? Lol
Graeme Peters
Troy Ngata parker was on that dredge in a recent series
Troy Ngata
Graeme Peters it's jus way cool watching it on the tele then discovering NZ's own gold mining history..awesome stuff
Lex Riley
Michael brownlee
John Jacobs
Great photos from a bygone era.
Sandra Arnott
My uncle worked on it way back,Sam Stewart!
Bob Laing
Sandra Arnott
So did an uncle of mine Horrie Olson
Tinker Brian
I remember my father telling me about the last Dredge Manager when the Kaniere dredge was closing at Kaniere was suspected of taking some gold . He had applied to go to Australia and police were suspicious of the fact he was taking his old car to Australia also.
The police took the car and weighed it and found it was heavier than it should be and on removing the door trims found large amounts of gold inside the doors.
Steve Lalor
I can remember growing up to the sound of the bucket chain squealing throughout the night
Kay Anderson
My father was a winchman on the dredge. Keith Lilley
Kev Rasmussen
This photo was taken on a school trip to the gold Dredge out the back of Kumara where the old workshop was.look at the size of the gold bars,from what I remember of it was how heavy the bars were.yea that’s me in the centre with the small ears lol.my three sisters are in the photo as well.
May be an image of 2 people, child and people standing
Reply22h
Te Ngarahau Mason
All AAA grade Pounamu coming up in those buckets. Wow... Kinda breaks my heart when I think of all the Chinese dugouts in the Papa through the Marsden field that were demolished by forestry and remining. Same for Goldsborough Waimea, Stafford. German gully, Italian line, Scandinavian but the best, tidy, efficient and methodical miners were the Chinese. They were despised because they could still find gold on mined claims. The Chinese mining and prospecting techniques were highly coveted by the rest of the Rush. So on the research goes. Stay hungry for history xo
Rob Lunn
You could see why men killed for it aye Kev I have held a similar sized ingot very impressive
Lee Swinburn
Was built by Nz railways . Assembled at tuckers flat kanierie 1938, worked at kanierie till 1953 having gained 175,000 ounces then owned by prattons , re started at taramakau 1956 . My grandfather tiny Lee was dredgemaster and was then owned by brierley investments
Greg Mait
Used to go on that dredge on the odd saturday with my father Jim Maitland who worked on it as a rigger, there was an old steel boat that we used to row over to the dredge. When it was working I used to think it was like a thousand lions roaring.
Dave Maitland
Which dredge went to the Arahura Valley up into the Kawaka Creek? I thought it was the one from Kaniere?
Debz Turner
Karen Peters, Brian Hemera did Your Dad work on this?
Karen Peters
Debz Turner yes Debz for quite a number of years. It wason Teremakau then. Behind Kumara
Debz Turner
Karen Peters I thought so.
Samuel Steele
Craig Steele
Vincent Joseph ... this is rad
Vicki Woolhouse
My dad worked on the dredge Rown Kerr I used to get some nice greenstone jewelry made from stones
Was that the biggest dredge to work in NZ?
Alec Birch
Ian Andrew Jonson Kaniere and Arahura were both around 3400t and were the biggest at the time they were built but the Austral NZ on the Clutha at Lowburn was the biggest ever. Kaniere has outlived them all, the Austral NZ ran out of ground in 1952.
John Kerr
Alec Birch How many ton was the Austral? Haven't heard much about that dredge. A few big wooden ones in the Yukon, I think all the gold dredging technology came from NZ?
Alec Birch
John Kerr Yes, the machines were largely developed in NZ, don't know much about the Lowburn dredge at all, but just looking at the photos you can see that she was a bit of a monster.
May be an image of outdoors
Reply41m
John Kerr
Alec Birch Monster alright!
Teiri Tinomana
Where is the dredge located now?
Kevin Sheehan
Teiri Tinomana Teiri from Karamea?
Teiri Tinomana
Kevin Sheehan yes that's me
Kevin Sheehan
I knew it was bro but thought I'd just check, how's life going for you these days?
Alec Birch
Teiri Tinomana parked up beside the Grey river about where Redjacks creek comes in.
Reply1h
Simon Hugh Rae
Does anyone have a start date for this dredge? My father (Duncan Rae) worked on 'a' Kaniere dredge before moving to Blackball for Ngahere dredge construction. He was an electrician 'specialising in installation of lifts & heavy machinery' according ot…
Rob Collins
Simon Hugh Rae January 1939
Alec Birch
Simon Hugh Rae was fabricated, along with her sister Arahura, at Addington Railway Workshops and assembled at Kaniere where she worked until 1953, she was then dismantled and shifted to the Taramakau opposite Kumara starting work in 1957 and worked until 1978 when she was again moved to the Grey at Ngahere restarting in 1987. Shes a bit like Granddads axe with a whole bunch a rebuilds along the way, but the guts of it is still the Kaniere.
Christine Hogg
Alec Birch The dredge was still at Kaniere about 1960, I was born 1955, and remember seeing the dredge when we visited Grandma who lived in Kaniere Tram
Simon Hugh Rae
Thank you for all this information, Alan - Dad talked of Kaniere and Arahura, and we have photos of sections laid out for assembling - at one of the sites. He didn't label any of his photos. Dad also had close friends at Addington Rlwy Workshops. I like the Grandad's axe touch! We left the Coast 1951/2 as Ngahere was running out of steam (or land to dig)
Liz Hay
The sound of my childhood for many years.
Alec Birch
Liz Hay Once heard, never forgotten.
Bob Laing
Paul Cullen
Paul Cullen
Bob Laing think I went to visit it once that I can remember
Stephen Lucas
I remember a school visit when I was in primary school
Richard Atkinson
Brad Tacon
Troy Ngata
Call Tony Beats or Parker? Lol
Graeme Peters
Troy Ngata parker was on that dredge in a recent series
Troy Ngata
Graeme Peters it's jus way cool watching it on the tele then discovering NZ's own gold mining history..awesome stuff
Lex Riley
Michael brownlee
John Jacobs
Great photos from a bygone era.
Sandra Arnott
My uncle worked on it way back,Sam Stewart!
Bob Laing
Sandra Arnott
So did an uncle of mine Horrie Olson
Tinker Brian
I remember my father telling me about the last Dredge Manager when the Kaniere dredge was closing at Kaniere was suspected of taking some gold . He had applied to go to Australia and police were suspicious of the fact he was taking his old car to Australia also.
The police took the car and weighed it and found it was heavier than it should be and on removing the door trims found large amounts of gold inside the doors.
Steve Lalor
I can remember growing up to the sound of the bucket chain squealing throughout the night
Kay Anderson
My father was a winchman on the dredge. Keith Lilley
Kev Rasmussen
This photo was taken on a school trip to the gold Dredge out the back of Kumara where the old workshop was.look at the size of the gold bars,from what I remember of it was how heavy the bars were.yea that’s me in the centre with the small ears lol.my three sisters are in the photo as well.
May be an image of 2 people, child and people standing
Reply22h
Te Ngarahau Mason
All AAA grade Pounamu coming up in those buckets. Wow... Kinda breaks my heart when I think of all the Chinese dugouts in the Papa through the Marsden field that were demolished by forestry and remining. Same for Goldsborough Waimea, Stafford. German gully, Italian line, Scandinavian but the best, tidy, efficient and methodical miners were the Chinese. They were despised because they could still find gold on mined claims. The Chinese mining and prospecting techniques were highly coveted by the rest of the Rush. So on the research goes. Stay hungry for history xo
Rob Lunn
You could see why men killed for it aye Kev I have held a similar sized ingot very impressive
Lee Swinburn
Was built by Nz railways . Assembled at tuckers flat kanierie 1938, worked at kanierie till 1953 having gained 175,000 ounces then owned by prattons , re started at taramakau 1956 . My grandfather tiny Lee was dredgemaster and was then owned by brierley investments
Greg Mait
Used to go on that dredge on the odd saturday with my father Jim Maitland who worked on it as a rigger, there was an old steel boat that we used to row over to the dredge. When it was working I used to think it was like a thousand lions roaring.
Dave Maitland
Which dredge went to the Arahura Valley up into the Kawaka Creek? I thought it was the one from Kaniere?
Debz Turner
Karen Peters, Brian Hemera did Your Dad work on this?
Karen Peters
Debz Turner yes Debz for quite a number of years. It wason Teremakau then. Behind Kumara
Debz Turner
Karen Peters I thought so.
Samuel Steele
Craig Steele
Vincent Joseph ... this is rad
Vicki Woolhouse
My dad worked on the dredge Rown Kerr I used to get some nice greenstone jewelry made from stones
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West Coast New Zealand History (24th Nov 2022). ALBUM - Kaniere Dredge working not far from Kumara.ca.1980.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 3rd Apr 2026 00:25, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/31653