ALBUM - THE EARLY DAYS IN GREYMOUTH. 1860`s.

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DescriptionIn January 1864, Mr WH Revell of the Canterbury Police,was agent for the Provincial Government stationed on the West Coast at the mouth of the Grey. He was sent over to establish a food depot as the European miners working at
the Greenstone and prospecting elsewhere had no regular supply of provisions and were almost dependent on the few Maoris for food.
His camp was at the head of the lagoon on the South
Beach, pitched in some low-lying ground covered with a little scrub. This patch of soft ground, for some years after,formed a rest camp for the foot-sore overland cattle driven up the Grey Valley and was known as “Revell’s Camp”.

In July 1864, Reuben Waite built a store at the back of the Maori whares at the top of Mawhera Quay. Later on Isaac Blake, a brother-in-law of Waite, built a store fronting the sea outside the lagoon. Other business places were put up there, forming a small township called “Blaketown”.
The other residents there were Messrs Coates, Horsington, Ashton and Kettely. There was also a blacksmith’s shop and a billiard room, and packers’ dwellings and stables.
Goods were packed along the beach and boated up the
Grey and Taramakau Rivers. Mr Rochfort surveyed the
Maori reserve and government sections, and when beach mining set in, the rush for town sections started In a very few months, Greymouth became a town, with all the conveniences of civilized life, and was connected withother New Zealand ports by numerous small steamers and sailing craft.

The Melbourne steamers also made it a port of call. Traffic to the interior was carried on by cargo boats at first worked by manpower and latterly towed by horses. Cobden was established at this same time, with a Warden’sand Police Camp and a store being opened by Mr James Wilkie.

The deep water on the Greymouth side of the river and the bulk of the mining population being to the south discouraged any hopes of Cobden sharing in the shipping trade to any extent. Date of Photo1860`sMap^[1]ContributorTony Kokshoorn

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Location (city or town)GreymouthPersonW H Revell James WilkieHorsingtonAshton KettelyReuben WaiteIsaac Blake CoatesMr RochfortEventTHE EARLY DAYS IN GREYMOUTH

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Date Created16th February 2024

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