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Company houses provided for the workers, Denniston.
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DescriptionCompany houses provided for the workers. They would have been very basic and vey cold in the winter. Life could be harsh on the 'Hill' in the winter.
"This photo was taken by my great grandfather Dan Moloney . He would have taken most of the earlier photos in the Buller area." Anne (Heaphy) AimPhotographerDan MoloneyMap[1] ContributorPeter Westwood
"This photo was taken by my great grandfather Dan Moloney . He would have taken most of the earlier photos in the Buller area." Anne (Heaphy) AimPhotographerDan MoloneyMap[1] ContributorPeter Westwood
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Location (city or town)Denniston
Category Information
Category TagCoal Mining
From Facebook
Date Created9th July 2016CommentsJim Nieman - No insulation and double glazing.
Heather Newby - A bit like our old house in Blaketown.. always cold, but that's how we grew up and we knew nothing else.
Gael Kitchin - Just as well they had a mountain of coal to burn.
Tony Ring - Outside long drop.
Heather Newby - they didnt have longdrops because they couldnt dig holes in the rock face.. so a night cart would come around, and if they lived close to a valley, they would simply toss the contents of their potties down the hill.
Tony Ring - As soon as I posted I remembered that they could not bury anyone because of rocky ground. Obviously that also applied to toilets.
Pamela Dixon - I have got the book denniston rose and heart of coal read them several times . Would've been harsh times up the hill indeed .
Tony Ring - Pamela. Looking at Denniston Rose book now. Very good reading.
Pamela Dixon - I got lost in both books.
Heather Newby - Indoor/ outdoor flow, Jacuzzi on the deck, underfloor heating in bathroom,well appointed kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms and a study , all tastefully decorated in resene colours such as"Nero" and "Nocturnal" which are soulful and intimate yet bring a hint of drama---and a 2 car garage...and not forgetting the tastefully landscaped garden with a gazebo and a fountain.
Robyn Halkett - Heather Newby true.. tour glass is always half full!!
MurrayGwen Bedford - It must have been like hell on earth for my great great gran raising her family here, and for many others. What a cold bleak existance they had.
Heather Newby - it was cold and bleak in the house I grew up in too.in Blaketown.. Was built ca. 1898... with its "breathing walls".. and i was sure it would implode during a storm.. but the Denniston people must have feared for their lives during storms!
Pam Englefield-Absolum - Heather Newby love it.
Lynnette Walford - Lived in Denniston from prob 1950 to 1960,we had coal delivered and our thing would be to listen to the radio ,watch the little embers racing up the lighted soot at the back of the fire,the wind and rain would be howling around the house or we would look out and watch the snowflakes falling,I can only remember good times up there,taking on the whole school in a snowball fight ,lol,we were a family of 7 kids so mostly kept ourselves occupied. Love visiting the place when ever I'm back in NZ and get the opportunity.
We were the Reid's, lived in the house beside the school on the bank ..
Beryl Neal - Was born in Dennison 1951.loved it there. Kennett was maiden name.
Jessie Guy - Yes as you say would have been very basic and cold, true pioneers.
Heather Newby - and no topsoil.. or very little.
Colleen Eason - My great grandfather - the photographer, lived up at coalbrookedale. He took a few awesome shots of the area. Those houses look drafty!
Pam Englefield-Absolum - Yes, and people moan today. They survived, we survived but today they want all the bells and whistles.
John Paget - No doubt the coal range went twenty four seven. No shortage of fuel up there.
Heather Newby - John Paget it would have been banked up at night with slack.. And just needed a jab with the poker to get it going again in the morning. Mutton fat to clean the top.. Once a week cleaning the flue.
John Paget - I remember we had one. My wife is a coaster, not me but we used a coal range in Mathesons Road Chch back in the 1960/s. The house was an old villa cold and drafty.
Sue Lucas - These houses where freezing- I was there!!!
Heather Newby - Sue Lucas ouch.. I remember staying with a penfriend in a new house in prebbleton when i was 10.i was amazed that they had central heating and the house was always warm.!!
Heather Newby - they remind me also of the old houses in Newtown Wellington, I used to stay in when I went to Wellington in the early 70`s
Maree Lawlor - Me too but they werent that bad in Wellington!! lol.
Phyllis Aberhart - And I bet they had no insulation. I had a friend who worked up there till the mine closed, he said you could go for months without see the sun.
Shaun Burgess - our family had the old doctors surgery it had 3 openfire places in it,also a coalrange,even when cold dad use to heat up bricks and put in end of beds wrapped up.
Pat Scally Richardson - Great photo!
Nikki Tamatea - I love to see these photo's.
Brian Sue Chamberlain - What an incredible place.
Visited years ago. And can remember the cloud coming in the front of the house and out the back.
Shirley Arabin - similar to where my gr grandma lived at Burnetts Face.
Carrol Barnes - Baker My mother lived in Millerton I often wonder excatley where she lived that was between 1932 - 1936
Carrol Barnes - BakerCarrol Barnes - Baker Her dads surname was Hawthorne but her Grannys name was Martha Scott - Stewart.Tessa Daisy
How grim.
Sandra Mike Moore
Not a perk really .!!
Barbara Barry Gerrard
No insulation then I imagine!!
Amy Franks
I bet they were freezing to live in.
Marcy Robertson
Amy Franks yes we should be grateful it's not like that now. We don't really know what hard times are like.
Theresa Gibson
I hope they were allowed to take a bucket of coal home every night
Heather Newby - A bit like our old house in Blaketown.. always cold, but that's how we grew up and we knew nothing else.
Gael Kitchin - Just as well they had a mountain of coal to burn.
Tony Ring - Outside long drop.
Heather Newby - they didnt have longdrops because they couldnt dig holes in the rock face.. so a night cart would come around, and if they lived close to a valley, they would simply toss the contents of their potties down the hill.
Tony Ring - As soon as I posted I remembered that they could not bury anyone because of rocky ground. Obviously that also applied to toilets.
Pamela Dixon - I have got the book denniston rose and heart of coal read them several times . Would've been harsh times up the hill indeed .
Tony Ring - Pamela. Looking at Denniston Rose book now. Very good reading.
Pamela Dixon - I got lost in both books.
Heather Newby - Indoor/ outdoor flow, Jacuzzi on the deck, underfloor heating in bathroom,well appointed kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms and a study , all tastefully decorated in resene colours such as"Nero" and "Nocturnal" which are soulful and intimate yet bring a hint of drama---and a 2 car garage...and not forgetting the tastefully landscaped garden with a gazebo and a fountain.
Robyn Halkett - Heather Newby true.. tour glass is always half full!!
MurrayGwen Bedford - It must have been like hell on earth for my great great gran raising her family here, and for many others. What a cold bleak existance they had.
Heather Newby - it was cold and bleak in the house I grew up in too.in Blaketown.. Was built ca. 1898... with its "breathing walls".. and i was sure it would implode during a storm.. but the Denniston people must have feared for their lives during storms!
Pam Englefield-Absolum - Heather Newby love it.
Lynnette Walford - Lived in Denniston from prob 1950 to 1960,we had coal delivered and our thing would be to listen to the radio ,watch the little embers racing up the lighted soot at the back of the fire,the wind and rain would be howling around the house or we would look out and watch the snowflakes falling,I can only remember good times up there,taking on the whole school in a snowball fight ,lol,we were a family of 7 kids so mostly kept ourselves occupied. Love visiting the place when ever I'm back in NZ and get the opportunity.
We were the Reid's, lived in the house beside the school on the bank ..
Beryl Neal - Was born in Dennison 1951.loved it there. Kennett was maiden name.
Jessie Guy - Yes as you say would have been very basic and cold, true pioneers.
Heather Newby - and no topsoil.. or very little.
Colleen Eason - My great grandfather - the photographer, lived up at coalbrookedale. He took a few awesome shots of the area. Those houses look drafty!
Pam Englefield-Absolum - Yes, and people moan today. They survived, we survived but today they want all the bells and whistles.
John Paget - No doubt the coal range went twenty four seven. No shortage of fuel up there.
Heather Newby - John Paget it would have been banked up at night with slack.. And just needed a jab with the poker to get it going again in the morning. Mutton fat to clean the top.. Once a week cleaning the flue.
John Paget - I remember we had one. My wife is a coaster, not me but we used a coal range in Mathesons Road Chch back in the 1960/s. The house was an old villa cold and drafty.
Sue Lucas - These houses where freezing- I was there!!!
Heather Newby - Sue Lucas ouch.. I remember staying with a penfriend in a new house in prebbleton when i was 10.i was amazed that they had central heating and the house was always warm.!!
Heather Newby - they remind me also of the old houses in Newtown Wellington, I used to stay in when I went to Wellington in the early 70`s
Maree Lawlor - Me too but they werent that bad in Wellington!! lol.
Phyllis Aberhart - And I bet they had no insulation. I had a friend who worked up there till the mine closed, he said you could go for months without see the sun.
Shaun Burgess - our family had the old doctors surgery it had 3 openfire places in it,also a coalrange,even when cold dad use to heat up bricks and put in end of beds wrapped up.
Pat Scally Richardson - Great photo!
Nikki Tamatea - I love to see these photo's.
Brian Sue Chamberlain - What an incredible place.
Visited years ago. And can remember the cloud coming in the front of the house and out the back.
Shirley Arabin - similar to where my gr grandma lived at Burnetts Face.
Carrol Barnes - Baker My mother lived in Millerton I often wonder excatley where she lived that was between 1932 - 1936
Carrol Barnes - BakerCarrol Barnes - Baker Her dads surname was Hawthorne but her Grannys name was Martha Scott - Stewart.Tessa Daisy
How grim.
Sandra Mike Moore
Not a perk really .!!
Barbara Barry Gerrard
No insulation then I imagine!!
Amy Franks
I bet they were freezing to live in.
Marcy Robertson
Amy Franks yes we should be grateful it's not like that now. We don't really know what hard times are like.
Theresa Gibson
I hope they were allowed to take a bucket of coal home every night
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West Coast New Zealand History (22nd Apr 2025). Company houses provided for the workers, Denniston.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 10th Apr 2026 21:30, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/704