DescriptionBIG SHIPS
Still be at the river, the dredge was deepening the river for some very large ships that sometimes came into Greymouth. Mostly the ships would take away coal. Cranes would lift the coal and bins off its Railway chassis and wheels and suspend it over the “hold” of the ship.
A wharfie, then hit a lever on the base of the bin, which released two flap doors, [similar to the dredge] and the coal fell deep into the ship. Periodically a small bulldozer was lowered onto the coal, to spread it out to the edges of the ship.
Scrap steel was also a big export and it went to Japan on Japanese ships, keeping in mind this was only around ten or twelve years after the end of World War 2. Locals, always on the lookout for a bargain, were buying what was thought to be cheap watches and later on transistor radios. Customs Officers would be visible on the wharf, but the locals would work in a group and once they made a “deal” on the ship, came off either, one first, and would run away and caught, with nothing, while the others walked away unchallenged.
Alternatively all would come off together, either down the gangway or jump onto the wharf at low tide and run.
Some of the ships could barely swing around in the river, using the current and would almost touch the other side river bank. I have seen ships tied up at the wharf during the river being in flood, with the motors running and propellers turning to drive the ship against the current, to take some of the strain off the ropes, holding it to the wharf. Boulders being swept along the river bed by the flooded, fast flowing river could be heard to bash against the hulls of the ships, very hard and loud.
West Coast New Zealand History (8th Jun 2015). Big Ships. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 10th Apr 2026 15:50, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/905
