Well, we are here of course, staying 12km or so out of town at the Star Tavern at Cape Foulwind – which we just heard today, is the closest pub to Sydney, Australia! Guess not many people know that. We took a drive into the metropolis of Westport, which has the distinction of being the oldest town on the West Coast. Situated where the mighty Buller River meets the sea, Westport was first a gold town, then a coal and timber town, and became a centre for exporting coal. Some coal is still mined in this area, but the port seems to be a hive of activity with fishing boats and factories these days.
The local museum, “Coaltown” was opened in 1977 in the former Morley and Co brewery building, which produced beer for nearly 90 years. It seemed interesting, so in we went for a look around.
An informative video told of the early bush railways operating in this area, and the ingenious means they used to extract the huge logs from the bush to the sawmills. Imported engines were first used, then several New Zealand companies started producing these small hard working engines. Kiwi ingenuity took over and engines were built from all sorts of spare parts, sometimes using cars and trucks to make trams and engines, and often timber tram lines were laid with timber rails on top of timber sleepers. This was a dangerous industry, and in times of emergencies 5 whistles signalled to gather the first aid kit and a stretcher and run like mad. However, on hearing 6 whistles the men didn’t need to hurry, as the unfortunate worker was dead. One danger that townies like us would never ever imagine concerns those horrible large bush weta. Miners related that quite often a falling tree dislodges all the wetas and they scurry up the men's trouser legs! These large insects bite too.
As to be expected, the local coal industry, and the Denniston Mine in particular, was well featured in the museum. This huge Q wagon from the Denniston Mine is shown at the angle it used to travel down the terrifying Denniston Incline, known in it’s day as the 8th wonder of the world. It was many years before road access was put it, and it is said that the wives on top of Denniston Plateau refused to come back down, as the only means of transport was a frightening ride in one of the coal buckets.
Many fatalities took place at Denniston, but no one was ever buried there, as the ground is pure rock. Bodies were wrapped and sent down in the wagons for burial at nearby towns. The “tension carriages” were used for taking up the slack on endless ropeways. They were placed near the driving gear so the rope passed directly from the tension carriage to the driving pully. We plan to go and visit the Denniston Plateau in a few days and look around at whatever is left after the mine closed – so watch this space.
Ever hear of the “Duzgo” brand of automobile? This is yet another example of Kiwi ingenuity. Tucked away in the museum was one of the Duzgos, designed and manufactured by Kevin and Rodney Giles in South Westland, from 1976 to 1984. This particular car was retrieved from an old barn at Red Jack’s Creek and is on permanent loan. The Duzgo was designed as a fun machine in place of a motorcycle, and produced only seven models. The company was then dissolved because of a sales tax dispute with the Inland Revenue Department. Oh dear!
There was so much more to see in the museum, but we were running out of time – but what we did get to see was very enjoyable. Not so the extended family who were also in the museum at the same time. The grand-parents spent time looking at the videos and seemed perfectly happy, but the younger generation didn’t seem to really want to be there. It looked like a family school holiday outing that wasn’t going too well at all.
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