Walks

Wednesday, 17 April 2019

Grade 2

Nearest Town: Waihi

Registration Region: Waihi

Duration: 3 hours return

Start Time: 10:00 am - The Martha Mine Entrance, opposite the old netball courts on Kenny St, Waihi.

Cost: Donation requested

This is a repeat of the walk from Sunday 14th April. See that walk here.

Join us for a walk through Waihi’s mining history. We will start inside the Martha Mine open pit near the ore crusher and walk along the conveyor track under three roads to Union Hill. There we will leave the conveyor route and spend time looking at the historic mining relics in this area. The only remaining concrete cyanide tanks in the country and some fascinating hidden remnants of the region’s mining history can be seen here.

We will then follow the Mill Stream path to Gilmour Reserve and stop at the World War One Tunneling Company Memorial. This sculpture and memorial wall were installed in early 2016 to remember the many miners who left from Waihi, the Hauraki Goldfields, and the many other mining areas of New Zealand to fight an underground war in France. April 2017 was the centennial of the Battle of Arras.

The whole trip will take about three hours, including the return, and is a moderate-easy walk with no steep grades. Good walking shoes are essential, and you may want to bring a bottle of water and a camera. Children are welcome, but the walk is not suitable for toddlers or push chairs. You may wish to bring a snack to enjoy at Gilmour Reserve before we return via Union Hill and walk past the Trio vent shaft of the operating underground mine.

There are 30 spaces only for this trip so be in quick!

Gallery Photos: Courtesy of Kit Wilson