The intriguing story of Waiuta

Gold is struck!

Waiuta was founded in 1906 as a company town to exploit one of the most regular and persistent gold reefs found anywhere in the world.

Waiuta - an arbitrary name

Waiuta translates as ‘inland water’, but the name is not directly associated with Māori history in this place. As with many other settlements established around the same time, the name was created by the Post Office when postal service began. Under the Designation of Districts Act (1894), the names of new settlements had to be unique, with preference given to Māori names, even if they had no connection to the local area.

An isolated but thriving community

More than 600 people lived here in its heyday, a close-knit community of people from diverse backgrounds. The 1936 census recorded 601 people (including three tangata Maori). The mining company recruited experienced hard-rock miners from many countries, including Australia, Italy and Yugoslavia, making Waiuta more ethnically varied than most parts of Aotearoa. After WWI the company further recruited 40 Cornish miners (known as ‘Cousin Jacks') and their families.

Due to its isolation Waiuta had many of the services and facilities that were the envy of much larger towns. Sporting and social events created a strong sense of community and identity that former residents and descendants continue to maintain to this day.

Demanding conditions met with ingenuity and hard work

Mining was challenging with the narrowing gold bearing quartz reef plunging to great depths. Ingenuity and tenacity, including the sinking of New Zealand’s deepest shaft to nearly 900m (264m of which were below sea level), created a highly successful and productive mine. Working below ground was tough, with poor lighting and fumes making conditions difficult. Many miners died young from damage to their lungs caused by inhalation of ever-present quartz dust.

Sudden closure in 1951

In 1951 following the collapse of the Blackwater Shaft which provided ventilation to the various underground workings, the London-based company Consolidated Goldfields made the sudden decision to close the mine. The effect on the town was almost instantaneous: people left within weeks in search of new jobs. Most of the buildings were taken away and the machinery sold, scrapped or left behind.

Friends of Waiuta

For the past few decades the volunteer group Friends of Waiuta have steadily restored key historic buildings in collaboration with the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. Major achievements have included furnishing and equipping Waiuta Lodge, contributing toward the cost of interpretation panels around the town, restoring Gills Cottage and the Police Cottage (two of six historic buildings still standing in the town), and building a new block of wharepaku. 

Waiuta is proudly cared for by the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai and the Friends of Waiuta.