Heritage Talks: The 1867 gold rush to Thames with Kae Lewis

In 1867, men from all over the world rushed to the Thames to try their luck in the new goldfield. They spread out all over the steep bush-covered ranges and gullies and soon came to realise that the gold at Thames was tied up in the quartz rock they saw jutting out from the ground. In this talk, Kae describes where these miners found the gold, the methods they used to found it, along with outlining all the difficulties they encountered when trying to turn the quartz rock into a gold bar that they could cash in at the bank.
Image credits
Title page: Auckland Weekly News, c1900. Two goldminers and their tools. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A8729.
R. H. Bartlett, c1868. Moanataiari Creek. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A16668.
Speaker's presentation
William Eastwood, 1868. Shortland Town. Auckland Art Gallery.
Daniel Manders Beere, 1868. Shortland, from Hauraki Mission Station. Ref: 1/2-096135-G. Alexander Turnbull Library.
James Richardson & John Kinder, 1868. Looking north from the landing place on the Kauaeranga River. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-857.
Photographer unknown, c1867. Early shops in Shortland, Thames.
James Richardson & John Kinder, c1868. Diggers tents at camp at Shortland, Thames. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-856.
Photographer & date unknown. Raupo whare.
James Richardson & John Kinder, c1870s. Looking over Karaka Creek. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-RIC134.
Looking over Karaka Creek, Thames, showing Una Hill and the Una Battery. Ref: 1/2-065413-F. Alexander Turnbull Library.
H A Firth, c1880s. Bird in the Hand Hill, Thames. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A8764.
Daniel Mundy, 1870s. Russell's Gold Battery, Tararu, Thames. Te Papa Reg. no. O.020928.
Burton Brothers, 1869. The Thames. Te Papa Reg. no. O.034031.
Photographer unknown, 1860s. Prince Alfred Hotel. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A11304.
James Richardson, 1868. Victoria Battery. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-3678.
R. H. Bartlett, c1867. Hunt's claim. The Treasury Collection, Thames.
Auckland Libraries holds copies of Kae's book Goldrush to the Thames: New Zealand 1867 to 1869.
This talk was presented via Zoom on 11 May 2022.

[@skydogk9]

Thank for producing this, very informative. 🙂

[@OuttheGate114]

Outstanding work. Thank you for the great history lesson in our area. Would love to see you do one on Coromandel Township and the mining and kauri logging. Thank you once again

[@philipwilkie3239]

I own the residential property that lies over the entrance of the Long Drive - and have some family and personal history with gold mining. The changes in landscape are dramatic - and the extent of how hollow these hills are astonishing. Thank you so much for all your work on this - we will purchase a copy of the book.

[@yarraman8595]

Thanks for this info, I have a couple of G.G Grandfathers who were mining in Thames during the gold rush, one of them left England in the 1850's with his brothers and arrived for the Victorian goldrush in Bendigo, he then travelled to Hokitika in the 1860s goldrush there before ending up in Thames, he had a few claims and was involved in the Hauraki Claim. Apparently he lost some money in one of the claims because they didn't have steam powered water pumps, as the mine flooded. He moved to Auckland and opened a business in the 1880s(My great grandmother was born in Thames). My other G.G Grandfather started in mining in Thames, but ended up opening a Tailors shop in Brown Street Thames before moving to Auckland.

[@successfulengineer]

Great job Kae, loved it.

[@user-ev3wh8nu3l]

Thank you for putting this online.

[@user-bx5cl9vn8m]

Very interesting and learned about the challenges that miners encountered in their quest for gold and fortune.