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A radio documentary produced by 3YZ Greymouth with recollections of the former gold-mining town of Waiuta. Narrated by John Pike and produced by Douglas Lawson.
This is the story of how gold was discovered at Waiuta in November 1905. Mary Ellen Ward (nee Meates) talks about how her father Mr Meates was one of the group of men who discovered gold-bearing quartz there.
Several men and women describe how a town of 700 grew up around the quartz-crushers and mines and recall the operations of the mine company. Its heyday was in the 1930s, when much of the country was in the grip of the Great Depression.
A strike saw the men out of work for about 3 months, but families survived on their vegetable gardens,
The town had its own hotel, cinema, dancehall, tennis courts and football fields and poker was also popular. Fights were common on pay-nights with the hotel staying open all night. Several anecdotes are recalled of pay-night antics. The Bachelors Ball was the highlight of the social year.
In July 1951 one of the mine shafts caved in. The mines were never restarted and gradually the population drifted away to other work.
The story of the town is told by people who once lived there. They are not named in the programme but are believed to include: Mary Ellen Ward (nee Meates), Harry Wilson of Dunollie, Jim Smith of Runanga, Eileen Connors of Greymouth and Mr Maher of Camerons, the former schoolmaster at Waiuta.