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Story: Gold and gold mining

Miners’ origins

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Miners’ origins

Scottish, Irish and English miners made up roughly equal proportions on the Otago goldfields. On the West Coast, Irish miners were more numerous, making up one-third to one-half of all miners.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: ‘Peopling project’, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Gold and gold mining – Miners, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/8642/miners-origins (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 2 March 2009.