-
1878
John McCombie and Robert Lee discovered gold on Pukewā (Martha hill).
-
1879
William Nicholl pegged a 5-acre claim on Pukewā and named it Martha after his niece. Underground mining commenced.
-
1894
Use of the cyanide process for gold extraction began.
-
1897
Construction of the Victoria battery at Waikino began.
-
1903
A steam traction engine transported steel girders for use in construction of the Cornish pumphouse.
-
1912
Miners’ strike from May to November.
-
1952
Original Martha mine closed - the mine had produced 174,160 kg of gold and 1,193,180 kg of silver from 11,932,000 tonnes of ore.
-
1976
Increased gold prices sparked renewed interest in mining. Prospecting licence for Martha hill obtained.
-
1987
Mining licence granted; Waihi Gold Mining Company was formed.
-
1988
15th May, first gold pour from the new Martha mine.
Click through this timeline to discover some of the major events of gold mining at Waihī, from the discovery of gold at Martha hill in 1878 to the reopening of the mine in 1987.
Using this item
This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.