Kōrero: Nelson places

Gold mining mural

Gold mining mural

This mural on the public toilet in Tapawera in the upper Motueka River valley depicts a digger panning for gold. Gold was first found in the area in 1859. A sitting of the Nelson Provincial Council in 1861 voted that  £100 (around $10,000 in 2010 terms) would be offered as a prize for the discovery of a payable goldfield in the area. The next year four men received £25 apiece for their discovery in the Rolling River (a tributary of the Wangapeka). Gold was also found in the Tadmor, Sherry and Wangapeka river valleys.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection
Photograph by Jock Phillips

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Carl Walrond, 'Nelson places - Motueka and the Motueka River valley', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/29092/gold-mining-mural (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Carl Walrond, updated 22 Apr 2015