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Story: Marutūahu tribes

Gold-mining days

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Gold-mining days

The discovery of gold in the Coromandel Peninsula in 1852 was a mixed blessing for the Hauraki peoples. While it brought trade and enterprise to the region, the tribes never enjoyed the benefits they felt were owing to them. This scene of gold miners’ huts was painted by J. B. C. Hoyte in the mid-1860s, when prospecting was under way in the vicinity of Coromandel township.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-234-012

by John Barr Clarke Hoyte

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Marutūahu tribes – Resources of the Hauraki region, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/760/gold-mining-days (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, published 4 March 2009, updated 22 March 2017.