The West Coast has many sites and buildings of historic significance.
A small selection of the places open to the public are presented here.
Please note that entry is not necessarily free, sometimes admission is
by donation or koha and you may need to make special arrangements to view.
Please pay a visit and help keep our heritage places alive!
Remember to visit the properties in the care of the Historic Places Trust
- you can find out more about those in the West Coast region by clicking
the map at right.
Blacks Point Museum
Franklin Street, Blacks Point
This museum, housed in an historic building focuses on goldmining.
About 100 metres further along the road is a water-driven
stamper, a unique working example of how quartz was crushed
for the extraction of gold.
Opens: Oct-April Wednesday - Friday 9.00am - 12.00pm, 1pm-4pm;
Saturday and Sunday 1.00pm - 4.00pm
May-September: by arrangement
Brunner mine is one of New Zealand's most important early
industrial sites and the scene of the country's worst mining
disaster. The site includes remains of the beehive coke ovens
dating from the 1860s along with other interesting relics.
There are interpretation panels to give visitors an idea
of what the operation was like in its hey-day. The historic
swing bridge across the Grey River is an important example
of early engineering. On the south bank of the Grey River,
the old Tyneside colliery chimney can be seen.
The Coaltown Museum is devoted to the industrial history
of the Buller region. It includes exhibitions on coal mining,
and information on the Denniston Incline, gold mining and
milling in the region.
The museum includes the historic Carnegie Library (1908),
one of 18 libraries built in New Zealand with the assistance
of Scottish-American philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie.
Includes old diggings, drop shafts, an ore tram ride through
the old tunnels from which ore was taken and a rebuilt stamping
battery, on its original site which operated from 1866 till
1914, around the clock, 7 days a week.
The Museum consists of two adjoining buildings, the largest
of which houses historical coke ovens which began operating
around 1908 to produce coke for the domestic market as well
as items relating to the old mining era of Millerton and Stockton.
The other building houses a photographic and archive collection
and a display of household contents of the 1920/30 era.
The school was opened in 1886. It was the school where miners
learnt their trade. At times local school children also came
to learn about chemistry as part of their schooling. Includes
an extensive technical book collection, a large mineral collection
sourced from all around the world, and an assay room.
Open: Entry is by arrangement through the Reefton Visitor
Centre.
An 1885 miners cottage has been restored and filled with
historic artefacts and pictures. The display includes a replica
of the largest nugget of gold ever found in NZ (99 ounces).
38 km south of Reefton, turn off State Highway 7 just before
Ikamatua
This ghost town contains relics of its gold mining past.
Within its forest-surrounded setting, many mining relics remain
from the days when it was a bustling miners' town, and a few
of the towns original buildings still remain, including the
old police station.
Learn
more about the historic sites in the care of the Historic Places
Trust located in and around the