In the 1860s a gold rush came to Hokitika, and the good times are coming around again. The Golden Girls sing the song ‘Happy Days Are Here Again.’ The district is on a roll, according to Mayor of Hokitika Durham Havil. Unemployment is low, and the council debt is low. Music and dramatic traditions are rich in the area. Eileen Wilding is one of the organisers, and thinks the West Coasters have inherited the Irish tradition. Renee Jacobs has been playing the piano since she was ten, when she was taught by the Sisters of Mercy. She took over her sister’s dance band when she got married, and called it Renee Jacob’s Dance Band, and the band toured widely in the district, playing in halls. The dances didn’t start until 9, because the blokes didn’t come out of the pubs until 11pm. She never had time to find a husband, and remained single. She is the only surviving dance band member.
Historic detail about the gold mining days, when the population was almost entirely male, in the 1860s. Jim Keenan talks about the large amounts of gold exported in the port, when 50 overseas ships were in port at one time. One of the other major industries was sawmilling. The gold boom stopped because the gold was easily won because it was close to the surface, in the creeks and the river beds. Then the tunneling began, but the easily won petered out 15 years. Nowadays another gold boom is taking place. Evan Birchfield in the Birchfield gold mine next to the settlement of Ross, says that the hole will go down to 90 metres. There is evidence of old shafts from the 1870s. The family home belonging to the Birchfields will eventually go, when the land is mined. Gold is also under the township of Ross. After mining the land must be leveled again.
A farmer relates the story of having a septic tank dug by someone who was an old gold miner, and told him the ground was full of gold. The miner convinced them it was worth looking at, and that’s how it all started. He hands a bottle of coarse gold to Gary. With close on a hundred mining and dredging operations, gold is very much an industry of the coast.
Ivan ‘Stuffer’ Fearn has been working for 35 years in Hokitika doing upholstery. A meeting of the Hokitika Savage Club, a club for men, is open tonight to ‘ladies’. Howard ‘Tick Tock’ Hughes explains that The Savage Club was started in England in 1857 by a crowd of out of work musicians and poets. They used the folk lore of the American Indians, and NZ used the Maori folk lore. Club members perform comedy skits on stage, then couples hit the dance floor.
At Hokitika airport, a large Russian helicopter, staffed largely by Russians, is used for logging. Andy Kearns explains the work the loggers will carry out. Liz Solari, Timberlands West Coast Ltd, explains the selective unsustainable logging, which will end that year (1994). Ian James, Forester, explains sustainable logging in native forest. After a tree that is dying is taken out, the area is replanted. This type of forestry means that there is jobs for the loggers and their children. The first mill was built in 1903, explains Bill Clark of Westco Mill. The mill will be cutting radiata and a little bit of rimu. Public perception of the coast is discussed.
Dick Elcock and Ron Manley of the Kokatahi Band talk about their membership in the band. Ron has been a member since 1956. Nowadays they don’t need to practice as they get many engagements. They are all ear players, they don’t read music. They have travelled to Australia, Auckland, Waitangi. The majority are from around Hokitika. There are five members over 80. The outfits are derived from the miners workers clothes. The band was formed in 1910, and the uniform is the original one.
Up the Arahura River, where the last of the greenstone claims is. Ross Crump and Bevan Climo are looking for nephrite jade, which is found after natural erosion, not mining. A large piece of greenstone is found in the river, which Gary picks up. Back at the jade carving factory the piece is cut to discover what is inside. But the piece is full of fractures, and will make a beautiful door stop. At Pierre’s Gourmet Catering, Gary discovers that Pierre Esquilat is from Paris. He met his Hokitika wife in Australia, and they returned to open a cafe. Gary arrives at the performance of the school children, which is well attended by locals.
At the Red Lion, Hokitika, a tournament of a card game ‘Forty Fives’. Bill Glynn explains the rules. Jim Groom says the game was brought out by the early Irish miners. On the Takutai Bell, tourists take a cruise on the river. The Marching Grannies practice on the tarmac at the airport. Deirdre Corsan says their team was the first to start in the South Island. The team gets together to practice once a week. At the [Royal Mail] pub in the evening, a band plays to patrons. Someone has brought their horse in for a drink.