Ketenikau Mine head in 1908. From left: Jim Martin, Johnny Mulgrove, Charlie Blackdon (the Scout) and Frank Holman. Photo / donated by the Beech Holman Family - Whangārei Museum Collection
Ketenikau Mine head in 1908. From left: Jim Martin, Johnny Mulgrove, Charlie Blackdon (the Scout) and Frank Holman. Photo / donated by the Beech Holman Family - Whangārei Museum Collection
Children around the world have had concerns during this time of year that Santa Claus may deliver a lump of coal in a few weeks’ time.
The threat of the naughty list has had parents with the upper hand in many different cultures but what will happen when this fossil fuel runs out? The world’s reserves versus consumption means we have about 130 years before coal is off the menu and that could have consequences for poor behaviour.
The story of coal in the Whangārei region is an interesting one. The first discovery was in Whau Valley by a local Māori named Johnny Rake, who had been to Thames and realised what he found in the creek was similar to the highly prized black ore from further south.
Rake chipped away some stone and took it to Mr H. Holman from the flax mill near Tikipunga, who knew about minerals and other topics. Many described his knowledge as encyclopaedic.
Holman confirmed the stone was coal and they made quick arrangements to start a mine. Those arrangements included sending Rake to Wairoa to deliver a letter to a potential investor, Henry Walton.
The boy walked there and back in about a week for the sum of 5 shillings and returned with a reply saying Walton would be interested. The investor turned up in Whau Valley six months later, in 1864, and they negotiated a lease of the block from the local Māori who had refused to sell it.
The mine was operating by 1865 and the first load of coal was transported by horse down the Harrison Branch Line tramway to the Town Wharf, where it was loaded onto the ships Aquila and Elizabeth.
The infrastructure created at the Ketenikau Mine Syndicate was extensive and Walton imported some of the first corrugated iron to be used in New Zealand. They also built the first two-storey flats as the miners’ living quarters.
A photograph of the Ketenikau Mine shows quite an elaborate community, consisting of a blacksmith, butchery, bakery, sheds, paddocks, a building made of punga and even a pigsty.
Ketenikau - Whau Valley Tramway in 1865. Photo / Donated by the Beech Holman Family - Whangārei Museum Collection
The mine was not far from Kamo Cemetery on Ketenikau Rd and, when a particular shaft was being worked, the miners could hear when a grave was being dug. The location was also prone to water seepage and, because of this ongoing issue, Walton closed it after three years.
The next operators to try their luck at Ketenikau were Love & Smith, who worked to drain the flooded mine. Love then retired from the mining industry when his arm was torn off in a winch.
For almost 20 years, the mine lay idle and only a couple of sporadic attempts were made to recover more coal. The total amount of the black gold mined at Ketenikau was about 73,000 tonnes, with the first Holman/Walton attempt taking the initial 70,853 tonnes.
Holmans Tram 1908. Left to right: Frank Holman, Jim Martin, third unknown bringing down a rake to tip by the reservoir on Harrison’s Branch Line. Photo / Whangārei Museum Collection
Main entrance to the Ketenikau Coal Mine, 1908. Photo / Donated by the Beech Holman Family - Whangārei Museum Collection
The mine entry of Ketenikau is currently on display at the Whangārei Museum along with tools and artefacts from our mining history, including a huge sack of coal to inspire visitors to be good in the lead-up to Santa’s deliveries.
