Big shift saves relic of the gold rush

Kevin Storer is the project manager of the operation to move the Grand Junction refinery building intact 100m north so it can be opened to the public. Photo / Alan Gibson

Waihi refinery building is moved away from shaky ground so everyone can revisit the old days

A relic of the gold rush is being painstakingly shifted from shaky ground so it can remain in the public eye.

The 100-year-old refinery building at Grand Junction mine in Waihi was between two unstable mining zones, isolated and crumbling away.

Waihi Heritage Vision and the Newmont mine operators plan to move it 100m north so it can be preserved as a reminder of the days of late 19th century gold mining. It would then be alongside a public walkway.

In a complex feat of engineering, the solid concrete structure is being winched by two huge tow trucks along a causeway.

Project manager Kevin Storer said getting the tension right was a stressful process - two cables snapped yesterday, sending workers ducking for cover.

The refinery's floor was excavated, and the frame of the building braced from the inside by a large steel frame.

"Imagine a house of cards, but held together with matchsticks," said Waihi Heritage Vision chairman Kit Wilson.

The building was then raised by flatjacks, known as steel hot water bottles. Oil was pumped into the flatjacks to inflate them, so that when the foundations were cut the building could be moved.

At this point, the entire refinery was able to sway and rotate without crumbling.

The weight of the building is taken by the steel frame, which then slides on greased runners, pulled by tow truck wires. To stop the trucks moving they are shackled to a large bulldozer, which acts as an anchor.

Despite a couple of setbacks yesterday, the move will be completed this afternoon, at a cost of nearly $1 million.

Waihi Heritage Vision has not finalised plans for the building, but it is likely to be refurbished and opened to the public.

The project followed a similar removal of the Martha Mine's Cornish pumphouse in 2006, which redefined the building as a town icon.

"Waihi residents are passionate about their history," said Mr Wilson. "Many people here are fifth-generation, and their grandfathers worked in the mines. Preserving these pieces means a lot to them."

A small crowd braved cold rain and wind to watch the snail-like progress of the shift.

Although smaller than the neighbouring Martha Mine, the Grand Junction played a major role in mining a gold-rich tract of land.

Its eastern shaft descended to 500m and was known for its advanced technology - it had the first electric winder and a modern stamp battery to crush quartz into powder.

Mine production peaked in 1914, and the building has been used on and off since.

A similar process will be used to shift the Birdcage Tavern at the bottom of Franklin Rd before the Victoria Park tunnel is built.