Helping others dig through history

Author Kae Lewis with her new book ‘Goldrush to the Thames New Zealand 1867 to 1869’. Photo: TCDC

A Thames woman is helping reconnect people with their goldmining heritage as part of this year's 150th commemorations since the Thames Goldfields first opened.

Kae Lewis became so engrossed in researching her great, great grandfather's arrival to Thames 150 years ago, she created a website and wrote an accompanying book on goldmining in the area.

A volunteer with The Treasury in Thames for many years, Kae launched her website to help others with searches on goldminers after discovering more of her own family history.

'My ancestors went to Tapu, which opened in the second year and there was a mini rush. In those days they called it Hastings, and my great, great grandfather was born there in 1870.”

Her website holds the names of 50,000 goldminers from all the goldrushes of New Zealand spanning the years 1861 – 1872, and includes stories of miners, descriptions of the various goldfields, the conditions the miners found when they arrived and the equipment they used.

Kae says anyone with an ancestor's goldmining story to tell is welcome to contact her through the website to contribute to the Journal online.

'If you suspect you have had an ancestor who was a goldminer, you can put the name in the search box. This will search through the database which contains the names of 90 per cent of the miners who were in Thames or Tapu in the first two years of gold discovery.”

There are 30,000 Thames miners in the website database. Many of the diggers came from Otago and West Coast goldfields that boomed just before Thames.

With the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Thames Goldfield in August, Kae wrote her book Goldrush to the Thames New Zealand 1867-1869 as a companion to her website, and there'll be an initial print run of just 100 copies available.

The book documents the work of James Mackay and his friend Chief Taipari who together opened the goldfield to the first flush of goldminers arriving to look for gold.

She explains in the first year or two of the goldrush there were thousands of diggers in hills behind Thames. But in these early days the diggers didn't work for a mine or a company, they took out a miner's right, went up in to the ranges and gullies behind Thames and started to dig.

'Another important aspect of the book is that it documents the history of most of the small claims held by individual diggers in the first few years of the goldrush.

'Using the webpage combined with this companion book, you will eventually be able to discover not only the names of the diggers but of their claims too.”

The database is being expanded to make it possible to find the name of a digger and his claim name, then using the book, to find out the history and location of many of the Thames claims - whether they were ultimately bonanzas or duffers.

Much of Kae's research is based on reports of correspondents working for the Daily Southern Cross, which was very much the workingman's newspaper in Auckland during the 1860s.

'The book acknowledges the work of these talented journalists who went up into the ranges on a daily basis, observing and interviewing all the diggers they could find.

'I've also documented the hardships faced by the goldminers themselves, the methods they used to find the gold, and the sheer determination needed to overcome the obstacles faced in their way.”

Goldrush to the Thames New Zealand 1867 to 1869will be launched during the Thames Heritage Festival in March, which is being used to promote events of the Thames 150 Year Goldfields Celebrations starting in August.

Kae will also be speaking at The Treasury's The Way We Were lunchtime presentations which is taking place at the Thames Public Library on March 15-16, from 1pm both days.

Check out Kae's website at: www.kaelewis.com or for more information about The Way We Were lunchtime presentations visit The Treasury's website at: www.thetreasury.org.nz

THE THAMES HERITAGE FESTIVAL

The Thames Heritage Festival is the precursor to this year's Thames 150 Year Goldfields anniversary which stats in August.

Up to 150 individual events are planned or in development, and there promises to be something for everyone.

The programme officially opens with an all-important ceremony to be organised by Ngati Maru, whose tribe and lives were forever changed with the coming of the Pakeha to Hauraki upon the discovery of gold.

For an up to date programme of events for the 150th and this year's Thames Heritage Festival in March visit www.thamesheritage.co.nz

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