About a year ago when my parents visited us we took them out past Westport to visit the old historical Denniston Mines. This in particular for myself and my father was a bit nostalgic as his 3 times great grandfather was a miner here m the late 1800s.
My father reading some of the information near the entrance. The road that is currently there leading to this site was not built until about 1902 so I imagine the trek up here was hard work by either sitting in a coal wagon and being pulled up or up a pack track.
B in the above and below photos reading more infomation in one of the old disused sheds.
For many years Denniston was the country's largest producing coal mine which was then loaded into railway wagons and lowered by a cable down a very steep sharp incline
There actually was a village and community of people here of around 1500 and back then the amount of rain that hit the west coast was a lot more than what we get now. There is a book written called "Denniston Rose" which is a novel based on a young girl's life growing up here.
The demand for coal decreased over the years and in 1967 the railway closed and production slowly ended.
In 1995 coal mining through coalcorp here stopped completely but private mining is still going.
The view from the top - Denniston is now classed as a category 1 historic place.
So enjoy the rest of the photos I took and the video at the end of this post.
16 comments:
Bleak. A hard life. Yes, the miners would have walked up..and possibly come down on frames they had made themselves, running on the tracks like the quarrymen in Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales at the Llechwedd and other mines there.
Love to see the remains from the coal mines. I am fascinated by these very much
...being a miner is a hard and dangerous way to feed your family.
Beautifully documented.
I've dreamed about visiting Denniston ever since reading "Denniston Rose". That book really fired my imagination. Thanks for these photos and information, Amy.
I have never visited here but have heard quite a bit about it. It must have been a very hard life for the people involved.
It's good that some such places get preserved, to give us an idea of what it must have been like back in the past. A hard life indeed and it gives a perspective on our modern life as well.
So much more interesting when family history is involved
Thanks for sharing the photos and history of this mining place. It is very interesting.
Fabulous photos Amy. I have never slogged up there but if it is anything like clambering up the Mt Somers incline (Denniston probably longer and possible steeper) I can't imagine how the old timers did that and a day's work.
I love old industrial areas like this.
My maternal grandfather worked in mines all over the USA west but mainly in the underground copper mines of Butte Montana. I never knew him but I had an uncle that worked the mines and he had a lot of stories to tell.
A fascinating mine. So glad it's been preserved.
Very interesting.
That must have been very dirty and heavy work with a lot of unhealthy hazards.
That was super interesting, thank you for sharing!
What a nice visit you had.
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