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 | Volume 7 (2014) |
A PHOTOGRAPHER VISITS THE WAIHI GOLD MINING COMPANY IN 1897 - 1898
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THE CAMERA
The photographs are in pairs and were designed to be viewed in a stereoscope, giving the viewer a 3D effect. To produce the images, the stereoscopic camera has two lenses. They were first used in the 1860s, and by the 1890s were being manufactured for use by both professionals and amateurs. Although the exact type of camera used to take these photographs is unknown, this is an example of a portable stereoscopic camera from the late 1890s. It should be noted that it had two lenses in front, which took the pair of photographs similtaneously, in much the same way as the viewer sees a different view with each eye. This is how we are able to judge distances and see in 3D. Given the excellent quality of most the photographs, it seems likely that our tourist also carried a tripod. THE STEREOSCOPEOnce stereoscopic photographs had been developed and each matching pair mounted in a frame, they were placed in a stereoscope to allow the viewer to see the pair of photographs each with a different eye. This tricks the brain into interpreting the view in 3D, just as it normally does with the the different view seen with each eye. From the 1870s to about the 1950s, the steroscope formed an important part of family leisure activities. The sets of stereoscopic photos widely available to purchase commercially gave people in the pre-television days their only 3D view of the wider world. THE PHOTOGRAPHERThe Middlebrook family from Australia have a collection of old stereoscopic photographs that came originally from Dean Middlebrook's now-deceased step-father who lived in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Since Dean had always shown an interest in the photographs as a child, his step-father bequeathed them to him. It is thought that the photographs originally belonged to the step-father's first wife, whose name has now been forgotten. The photographer may even have been from a generation prior to this unknown wife. Unfortunately he did not sign his name on any of the photographs and consequently, his name has been lost over the years. All we do know for certain is that between 1897 and the end of 1901, a photographer toured New Zealand with a stereographic camera and took a collection of photographs. Once they were developed, he mounted them into frames suitable for viewing with a stereoscope and wrote labels for most of them, either on the frames or on the reverse side. There are 84 photographs in the entire collection which have been taken all over New Zealand. This included photographs taken in the immediate aftermath of a severe earthquake and aftershocks in Cheviot, North Canterbury. An article in the Otago Daily Times of 19 November 1901 indicates that the earthquakes had occurred in the previous few days. This helps us date some of the photographs as being towards the end of 1901. Since the photos were found in Australia, it is possible that the photographer was associated with one of the many Australian companies supplying equipment or contracting services to Mining Companies. He could have been a sales representative or a technical expert from one of the Australian Companies. For instance, in the book 'Gold Mining at Waihi' by J.B. McAra on p121, when describing the activity of the Waihi Company during the year of 1901, it is stated: 'After a small Dehne filter-press had been obtained from the Sulphide Corporation of New South Wales, four more (36 ins by 36 ins with fifty three inch-thick frames) were obtained from Martin & Co of South Australia and proved satisfactory.' If the photographer was a travelling salesman for the mining industry, this may explain why he appears to have made multiple trips to New Zealand during the period from about 1897 to 1901. His photos show that he was in both the North and South Islands where mining activities were underway during this period. THE STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT WAIHI BETWEEN 1897 - 1898There follows a selection of the Middlebrook collection of steroescopic photos with the emphasis on Waihi. Note that all the sepia photos below are from this Middlebrook collection of stereoscopic photos while the black and white photos have been taken from other collections, as specified. |
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The Waihi Gold Mining Company had two main battery sites in the years 1896 - 1901: The Waihi Mill at Union Hill, and the Victoria Battery 6 miles down the river at Waikino, on a flat near the Junction of the Waitekauri and Ohinemuri Rivers. THE QUARTZ MILL AT WAIKINOIt is thought that these photographs were taken about 1897 showing of the construction of the first set of stampers at Victoria Battery at Waikino. Quote from 'Gold Mining at Waihi (1878 - 1952)' by J.B. McAra.'1896: Continued Expansion':'
Quote from the Superintendent's Report of the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd, London to The Chairman and Directors on 11 Feb 1898: NEW WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH THE VICTORIA MILL, WAIKINO. New Zealand Herald 18 March 1898: One of the events of the month has been the commencement of permanent crushing operations at the Waihi Company's new 100-stamper battery at Waikino. On the 24th ult. 50 stampers were started, and at the beginning of the present month the remaining 50 stampers were put into motion. The machinery and plant, which is thoroughly up-to-date, and possesses valuable contrivances for the automatic handling of the ore, has given satisfaction, and has been visited by a large number of gentlemen interested in mining. With the 100 stamps at the Victoria (Waikino) battery and the old mill of 90 stamps still running at Waihi, next month's return from this famous bullion producer should be the largest yet obtained during a similar period from any mine in the country. THE CYANIDE VAT HOUSE AT WAIKINO
Quote from the Superintendent's Report of the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd, London to The Chairman and Directors on 11 Feb 1898: TANK SHED
The photograph on the left was labelled as being taken during construction at Victoria Battery at Waikino (E. Lens, personal communication). Since that Battery was complete by 1898, the photo is dated approximately 1897 or 1898. The stereoscopic photo (#143) on the right has been taken from the same spot at almost the same time (compare the ridge in the background, and the bracing timber leaning on all three walls, all of which are identical in both photos.) It must have been taken at a slightly different time though as the horse and cart seen in the photo on the left has disappeared in Photo #143 otherwise the two photos are almost identical. They have come from two different sources, the one on the left from Waihi records and that on the right from the Australian stereoscopic collection. This one photograph (#143) that we know was taken in about 1897 at the new Victoria Battery at Waikino helps us to date the whole set of photos of this building (#146, #120, #135 as well as #143) as being taken in 1897 or early 1898, during the construction of the Victoria Battery at Waikino.
A comparison between Photo #143, the above 'Waikino Battery Under Construction' photo and the 'Beginnings at Waikino, c. 1898' photo show that there are 14 vertical studs across the end of both buildings, as well as 7 rafters (not counting the central beam) on each side of the roof in both buildings. In addition the lowest rafter has a wider gap than the rest in both buildings. Of course it is quite possible that the same carpenters and hence identical building construction was used in the buildings in all the battery sites of the Waihi Gold Mining Company but combined with the identical backgrounds in the above photos, it leads us to believe that Photos # 146, #120, #135 and #143 were taken during the construction of the Vat House at the Victoria Battery, Waikino, probably about 1897 or 1898. WHY DID THEY NEED TO BUILD SUCH A HUGE CYANIDE VAT HOUSE IN 1897?According to an article in The Auckland Star 27 October 1897, a vat house at Victoria Battery, Waikino was to be completed in 1898. It was six miles from the mine at Waihi: This tank shed is a massive structure, 270 feet long and 113 feet wide, and very substantially built. It will contain 10 cyanide vats, each 50 feet long by 40 feet wide and 4ft 6 in deep, and each vat capable of holding 120 tons of ore, or just one day's crushing. These vats are of concrete, with an outer layer of cement, being an inovation from the ordinary steel or wooden vats; and are of the most substantial nature. Neither are they circular as is usual.
These huge rectangular vats were used to treat the pulverised ore (sands) as they came from the stampers.Note the triangular struts on the ceiling down the center of the room, above the vats. They also appear in the stereoscopic photos above and were planned from the beginning of construction.
THE NEWMONT COMPANY still operates the gold mine at Waihi today, conveying the ore through a tunnel under Union Hill to the Battery. The Victoria Battery at Waikino is no longer used by the company and is a popular tourist site. THE WAITEKAURI CONSOLIDATED GOLD MINES COMPANY, OHINEMURI GOLDFEILDWaitekauri is situated about 4 km north of Waikino up the Waitekauri River, which flows into the Ohinemuri River at Waikino.
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