Noelene Dale is looking forward to the Timaru screening of a documentary based on the small gold mining town she grew up in.
Whispers of Gold A Tale of Boom and Bust and a West Coast Town That Refused to Die begins screening in Timaru from Thursday and is set in the West Coast town of Waiuta – an area with many childhood memories for 91-year-old Dale. Read more…
On the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, lie the ghosts of Waiuta, one of New Zealand’s richest gold towns – long abandoned since the Blackwater mine closed in 1951
“Whispers of Gold” tells Waiuta’s story from its beginnings to current day. Archive film and photographs give a rare glimpse of 1900’s mining town life – the colorful characters, stories and the gold that kept its heart beating but left a toxic legacy. read more…
A premiere will be held at Reefton Cinema of our documentary “Whispers of Gold” at 3pm on Saturday July 18. This will be followed by time for Q & A, some short speeches and then tea or coffee.
These are exciting times.
For those who would like to go to later screenings, here are the confirmed dates on the West Coast.
– Premiere, Reefton on Saturday 18 July at 3pm
– Regent, Greymouth on Friday 24 July at 7pm, plus Sunday 26 July at 3pm
– Hokitika, Saturday 25 July at 3pm
– Westport Saturday 1 August at 3pm
Dear FoW Members
Due to the ongoing and increasingly dire news regarding the Coronavirus / CIVID-19 pandemic we have decided to cancel the AGM and general meeting scheduled for next Saturday, 28 March.
When the situation settles we will be in communication with you.
A historic school on the West Coast is in desperate need of a new roof before winter hits. Friends of Waiuta chairwoman Margaret Sadler said winter would take its toll on the 106-year-old Blackwater School, near Reefton. “When I was there I noticed that The window sill had [already] rotted through and the rot had got into the lining boards inside,” she said. Read More…
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has approved a $15 million loan to help re-establish a gold mining operation at Blackwater Gold Mine, near Reefton, Rural Communities Minister and local MP Damien O’Connor announced at an event on the West Coast today. Read more…
