NOTE 2: This evening (3 September), the Southland Times published an article “Severe backlash follows mining permit application at Gemstone Beach”. There, the Applicant, Michael Reedy, states that he “would only be hand-picking stones off [of?] one cubic metre of the beach a year if the permit was granted.” The stones are “to add to a polished concrete floor and to make jewellery”. It boggles the mind as to why he needs a permit that covers 47.5 hectares from Monkey Island to McCracken’s Rest if that is all he wants to do! [Although I have seen a suggestion that hobby mining permits are usually for just under 50 hectares, though a rationale was not given for that.]
NOTE 1: The day after I published this Post, it became clear that an Application had been made in June to New Zealand Petroleum and Mining for a permit to mine 47.5 hectares along the coast near Orepuki, including Gemstone Beach. If approved, this Appication might then go to Environment Southland. The public notification of the Application is below:
I have written to New Zealand Petroleum and Mining asking if I can view the full Application so I can understand better what is intended and what its implications may be for fossickers like me.
More on the Application can be found in a Series of Posts starting with “What is Known About a Mining Application to Remove Gemstones from Gemstone Beach? Part One: The Application”.
While I’ve been down here on the south coast, I have heard from a couple of local people that someone was applying to “mine gemstones” from Gemstone Beach. The implication is that someone wants somehow to collect large amounts of semi-precious gemstones such as hydrogrossular garnet. I waited until I had heard this rumour from more than one source until I sent a message to Environment Southland, the local government body responsible for granting resource consents for environmental activities: I have heard that an Application has been made recently to mine Gemstone Beach, near Orepuki, for gemstones. I regularly walk this beach and pick up stones to tumble polish and am wondering how this might affect me, if granted. Am I able to view the Application? How much will it affect the beach? Is the public able to make submissions? I received the following reply: “We don’t have an application in our system for mining at Gemstone Beach.” Of course, such an application may yet be submitted in the future. If one is, I would like the opportunity to make a submission on it.
Environment Southland has a web page “Notified Consents” that lists advertised resource consents that are being processed, on which submissions may be made (see photo below, top left). At present, that includes only two applications for 2025. I must make sure I check on this page from time to time in case a Gemstone Beach application is made. There is also a map that shows current resource consents for Southland (see photo below, top right). You can zoom in on Orepuki and click on a symbol to get information on any resource consent there, such as one for recreational gold mining on Gemstone Beach. I often see a gold miner there on a quad bike with a small water pump and sluice box. His impact on the beach is not noticeable. I often chat to him about beach conditions and pat his dog.
Gemstone Beach as a casual fossicking beach is important to Orepuki because of the fossickers and tourists attracted to it. When dropping in on a bookshop on my way south about three weeks ago, I saw an interesting book called “High Hopes and Big Dreams: 165 NZ Small Towns in Their Twilight” written by Peter Janssen and Elizabeth Anderson, published in 2023. It highlights New Zealand towns that had once flourished but have now faded. Some have vanished completely, while others have discovered a new purpose and are hanging in there. One of the 165 towns is Orepuki. The European origins of Orepuki township begin with the discovery of gold in the beach’s black sand in 1865 (see photos below). With the discovery of coal and oil shale in 1879, the town grew even bigger to about 3,000 people (see Orepuki, Our History). Flax and timber were also important. On 25 May 1885 a branch line railway was opened, providing efficient transport to Invercargill. However, as with many of the towns in “High Hopes and Big Dreams”, early resources and industries faded, the railway closed in July 1976, the primary school closed in 2003, and farming became the main economic base for the area. There was very little to support much of a population. Then, as Wikipedia notes, “By 2014, Orepuki started undergoing a transformation with new houses being built and renovated and the opening of the Orepuki Beach Cafe”. The town lies on the Southern Scenic Route between Invercargill and Te Anau, bringing tourists through it (see “Orepuki – Much more than just a place to just pass through”). Gemstone Beach, just a couple of hundred metres outside of town, is one of the main attractions that cause tourists to stop there. And a local horse trekking business also thrives – see YouTube and Discover Orepuki. But there are still less than 100 residents in Orepuki, and the old town centre looks as if is part of a ghost town. Spoiling Gemstone Beach for tourists and casual fossickers will be to the detriment of the town.
One of the songs I have recently added to my Spotify “Likes” list is “Olalla” by Blanco White, and there is kind of a connection to Orepuki. “Blanco White” is London-based musician Josh Edwards, having adopted the name professionally as a tribute to the Spanish poet José María Blanco White. He spent time in Spain and Bolivia where he studied the flamenco guitar and the charango, influences apparent in “Olalla”. My research shows that Olalla could come from a Spanish surname derived from the Basque word for “little olive tree” and/or from a Spanish female name meaning “light” or “brightness”. Blanco White wrote this about the song in American Songwriter: “‘Olalla’ is a song about the disappearing towns and villages of Southern Europe. Often these places are staggeringly beautiful, but are slowly being abandoned as jobs and communities migrate elsewhere. I think I just felt moved by that idea of loss and inevitable change. Although the narrative laments that change, I hoped the song would still be uplifting in some way and capture some of the excitement that I’ve felt when stumbling across a beautiful place.”
“Olalla” by Blanco White (2018)
Olalla, more than a name
Rest your eyes and stay in the shade
You are hiding over the hill
In a quiet never so still
From Olalla to the city lights
Somebody told me to believe in better times
From Olalla to the city lights
Somebody told me to believe
To believe
Oh Olalla, where will you go
If the line ends out on the road
There’s a story meant to be told
When the door is shut in the cold
From Olalla to the city lights
Somebody told me to believe in better times
From Olalla to the city lights
Somebody told me to believe
To believe…
Oh Olalla on the border line
There is a world down on its knees
For better times
Oh Olalla don’t you fear the night
There’s only time to believe
To believe
On 23 August, Chrissy and I made two fossicking visits – one to Papatoara Beach (the subject of the previous Post) and one to Gemstone Beach, available here. An Index to the Series is here. More on the Mining Application can be found in a Series of Posts starting with “What is Known About a Mining Application to Remove Gemstones from Gemstone Beach? Part One: The Application”.
Thanks for this measured report, John. I was wondering if a ‘false panic’ had been set off, so was also watching out for farther proof. Thanks again for your concern for a place you and I both hold precious. There has also been ‘talk’ of a gold mining proposals – a much more substantiated rumour that one because I have talked to the owner of the land concerned (it was once my grandfather’s land). Let’s hope those who are fond of ‘Puki will keep looking to protect it.
Hi John,
The application is with MBIE, not Environment Southland.
https://data.nzpam.govt.nz/permitwebmaps/?commodity=minerals
Use this link and enter 61382.01 into the top search area on the top left.
You will see the overall details and the area but not the actual application.
I hope this helps.
From a concerned semi-local who wants Gemstone left for all to enjoy!
Thanks! It took me a wee while to figure that out. I suspect that, once approved by MBIE – which looks like a business case assessment kind of thing – it might need to go to Environment Southland for a resource consent. It’s hard to find these things out. I’m still waiting to hear from Petroleum and Minerals about whether I am able to view the Application.