Tag: New Zealand

Maps as a Resource: New Zealand’s “Maps Past”, Part One

Over the past few months, I have been doing some research on the district in which I grew up, around Waikaka in Southland, and on the members of my family who first settled there in the 1870s and their involvement in farming and gold dredging. This is an area I return to from time to time, and from which I collect stones. Recently I have been seeing what is available online in terms of historical maps. One very useful website I have discovered is “Maps Past”  http://www.mapspast.org.nz which, oddly enough, does not have a page giving details of who has produced the site.

The opening page of “Maps Past” presents a map of New Zealand, and it is possible to zoom into any particular part of the country. Then you are able to click on different dates (set as decades, starting at 1899 with only 1939 not available) and bring up maps from that time of the area on your screen. Sometimes as you go from one decade to another, the same map will be presented, depending on when new maps were constructed. I will illustrate this by showing the different maps available for Waikaka and the area to the south which includes “The Mains”, the farm on which I grew up. 

There are nine different maps that are available for the Waikaka area, one of which is a recent aerial photo. The following are thumbnails that will expand when clicked on (there is a “View full size” underneath the expanded image in the viewer – you may need to scroll down to see it):

This first part of this Topic will deal with the first four of these maps. The other five are dealt with in Maps as a Resource: New Zealand’s “Maps Past”, Part Two. Note that the following map images are not expandable – use the thumbnail above for a more detailed view of any of the maps.

The first map is for the decade ending in 1899. It is actually from a map of the Chatton Survey District published in 1888:

001 - NZMS13 1899

It is interesting to note the areas around Waikaka designated as “Auriferous Reserve” and “Gold Reserve”, and the area of dots to the southeast of the town labelled “GOLD WORKINGS” (though it is very difficult to see this label). Gold had been discovered near Waikaka in 1867 and the following 60 years saw various phases of panning, mining, sluicing and dredging. Section 30 of Block 3, located directly south of Waikaka, just below the centre of the map, was bought in April 1876 by Hugh Paterson, my great-great-grandfather. This was the beginnings of “The Mains” farm.

The second map is for the decade ending in 1929. It is actually from a map of the Chatton Survey District published in 1929:

002 - NZMS13 1929

One noticeable addition to the map is the Waikaka Branch Railway, constructed in 1907 and 1908 to provide faster transport of agricultural produce to markets. It was the last of the branch lines authorised in northern Southland. In “Waikaka Saga” (1962), Evans refers to James Paterson, my great-grandfather, as one of the “well-known characters” (page 191) on the train, one of the local land-owners who traveled to Gore (about 25 kms away) on Saturdays to do business. “All of these men were intensely interested in politics, religion, world affairs, agriculture, and so on. Even before the train had pulled out of Waikaka station, the argument had started and they had forgotten to buy their tickets, and so scrambled on at the last moment…[They] used to have great arguments and discussions on the train, so much so that it became quite an institution.” The railway line ran through “The Mains”, with the Pullar Railway Station (Siding) located just on the southern boundary of the farm. It is reported in the Mataura Ensign on 27 July 1909 that James Paterson was given 50 acres of the Waikaka Commonage (mining reserve) to compensate for part of The Mains being cut off from access to water. Due to competition from roading, the Waikaka Branch Railway closed on 9 September 1962 (Wikipedia). 

In the middle of “The Mains” was a rail bridge across the “Waikaka Stream”. Soon after the line opened, Leonard Paterson, my grandfather, traveled to high school in Gore by train which would slow down by this bridge so he could hop on (“Paterson Family Reunion 2002”, page 24). He was also a passenger on the final train from Waikaka in 1962, standing sixth from the right in the photo below, his wife Annie to his right. They had retired to live in Gore in 1957.

school centennial p71 last train
Source: “Waikaka and District Schools Centennial 1883-1983 Pictorial”, page 71

The third map is for the decade ending in 1959. It is actually from a map of the NZMS1 series published in 1946, the S161 “Heriot” Sheet. This is a topographic map, showing relief, using contour lines, whereas the previous two are land survey maps primarily concerned to present farm land boundaries. 

003 - NZMS1 1959

This is the same map with the approximate boundary (in black) of “The Mains”:

003 - NZMS1 1959 - Copy

Note that the road running east of the boundary of “The Mains” is called “Turnbulls Road” (after a prominent family) . In later maps this becomes “Turnbull Road”. Note also that “Tailings” are indicated in “The Mains” to the left of the railway line. Elsewhere on the map is reference to “Workings” and “Old Workings”.  These are old gold dredge tailings and sluicing areas. Most of the flat land along the west and east branches of the Waikaka Stream as far south as McNab (21 kms) was heavily dredged between 1896 and 1926. As reported in an entry on “Gold-Dredging in the Waikaka Valley” in “The New Zealand Mining Handbook” of 1906, “By means of a separating-box soil and sand are distributed over the tailings, which are left perfectly level, and when sown with clover and grass yield excellent grazing” (page 198).  In “Golden Reflections: A History of Waikaka Valley” (1992), J.F. McArthur reports: “Dredging operations disturbed the whole valley floor, which was completely turned over to the depth of 12 to 14 feet [3.7 to 4.3 metres]” (page 366). He refers to how the dredges lifted the top soil of the area about to be dredged and placed it, using an extended chute, over the area previously dredged (page 367). It has been claimed that much swampy land was improved considerably by gold dredging. Certainly I remember the tailings on “The Mains”, although prone to drying out in summer, provided great free-draining winter grazing and grew excellent lucerne (alfalfa). 

The fourth map is for the decade ending in 1969. The “Maps Past” website indicates this is based on the NZMS1 series “Heriot” Sheet published in 1957, again a topographic map:004 - NZMS1 1969

However, only parts of the railway line are indicated even though it was not removed until after 1962, when I remember my father dismantling the section that ran through “The Mains”. Maybe this is actually based on a later map. A new “Old Workings” label appears on the map to the south of “The Mains” boundary. These old gold dredge ponds on the Waikaka Stream existed even prior to the previous map.  I used to fish for trout there often as a boy, and we called it Turnbull’s Dam as it is located on Turnbull’s farm (even though it is a couple of ponds through which the river flows rather than a dam). It is interesting to note on this map that the road in the south-east corner is called “Sandy Knowes Road”. On later maps this becomes  the “Kelso Maitland Road” before becoming “Glenkenich Road”. Meanwhile, the road in the north-east is on this map called the “Waikaka Kelso Road” (the “Kelso” part can’t be read on this segment) and on the next map is called “Sandy Knowes Road”. (On all maps, “Garden Gully Road” connects these two roads.) There is potential confusion here for local historians when local people or documents refer to Sandy Knowes.

This Topic is continued in Maps as a Resource: New Zealand’s “Maps Past”, Part Two, where the next five maps are discussed. Another Post sets out Tips on Using “Maps Past” to assist you if you are not sure what to do to get started in using the website. 

The Seven Stages in Tumble Polishing Stones: Stage One, Stone Collection, Riverton, 2-6 November 2017

NOTE: March 2021. Due to changes in the supply of grit and polish, plus a few other things, there are now six stages that I recommend instead of seven. The details are in UP-DATE OF “The Seven Stages in Tumble Polishing Stones” – One Less Stage. However, there are many useful practical suggestions in this original series so I have decided to leave it basically unchanged.

There are seven stages in the tumble polishing of stones. The first stage is acquiring the rough stones, stones of the right shape and condition and colour that show good promise for polishing. (Note that nearly all other accounts of tumble polishing don’t include stone collection as a stage.) Stage Two, for me, is tumbling the stones for about a week in 100 mesh silicon carbide grit, then tumbling them in a soap wash for a few hours. In Stage Three I repeat this process, using 220 mesh silicon carbide grit, while Stage Four is the same procedure with 320 silicon carbide grit. At this point, the stones should be shaped and smooth enough to begin actual polishing. I then use two polishing stages. Stage Five involves tumbling the stones in a tin oxide “Pre-Polish” powder (five microns in size) for three to five days, followed again by a few hours soap tumble. Stage Six is the “Pro-Polish” tumble, using tin oxide powder of one micron size, for at least one week. The final stage, Stage Seven, is a “burnishing” tumble for a week in borax. At every stage, stones are individually examined and may be set aside to repeat a stage or, more rarely, even skip a stage.

I emphasise that these seven stages describe what I normally do. However, I often start tumbling a newly collected smooth beach stone at Stage Four. Note that other tumble polishers often use different grits and polishes in different  ways. What I am describing is what I do and how I do it.

For me, Stage One, stone collection, usually involves spending time on beaches, head down, occasionally bending over to pick up a stone worthy of collection. The best way to decide if a stone is worth polishing is to view it wet, so I often walk along the sea edge where the waves roll in then die out as they wash over the sand and stones. I will often take a promising dry stone to the wave edge so it can be wettened to bring out its colour. If it is raining, all the better as I then do not need to keep on checking for the next big wave that may wash in and wet my feet.

I often wear gumboots but sometimes even those are overwhelmed by an unexpectedly larger or more energetic wave.

imagejpeg_0001
Wringing out wet socks after a wave swept in further than expected and overwhelmed my gumboots. Bag of collected rocks beside me. This is at Orepuki (Gemstone Beach) near Riverton, 4 November 2017. Photo taken by Helen Hannah.

Clothes worn for stone collecting: usually warm clothes as beaches are often windy; gumboots or jandals depending on temperature; cap (if sunny) or woolen hat (if cold and cloudy); light waterproof coat and waterproof over-trousers if weather is wet. 

Equipment used for stone collecting: small backpack to carry drinking water, food, camera, plastic collecting bags, and collected stones.

Kinds of stones worth collecting: those with interesting colours and patterns; the smoother the better; the harder the better; the more slippery the better; with a minimum of cracks and pits and jagged edges; not too big (as the tumble barrels are small) and not too small (as the polishing process wears away a proportion of the stone). When wet, you can see a stone’s colours but the cracks and pits in it are not so easy to see. When dry, the cracks and pits can be more easily seen, but the stone will look dull.

I mainly collect beach stones and river stones. They have the advantage of being smoother and more easily identifiable than stones or rocks found anywhere else. They are easier to tumble polish because their jagged edges have already been worn off.

Some beaches have just a scattering of stones along the sand – it is still possible to find some very good specimens here as you stroll along.

 Other beaches have masses of stones. Sometimes a collector need just stand or sit there to find many good specimens.

Stone collecting means that you visit interesting and scenic places. During this trip to Riverton, I appreciated patterns on the sand at Henderson Bay, bird wildlife at the Back Beach, and the rising of a full moon over Taramea Bay.

Once the stones are collected, they need to be taken home. Sometimes, such as when I am travelling by aeroplane, that means putting them in a plastic container and then posting them. When I went to post some to my home in the North Island at a Post Shop in Gore, I was asked by the assistant, “Don’t they have any stones up there?” “Not like these, no,” I replied, and I showed her some polished ones I had in my pocket. She was amazed at their beauty and understood why I was doing such a strange thing as mailing what looked like ordinary everyday stones across the country. 

The next stage in tumble polishing happens at home after I unpack the collected stones or after the Postie has delivered those I earlier put in the mail. Stage Two involves tumbling rough stones in water and a low grade abrasive grit. In the next Post I will describe the Riverton stones selected to go through the stages of tumbling to illustrate this series. I will then look at their first tumble, in The Seven Stages in Tumble Polishing Stones: Stage Two, 100 Grit Tumble, 15-25 November 2017.

Waikaka’s Auriferous (Gold-Containing) Quartz Gravels

I grew up at Waikaka in Southland, New Zealand, and was always aware that it was an area where gold mining had taken place in the past. The Waikaka River ran though our farm, and the river flats contained lots of small ponds that were referred to as “dredge ponds”. When I was young, I remember being shown a small bottle with a few flakes of gold that the family had. And when I did a biography of a family member in my second year at high school, I chose my great grandfather James Paterson who had been involved with gold dredging. I left Waikaka to go to University in 1974. I still visit the area from time to time, even though the farm is no longer in family ownership. The following is a report on one aspect of my recent research on the geology and history of the Waikaka district. Later posts will report on other things I have found.

“THE GEOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND” (1978)

I now live near Cambridge in the North Island of New Zealand. On the second Sunday of each month, Cambridge has a “Trash and Treasure” street market. At September’s market, I came across a secondhand bookstall that had a copy of the large two volume “Geology of New Zealand” published in 1978 by the New Zealand Geological Survey. A bargain at $40, even though a little dated. Its strength is its detailed coverage of every area of the country. During the decision to buy it, I looked up a number of places to see what what information it had on them. In the section on Southland in Volume II, I unexpectedly came across reference to “Waikaka Quartz Gravel”, the first time I became aware that there was a special designation for the gold-bearing gravel so significant to Waikaka’s history. 

The authors state on page 524: “In eastern Southland the Waikaka Quartz Gravel com­prises mainly quartz gravel and clay, but includes fragments of strongly leached pale blue or white schist or greywacke; these were either derived in their leached condition from the deeply weathered zone under the mid-Tertiary beds, implying local erosion and unconformity under conditions of low relief, or leached after deposition, implying a continuation in this district of peneplain conditions into the late Tertiary; probably both events occurred.”

Waikaka quartz gravel – As laid bare by Shepherd’s Creek, a tributary of the Waikaka River, near the township of Waikaka, an area that gold dredges had passed through in the early 1900s. My photo, July 2017.
More Waikaka quartz gravel. My photo, July 2017.

THE NEW ZEALAND STRATIGRAPHIC LEXICON

Back home, I did an internet search for “Waikaka quartz gravel” and discovered that the New Zealand Stratigraphic Lexicon includes a brief entry on “Waikaka Quartz Gravels” (http://data.gns.cri.nz/stratlex/view.jsp?id=3492).  This Lexicon, operated by GNS Science, is a list of official and recognised geological terms and units. GNS Science is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute for geology, geophysics, and nuclear science. As is stated on the home page of the New Zealand Stratigraphic Lexicon, “Precise definitions of units of rock and periods of geological time are required, especially for mapping and study of geological history…This is a list of New Zealand rock unit names, giving information on age and distribution, the hierarchy of stratigraphic units, synonyms, and references to relevant literature” (http://data.gns.cri.nz/stratlex/index.jsp). 

The listing of “Waikaka Quartz Gravels” in the New Zealand Stratigraphic Lexicon provides no information on it but it means that this geological feature has official recognition, reflecting its prior appearance in geological studies. The two important prior sources noted in the Lexicon entry are the one I have already mentioned above – page 534 of Volume II of “The Geology of New Zealand” – and the research undertaken in the late 1940s associated with “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision, Gore Sheet District (S170)”, published in 1956 by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research as New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin 53. This is for sale as a pdf file for $20 from the GNS Science Online Shop. 

“THE GEOLOGY OF THE GORE SUBDIVISION” (1956)

“The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956) contains interesting information about the Waikaka quartz gravels. For example, pages 9, 14 and 15 contain the following points: the gold to be found in the area is very fine; the early 20th century saw a lot of gold dredging, with most of it in the valley of the Waikaka River; geologists referred to gold-bearing quartz around Waikaka at the end of the 19th century; the existence of lignite (“brown coal”) is also noted (this was an important fuel to operate the gold dredges); and the gold is noted as likely deriving from the mica schist further north in Otago, perhaps from the wave action of ancient seas or from the eroding action of rivers.  

As an aside: The Department of Geology at the University of Otago notes that the existence of gold deposits in Otago schist is an example of “mesothermal” gold. These deposits are formed by hot water moving through rocks which are uplifted from deep (10 km) in the Earth’s crust. The gold in the deposits are extracted from the surrounding rocks by being dissolved in hot water. It is then deposited in the schist by sudden cooling or changes in pressure as the waters are forced through rocks by earthquakes. The gold deposits occurs within small quartz “reefs” or veins in cracks in the schist.  I would guess that it is such deposits that have been broken down by water action in ancient oceans or rivers south of the main Otago schist area, finding its way as very fine gold into river valleys like that of the Waikaka. This is alluvial gold found in association with quartz gravel washed out of schist bedrock, the basic constituents of the Waikaka quartz gravels.

In Nick Mortimer, Hamish Campbell and Margaret Low’s (2011) “A Photographic Guide to Rocks and Minerals of New Zealand”, it is stated that gold “is concentrated by ancient hydrothermal systems into quartz veins or lodes in igneous and metamorphic rocks such as rhyolite, granite and schist” (page 46). When rivers erode these hard rock deposits, the gold is freed as individual grains.  The rivers  can then concentrate the gold in loose river gravels or “placers”, hence the term “placer gold”.

In pages 93-100 of “The Field Guide to New Zealand Geology” (2003), Jocelyn Thornton describes the “Haast schist region” (see below). The southern edge of this region lies just to the north of Waikaka. 

schist in Thornton
Top of page 93 of “The Field Guide to New Zealand Geology” by Jocelyn Thornton, 2nd edition, published in 2003

Schist is a metamorphic rock that develops under the weight and pressure of overlying sediments. Mica, a shiny flake, grows in pressurised rock and can commonly be found in Otago schist. Mica and other flat mineral grains align to give schist cleavage, foliation and splittability. A good example of schist and its use is Mitchell’s cottage at Fruitlands in Central Otago. This building made of schist was erected between 1880 and 1904 by Andrew Mitchell, a gold miner and stonemason from Shetland. The photo below is of the cottage in its setting in the schist landscape.

mitchells cottage schist landscape
Mitchell’s Cottage, Central Otago – a schist building in a schist landscape. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_robinson_nz/16620373332

Quartz veins bearing gold can be found throughout the Haast schist region. “There must have been a long-lasting fluid flow through the buried schists. As pressure and temperature increase, minerals that contain water in their structure will lose the water and this water will move up through the pile from the deepest hottest parts, leaching even trace elements [like gold] from the rocks and concentrating them in veins” (page 99 in Joyce Thornton’s, 2003, “Field Guide to New Zealand Geology”). Schist, when weathered or eroded, tends to eventually break down into fine clay. 

WAIKAKA QUARTZ GRAVELS DEFINED

Back to “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956)… On pages 16 and 17, Table 5 sets out the main stratigraphic units of the area, arranged in terms of geological age. As shown on page 16 (see below), the Waikaka quartz gravels are grouped with the very similar Waimumu quartz gravels (Waimumu lies about 35 kms south of Waikaka, not far from the Mataura River south of Gore) and are described as follows: “Dominantly subangular to rounded white quartzite pebbles, rare quartzite red jaspilite and decomposed schist, in a micaceous clay matrix. A fluviatile deposit on a land of low relief but not a peneplain.”

Geol Gore Subdiv p16
Page 16 of “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956)

The next six paragraphs break down and interpret this description of Waikaka quartz gravels: 

Dominantly subangular to rounded white quartzite pebbles = This refers to roundness, size and type of the most common stone. Geologists often work with six categories of roundness for stones, going from sharp and jagged to smooth and round – 1) Very angular (where corners sharp and jagged),  2) Angular, 3) Sub-angular, 4) Sub-rounded, 5) Rounded, and 6) Well-rounded (where corners are completely rounded). Geologists usually also categorise stones in terms of size. One set of categories is as follows: A “grain” (e.g., of sand) has a diameter of 2 to 4 millimetres, a “pebble” is between 2 and 64 millimetres,  a “cobble” is 64 to 256 millimetres in diameter, and a “boulder” is larger than that. [Note that “gravel” is a loose collection or aggregation of stones which can be of various sizes, though it is often of pebbles mixed with granular material and may contain larger stones as well.]

Quartzite is formed when a quartz-rich sandstone has been exposed to high temperatures and pressures which fuse the quartz grains together forming a dense, hard rock. Quartzite has a high degree of hardness as well as a high quartz content. It generally comprises greater than 90% percent quartz. Quartzite also tends to have a sugary appearance and glassy lustre. The purist quartzite is white in colour (and we often simply refer to it as quartz), though quartzite can be of a variety of colours dependent on minor amounts of impurities being incorporated with the quartz during metamorphism.

Quartzite red jaspilite = Jasper is an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or chalcedony and other minerals. It is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color. The common red variety of jasper is due to iron inclusions. Jaspilite is a banded rock made up of layers of jasper with other material, such as hematite and quartz.

Red jaspilite stone found near Waikaka – note the band of quartz. My photo, July 2017.
Other side of Waikaka jaspilite stone. My photo, July 2017.

A micaceous clay matrix = This is a fine-grained mass of material, predominantly clay, with fine scales of mica present, this clay and mica coming from the break-down of schist, as noted previously.

A fluviatile deposit = This means “of, found in, or produced by a river”.

A land of low relief but not a peneplain = A peneplain is a gently undulating, almost featureless, plain that is produced by river erosion that would, given enough time, reduce the land almost to sea level, leaving so little gradient that essentially no more erosion could occur.  An area of low relief is one that tends to be flat but is not completely flat, having some slope to it (and therefore not being a peneplain). 

WAIKAKA QUARTZ GRAVELS ON THE MAP

“The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956) contains a geological map. Right at the top margin is the southern part of the Waikaka district, with the Waikaka township two miles (just over 3 kms) north of the map border. A section of Waikaka Quartz Gravel is shown on the eastern side of the Waikaka River, starting just south of Fleming and extending northwards as a narrow band, coinciding with the river terrace. There are also three outcrops noted on the western side of the Little Waikaka River, not far from what is locally known as the Queen Hill on Turnbull Road. 

Section from the top of the Geological Map in “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956)
Section of the Key to the Geological Map in “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956)
Detail of Waikaka Quartz Gravels in the Geological Map in “The Geology of the Gore Subdivision” (1956)

The nearby river flats are classified as “river alluvium” and the ridge in between consists of “Gore Piedmont Gravels”, defined in the Key as “deeply weathered rusty brown auriferous quartz-greywacke gravels”.  This suggests to me that the Waikaka quartz gravels are a series of beds, overlain by more weathered gravels, which they may be the source for, and they are probably also one of the main sources of the river flats alluvium which will no longer have the clay matrix of the beds. It also means that gold is to be found not only on the river flats but also above the river terraces – which is why sluicing was used by miners in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasper Stones and Petrified Wood, Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka

Alluvial quartz gravel along Shepherd’s Creek, near Waikaka School – looking north from the bridge
On the road alongside Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka
A number of the jasper stones collected near the Waikaka School
Petrified wood found at the Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka

In the last week of July 2017, on a visit to Southland, I decided to take a look at what stones I could find along a small stream near the Waikaka Primary School, the school I had attended when I was a boy. This stream called Shepherd’s Creek, enters the Waikaka River about 4 kms (2.5 miles) further south, on the farm I grew up on, “The Mains”. 

Below is a map of the location of Shepherd’s Creek near Waikaka School (Google Maps, satellite view) – The Creek is in blue, the area where I looked for stones in July 2017  is outlined in black:

S Creek School aa

Below shows where Shepherd’s Creek (blue) joins the Waikaka River (purple), on “The Mains”, the Paterson family farm where I grew up (the northern boundary of the farm is outlined in the black dashed line):

S Creek Mains lge yy

My sister Helen accompanied me in the trip from Gore to Waikaka. We parked not far from the old railway houses, outside the school, just down from two small grazing ponies, and walked down to the creek. There were trees here when we were children but they have recently been removed, pasture now running right up to the banks of the creek. The stream has a bed of stones. And along the stream sides, especially on the bends, there are areas of deposited stones.

Helen on the bridge over Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka
Looking south from about 100 metres upstream from the bridge.
Helen fossicking for stones
Stones on the streambed.
Stones on the streambed.
GRavel along the stream banks.
Stones are often deposited on the inside of the stream bends.

The predominant stone is white quartz, sometimes stained brown, with a sprinkling of other types including quartzite. Surprisingly, we found a number of pieces of red jasper of varying shades, including some large rocks. 

Jasper stones collected at Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka, near the School
Large piece of red jasper, Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka
The largest jasper rock we found at Shepherd’s Creek
This large piece of jasper now resides in my sister Helen’s garden in Gore

The following are a number of the stones after being polished in 220 grit, the second stage of the five stage process of tumble polishing.

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A selection of individual jasper stones:

Three of the other stones collected:

Probably a quartzite stone
A stone stained brown by tanins in the creek – see next photo
The stained stone after tumbling for a week in 220 grit – it looks like agate

I also came across, quite unexpectedly, a piece of petrified wood, and I also picked up another small whitish stone that could be some kind of petrified wood.

Petrified wood, found at Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka
Petrified wood found at the Shepherd’s Creek, Waikaka
This stone could also be petrified wood, but can’t be sure
Other side of possible petrified wood, Waikaka

The two poles holding up the School sign are in old dredge buckets, remnants from a period at the start of the twentieth century when the area around Waikaka was busy with a number of gold dredges. 

001

Since this trip, I have done some research into the history of gold mining at Waikaka. Later posts in this Blog will outline this history and the role of gold dredging around Waikaka and on “The Mains”.

Field Trip to Southern Coast of South Island

I have recently returned from spending a week based in Riverton, visiting beaches in the area to collect stones for polishing. I brought home a total of 23 kgs of stones (14 kgs of which were posted) from six different beaches. The main collection sites were a handful of Riverton beaches as well as Orepuki, Bluff, and near Cosy Nook.  

Orepuki Beach
Looking down on the “Back Beach” at Riverton
The small beach next to Cosy Nook – a stream flows through the seaweed, revealing stones
Stirling Point, Bluff, just under the famous signpost
Glass on the Stirling Point beach at Bluff
The beach stones amidst boulders at Stirling Point, Bluff
23 kgs of collected stones

 

“Great Wall”

Picture from Dr Kate Pedley/ Caters News – (Picture shows: Huge Hadrians Wall-like fault erupting from New Zealand countryside) These incredible pictures show a massive WALL has been created by the moving earth in the New Zealand countryside created when the 7.8 magnitude quake struck the country this month. On November 14 the southern hemisphere nation was hit by the huge quake around Kaikoura located around 600 miles north of the Christchurch on New Zealands South Island. Now for the first time scientists have been allowed into the area surrounding the quake dotted in the Hobbit-like idyllic green fields around Kaikoura concentrated in the North Culverden Basin and an area called Mount Lyford. The first reconnaissance team from the University of Canterbury (UC), in New Zealand comprised UC academics Professor Jarg Pettinga, Dr Clark Fenton, Dr Anekant Wandres, and Geology PhD students Alan Bischoff and Andrea Barrier was in the field quickly after last weeks huge quake. A second reconnaissance mission on Friday November 18 saw Prof Pettinga and Dr Fenton joined by Dr Kate Pedley and Dr Narges Khajavi. SEE CATERS COPY

Seeing this great rupture in the landscape caused by the recent Kaikoura earthquake, and how it makes people feel small and feeble, brought to mind the song, “Wall of China/One Man”, by the Scottish group Runrig. 

[Up-date: TV item on the earthquake features, including the wall-like rupture, as tourist attractions in 2023 – see here. At 1 minute 6 seconds, on the earthquake; at 1 minute 39 seconds, on the earthquake and contemporary tourism; at 2 minutes 11 seconds, on the “great wall”.]

In the song, the Great Wall of China is used as a metaphor for struggling against great odds, one person with great determination doing something important though small in the face of greater countervailing forces – “only the meek can break the strong”. It has been stated that the song refers to a man on a Scottish island building his own road because the local government never got round to doing it.

They say the wall of China’s seen from the moon
They keep building empires to immortal fools
But where the world goes small you stood alone
To face Goliath and the might of Rome

Where the rock sets hard your arms hit strong
Digging out your road ten thousand paces long
Fragments of survival in the driving rain
With the blood and tears that bear your name

On and on, the meek the strong
On and on, the meek the strong

They built the wall of China with a million men
Thought that broken promises would wear you thin
But they didn’t count on things they couldn’t see
One island man with heart of steel

On and on, the meek the strong
On and on, the meek the strong
On and on, the meek the strong
On and on, the meek the strong

One man to change the world
One word to bring it down
One stand to right a wrong
Only the meek can break the strong
Only the meek can break the strong

A version from YouTube with photos and information on the Great Wall of China itself:

“The New Zealand Rockhunter” Magazine – 1972-2000

rockhunter

This magazine began life in 1972, “incorporating The New Zealand Lapidary”, a previous magazine that I have yet to find out much about.  I have been looking to access any of these “early” sources of information about rock hounding and stone polishing as there is no doubt much of relevance still to be found there. I have previously searched unsuccessfully online for any copies of “The NZ Lapidary” for sale and have only now realised that “The NZ Rockhunter” succeeded it. I have also just discovered that the Otago Rock and Mineral Club’s website has a link to scans of many of the issues of “The NZ Rockhunter”, the link being found on the New Zealand Geology Information page. Issues from the years 1972 to 1988 and 1998 to 2000  can be found here. A plea has been made for copies or scans of missing issues to be sent. The Otago Rock and Mineral Club’s website also has a section called “The Library”, organised by region, in which are posted a range of articles from “The NZ Rockhunter” and some other sources. This kind of information from many years ago can still be invaluable to rock hounds and stone polishers today.

“How long?” 8 November 2016

Photos from trip to South Island, February 2016:

Trees near Farewell Spit, top of the South Island, NZ
Wharariki Beach, top of the South Island, NZ
Punakaiki Rocks, West Coast of South Island, NZ
Franz Josef Glacier, West Coast of South Island, NZ
Fox Glacier, West Coast of South Island, NZ
Fox Glacier Valley, West Coast of South Island, NZ

Till we lay these weapons at your feet, Lord
How long? How long?
Till we call all hatred obsolete, Lord
How long? How long?
Till we walk like lovers through Bethlehem
How long? How long?
Till the lion lies down with the lamb, Lord
How long? How long?

Too late
I know it’s not too late
To wrestle with this angel
Higher and higher
Don’t let go
Higher and higher
Before we know
How does it end?
How does it end?
We’re all riding on the last train
Trying to find our way home again

Till we wash the blood from the hands of our fathers
How long?
We’re all sisters and brothers, sons and daughters
How long? How long?
Our eyes all shine in different colors we cry, Lord
How long?
Our dreams our tears are all the same by and by, Lord
How long? How long?

Too late
I know it’s not too late
To climb up Jacob’s ladder
Higher and higher
Don’t let go
Higher and higher
Before we know
How does it end?
How does it end?
We’re all riding on the last train
Trying to find our way home again

It’s not too late

Over The Rhine “Idea #21 (Not Too Late)”

Limestone Landscapes of the Vanished World Trail – Part Two: The Elephants

After visiting Earthquakes near Duntroon, we drove about six kilometres further south to an area in the Maerewhenua Valley known as The Elephants.  A short walk from a parking bay led to an amazing set of large grey boulders. These limestone rock formations vary from one to ten metres across and lie scattered across a grass paddock on a gently-sloping hillside over an area of about 200 metres. The rocks are rounded from weathering but, despite their names, do not specifically resemble elephant shapes.  A set of limestone outcrops borders the area on two of its sides.

As noted on the Information Sign, these large rocks are the weathered remnants of the Otekaike Limestone formation which lies above the Oligocene Kokoamu Greensand (we encountered reference to this sequence at the Information Panel at Earthquakes). Thus the rocks originated at the bottom of the sea some 25 million years ago. When these strata lifted and surfaced, the forces of wind and water did their part in shaping the limestone boulders. The boulders are much larger than a person and walking amongst them makes you feel but a small actor in a large landscape. The following photos convey some sense of this:

The Elephants is a popular site for limestone bouldering (climbing). One climbing website refers to Elephants having “over 300 problems with 80% of them being V3 or below [not too difficult], hence it is a paradise for social climbers looking to improve their skills”.

There is a recent great drone-shot video clip of the Elephants on YouTube: 

In 2005, The Elephants were used as the site for the filming of part of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. The scenes of Aslan’s camp were filmed here. When we visited, a deserted film set could be seen up a nearby valley:

Limestone Landscapes of the Vanished World Trail – Part One: Earthquakes

Stone polishers become interested in geology and geological formations as therein lie the origins of the stones that have caught our imagination. I have also long felt drawn to limestone landscapes, their outcrops and their caves. Limestone often holds fossils which turn out to be vital to geological dating of strata.

In February 2016, when Petra and I spent a few weeks in the South Island of New Zealand, we visited the Duntroon area in the Waitaki Valley to see the limestone landscapes there. The local community had formed the Vanished World Society in the early 2000s to help raise public awareness about the very interesting geology of the Waitaki district. The Society is active in promoting the science, conservation and appropriate use of local geological resources. The fossils, limestone landscapes and volcanic sequences of the area have been important in the conceptual origins and ongoing development of geological understanding at a national level. Geologists from the University of Otago have developed a positive and ongoing relationship with the landowners in the Waitaki district, primarily as part of a research programme on local fossils.

The Vanished World Trail is a set of more than 20 sign-posted freely-accessible locations spanning coastal localities from Moeraki to Oamaru and extending inland through the Waitaki Valley. After visiting the Vanished World Centre in the village of Duntroon, Petra and I drove 6.5 kilometres down a gravel road to a place known as “Earthquakes”.

As explained in the roadside information panel (see below), the name “Earthquakes” reflected an early-held belief that the limestone cliffs here were a fault escarpment, but it is now thought that a massive landslide created them.  

On one side of the road, a locality sign
On the other side of the road, two signs providing information about Earthquakes
We walked up hte lefthand side of this fence

In a 2010 newspaper article, a local historian, Elizabeth McCone, said that visitors needed to take care when wandering through the various crevasse and fault scarps of Earthquakes. “It’s a typical limestone formation and it’s got sinkholes.” Ms McCone reported that there was a commonly held belief among geologists that there was an underground river or waterway originally in the area and the “roof” collapsed, resulting in the unique land formations. “Limestone areas have huge caves and underground rivers. Duntroon has huge caverns underneath it. You can walk under Duntroon for quite a length – almost from the bridge up to the Presbyterian church.”

Petra and I walked up to the Earthquakes cliffs from the roadside and came upon another information panel sited opposite the fossil of an ancient baleen whale. 

On the threshold of Earthquakes
On a boulder, looking back downhill, over the roof of the fossil whale towards the Information Panel
The caged fossil whale, embedded in the limestone

We then pressed on, cameras in hand, along the great cliffs, keeping to the narrow pathway worn by previous visitors as it snaked around boulders and crevices. To the right of us ran the long clean line of the towering cliffs. After perhaps just less than a kilometre, they ran out and we turned to look back down the valley before making our return. 

The first part of the cliff-face
One of the darker deeper crevices
Looking back down the valley
A smaller set of cliffs on the other side of the valley
Pigeons atop the cliff