Dunganville (Maori Creek), Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Dunganville (Maori Creek)	- not defined -
Greymouth	- not defined -
Grey District	District
West Coast Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

A straw survey of death notices in Greymouth newspapers in the early 20th Century detail the ethnic make-up of miners of Maori Creek, or 'late of Maori Creek'. Most were elderly by this stage, although probably in their 20's and 30's at the time of the gold rush to Dunganville. Irish 18, Scottish 11, English 8, German 5, Danish 2, Chinese 2, American 1, Swedish 1. Many Chinese left to go back to China, while some of the others may have passed through Australian goldfields.

The original name for the area was Maori Creek, part of the New River diggings late 1865. Two towns developed, Maori Creek and Clifton. Subsequently Clifton disappeared off the map. (Zoey Neil William): 'Most moved from Clifton which was sluiced off the face of the earth. Only a few graves remain as heaped stones in the forest. A gold mine in the vicinity is endangering it'. Dunganville is named after P. Dungan, one time member of the Westland Provincial Council.

Dunganville is about 40 kilometres by road from Greymouth. Nothing remains of the settlement, and merely denotes a bridge across the New River. Old mining activity can be seen at the Woods Creek loop trail, about 3 kilometres east of Dunganville, and road works uncovered old gold mining tunnels, viewable next to the roads. Several modern alluvial mining operations are west and east of Dunganville, some viewable from the road. Operated by small private companies, possibly individuals, nothing gets posted in the public domain of their activities.

Dunganville once contained the New River Hotel, two stores, a school. The store and hotel burned to the ground in 1886, and the second store by the same owner went up in flames a few months later.

William Nassan Morton was charged with gold stealing in 1883. It generated much interest at Dunganville as he was a well known miner, and 'well to do', indicating some saw no reason why he would need to steal gold. He was acquitted of three charges, but found guilty of stealing auriferous earth, and sentenced to three months jail. James Gifford acted as a witness.

Four 'Europeans' (aka white in late 19th Century talk) were arrested for brutally bashing a 'Chinaman' in 1884. Indications are miners of Chinese heritage were active in the region. Like many goldfields around the world of the time, they were persecuted by other miners. Just before,James Gifford had been stabbed to death, and was found on a road at the settlement. John O'Donoghue was subsequently found guilty. He was hanged. At the scaffold, making a long rambling speech about his innocence, then shouting loudly 'God Save Ireland! three times.

The Maori Queen and Maori King dredges worked the area from 1901 to 1903.
The New River Company began dredging in the area in 1926,its dredge claimed to be the second largest in New Zealand.

Gold is found along the upper New River valley, as late Pleistocene fluvioglacial and recent alluvial gravel, overlying Miocene-Pliocene Blue Bottom marine siltstone and mudstone.

Nephrite jade is also found in the area (see Marsden, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealand). Often these are difficult to distinguish, the boulders being covered in a thick rind of rusty buff coloured oxidised material. Gold mining in the early days turfed up many jade boulders, although they were little valued at the time. Chinese miners experimented polishing jade pebbles during their spare time, and some have been found in old mining camps.

The Dunganville Meteorite Dunganville Meteorite, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealand was also found in the area, New Zealand's largest meteorite.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References