WINDOWS and CROWN TRACK

July 2010

by Maurice Boniface

Ken said we would go to Karangahake and do the Windows and Crown Tracks.  I picked up Terry, John, Dave and Graham while Ken went to Woodland Road and picked up Norma.  We all proceeded to the Karangahake Gorge and parked in the parking area.  It had been a frost in lots of places and it was still very cold.  Most of us had woolly hats and gloves.   The sun was shining but not in the narrow Waitawheta Gorge where we were going.  We set off over the swing bridge across the Ohinemuri River and then the one over the Waitawheta River. As Graham had not been here before we went and had a look at the pits where they 'cooked' the ore, then we walked along the track until it comes to the "Windows" tunnel.  I put on my headlamp and the others got out their torches and we went into the tunnel.  There are side tunnels etc. and every now and then there is one out to the gorge wall and you can see down to the river below and the track on the other side. They made these 'windows' so they could tip the rock they didn't want down into the river below!  There are guard rails on them now and from them you can see the bridge across the river where the pipeline used to go for Paeroa's water supply.  Graham went down one of the side tunnels, they have water on the floor of them now, whereas when we first came through here they were dry.  The tunnel comes out much higher than the Crown Track so they have built a wooden staircase to get you down to river level.  We walked across the swing bridge to the other side and went along a track because we wanted to have a look at the Woodstock Underground Pumphouse.  By this time it was ten o'clock so we went up the side of the staircase and sat on some old wooden planks that had come out of the mine.  I rang Mum and got a good clear line.

After morning tea we went up the stairs and into the tunnel that goes to where a great big cavern had been dug out to house the huge Cornish water pump.  Because five of the fourteen mine levels in Karangahake Mountain were below sea level they had trouble with water coming into the mine tunnels so they put in this pump to remove it.  You can't go into the pump house area because it is unsafe and there is a wire grill to stop you, but you can shine your torch all around the area and see what remains of the pump etc.  The chamber was 110ft by 40ft by 25 ft  within which a massive head frame and pump were erected and a shaft sunk to 300ft.  The chamber was lined with huge 12" by12" Kauri beams and Rata uprights.  I will attach a photo of the group looking through the grill. Dave is in the front with the orange hat with Ken and Norma behind him, Graham is in the middle while Terry and John are on the right.  We came out to the entrance where they used to bring the ore out then went back to where the staircase is and went back over the swingbridge to the Crown Track. We went along to where the Stope is and looked at the panels there.  There was a photo of the building at the entrance to No. 6 Level which used to be across the river with a bridge over to this side.  There was also a plan and elevation of the mine tunnels - dozens of them extending quite a few kilometres into the mountain.  Quite a way up the side of the gorge on the other side was the remains of an old boiler which is lying at an angle in the bush.    We used to go up through the Stope when the water pipe was still in operation but you can't go now.  The track then climbs up the side of the gorge and carries on quite a way, with the river down to our right, until we came to the place where they drilled a tunnel for the water pipe to go through.  Down to the right, the river is flowing over some rapids and just beside it there is a tunnel through which some of the water from the river is coming through at a great rate.  What is was made for we couldn't imagine - if you bend down and look, you can see right through so it is not very long.   We got out our torches and entered the tunnel.  They have removed the pipeline so there is enough room but the roof of the tunnel isn't very far from your head in some places, the floor is very uneven so you have to watch your step.  A bit further on there is another swing bridge which takes you across the river.  We were there on a previous occasion and saw the helicopter bringing in the bridge parts.  We used to have to wade across before they put this one in.  We kept going and crossed another swing bridge - before it was rebuilt there used to be a pretty rickety old one with a notice "Do not use" but we found it was quite safe to cross.  We continued on until we came to the campsite at Dickeys Flat.  There used to be a small weir made of rocks across the river here to make it deep enough for the pipe that took the water out and it went all the way back through the gorge to Paeroa for their water supply.  It was now just after twelve o'clock so we went down to the river and sat on the bank in the sun for lunch.  I tried to ring Mum but it said 'searching for network' so that was that.  I composed a text to send later but my phone must have used up the battery searching for the network so I couldn't send that either.

After lunch we set off back the way we had come. In the paddock we passed, there were some roosters and Pukekos on the far side and also some red cattle. We went back through the pipe tunnel -there used to be glow worms in the ceiling of it but we didn't see any today. The air had warmed up even though there was still no sun in the gorge. We stopped to look at a valve in the water pipe and various other things like galvanised rings in concrete blocks.  We got a few glimpses of the top of Mt. Karangahake with its trig shining in the sun.  When we got back to the Stope we looked up through the grill and I was pleased that we didn't have to go that way because I used to get vertigo in there!  A father and his two children walked past and didn't stop to look at any of the panels or Stope.  We had met quite a few people on the track. We went back through the Windows tunnel, after we got through we met a young man and his mother who asked us what the track was like and I said very good, but you will need a torch.  Graham spoke to them later and said they came from Germany.  We went down some steps to where the crushing plant was and saw photos of the tube mills, stamping batteries, and an aerial tramway -  we were amazed at how high the cable went and it said it only took 31 seconds for the skip with 600 kilograms of ore to come down it!  We read about how the new cyanide treatment for extracting gold worked and looked at photos of the smelting plant and the Talisman batteries.  What a huge operation went on in this now tranquil bush covered valley - it is amazing how well the bush can regenerate itself after being totally annihilated.  We came out and crossed the first swing bridge and looked at the various panels with photos and descriptions of the various gold mining activities that used to go on around here a hundred years ago. You can look at the scene as it is now and visualise what it looked like then.  What a vast difference - the were no trees at all and there were huge buildings, railway tracks, chimneys etc all over the area.  In fact there was a population of 2,000 people living here for over thirty years.  You can imagine the noise with stampers going day and night and the dust and men working in all parts of it.  It is all part of the history of this area.  We crossed over the other swing bridge to the car park, took off our boots and had afternoon tea.  Ken set off to take Norma home and we followed shortly after, I got home at twenty to five.

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