Clough & Associates Ltd. Page 12 Union Hill Heritage Management Plan HISTORY Historical Summary2 Union Hill is part of the historic goldmining landscape of the 19th and early 20th century exploitation of the Coromandel and Hauraki goldfields. It played a significant role in the history of gold mining in New Zealand, particularly because it was part of a large operation involving the famous Martha mine, located less than a kilometre away. It was instrumental in bringing in large capital investment from abroad; and it was also at the forefront of many technological innovations in the industry. The Ohinemuri district, which included Waihi, Waitekauri and Karangahake, was not accessible for gold mining until the mid 1870s, after land sale and lease agreements were concluded with Ngati Tamatera. The Ohinemuri Goldfield was declared open in 1875 and there was an immediate influx of prospectors to the area from New Zealand and abroad. The first Waihi lode was mined in 1878 by John McCombie and Robert Lee, who sampled the future Martha reef and panned the crushed quartz, obtaining good results. In 1880 the Martha reef was officially recognised, settlement at Waihi began and prospecting continued in the surrounding area, including the Rosemont, Union and Amaranth claims at Union Hill. During the 1880s several gold mining companies were formed, but the Waihi Gold Mining Company (WGMC) incorporated in 1887 became dominant. Union Hill was first successfully mined in 1885, when the Union Gold Mining Company extracted 15 tons of high quality ore. It was later found to contain three main quartz reefs – the Union, Amaranth and Mascotte – and several minor veins. In 1887 it was acquired by the WGMC, which in the mid 1890s formed a subsidiary company, the Union-Waihi Gold Mining Company, to work the Union, Rosemont and Amaranth mines, and later Silverton. Mining on Union Hill continued until 1902. In 1888 the construction of an extensive battery (or mill) to crush and process the ores began. After 1890, when the WGMC acquired the Martha mine, the Waihi Battery was expanded to process its ores, increasing its capacity from a 30 stamp battery in 1889 to a 60 stamp battery in 1890/91, with 30 more stamps added in 1894/5. At this stage it was the largest battery in New Zealand. Ore roasting kilns were used to prepare the ores for crushing, the first such kilns to be constructed on the Hauraki goldfield. They continued in use until 1902, when the battery converted from dry to wet crushing. Continued on next page 2 This summarises the information provided in the Conservation Plan (Moore, Lens & Ordish 2010) and the earlier Union Hill Heritage Assessment (Clough, Best & Hooker 2004). Further historical details and references to the various sources of information can be found in those reports.
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