In honour of their achievement, two adjacent peaks on the nearby Hohonu Range bear their names - Mt Smart and Mt French. Shantytown, West Coast. A working gold mining museum town. L ocation of the first payable goldfield is credited to Albert Hunt, in June of 1864. By the end of 1864, a tide of 30,000 men poured into the West Coast, struggling from field to field as new strikes were made.
Nothing lasts forever, they say.
Nowadays, there are still a few working claims, a dredge or two, jobs for few hundred people. Most of the towns in the list below are gone, abandoned ghost towns, taken over by regenerating forests, Driving past, tourists are blithely unaware of the rich history of this region. Tours To set the tone for our excursion, we will first take you to Shantytown, the mining museum a few miles from Greymouth. There you will see a most unusual village, created in the main from old buildings salvaged from ghost towns around the West Coast. You can try your hand at gold panning, see vintage equipment, stores, banks, blacksmith and even a sawmill.