title: Miners’ and prospectors’ skills in general and at Te Aroha in particular

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Mining was a skilled occupation, and untrained men were poor miners. A variety of skills were required to trace ore and to develop safe and well-operated mines. Mine managers needed not only to understand all aspects of mining but also required knowledge of geology and an understanding of treatment processes. Ensuring safety was paramount. And ideally, in some circumstances they should have the fortitude to stand up to their directors. 
In the small mines of the Te Aroha district, as elsewhere, managers worked alongside miners, which could be bad for discipline. Examples are cited of managers who were unfairly dismissed for not finding high-grade ore. It was vital for the welfare of the industry that all their reports were accurate and not adjusted to suit share trading. Until late in the nineteenth century, managers were appointed because of their experience, but from 1887 onwards training was required, though for a time some very competent managers were granted certificates of competency without having to pass examinations in technical subjects. For long a preference was expressed for ‘practical’ men rather than the newly trained, and in the 1890s overseas experts were commonly ridiculed.
An ability to trace payable ore on the surface and underground was vital, and also one of the most difficult tasks facing both prospectors and miners. Untrained prospectors were notable for misunderstanding geology and wasting their efforts, as illustrated by some over-optimistic amateurs who failed to find anything of value despite years of effort. But even experienced men struggled to find good ore – hardly surprisingly because of its rarity. At least such men were not tempted by some of the more esoteric prospecting methods tried.
Because many in the mining industry realized their lack of knowledge, they were enthusiastic to learn from visiting lecturers and the schools of mines that were established in the 1880s. And several became inventors, with not all their inventions being limited just to the mining industry.

text: Miners’ and prospectors’ skills in general and at Te Aroha in particular Mining was a skilled occupation, and untrained men were poor miners. A variety of skills were required to trace ore and to develop safe and well-operated mines. Mine managers needed not only to understand all aspects of mining but also required knowledge of geology and an understanding of treatment processes. Ensuring safety was paramount. And ideally, in some circumstances they should have the fortitude to stand up to their directors. 
In the small mines of the Te Aroha district, as elsewhere, managers worked alongside miners, which could be bad for discipline. Examples are cited of managers who were unfairly dismissed for not finding high-grade ore. It was vital for the welfare of the industry that all their reports were accurate and not adjusted to suit share trading. Until late in the nineteenth century, managers were appointed because of their experience, but from 1887 onwards training was required, though for a time some very competent managers were granted certificates of competency without having to pass examinations in technical subjects. For long a preference was expressed for ‘practical’ men rather than the newly trained, and in the 1890s overseas experts were commonly ridiculed.
An ability to trace payable ore on the surface and underground was vital, and also one of the most difficult tasks facing both prospectors and miners. Untrained prospectors were notable for misunderstanding geology and wasting their efforts, as illustrated by some over-optimistic amateurs who failed to find anything of value despite years of effort. But even experienced men struggled to find good ore – hardly surprisingly because of its rarity. At least such men were not tempted by some of the more esoteric prospecting methods tried.
Because many in the mining industry realized their lack of knowledge, they were enthusiastic to learn from visiting lecturers and the schools of mines that were established in the 1880s. And several became inventors, with not all their inventions being limited just to the mining industry.

year: 2016

title: Supporting mobile application development with model-driven emulation

authors: Bowen, Judy

subjects: design

abstract: In this paper we outline our proposed approach for supporting mobile application development by using models as inputs to an emulator. We describe a new user interface to a parser tool previously developed, which enables developers to make design decisions about the user interface of the mobile application whilst ensuring that the resulting application adheres to the models. This paper describes work currently in progress.

text: Supporting mobile application development with model-driven emulation In this paper we outline our proposed approach for supporting mobile application development by using models as inputs to an emulator. We describe a new user interface to a parser tool previously developed, which enables developers to make design decisions about the user interface of the mobile application whilst ensuring that the resulting application adheres to the models. This paper describes work currently in progress.

year: 2011

title: Merea Wikiriwhi and George Thomas Wilkinson

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Merea Wikiriwhi was one of the few women to invest in Te Aroha mining. Her life has been traced in as much detail as can be found because so little has survived about the lives of Maori women. As George Thomas Wilkinson’s surviving diaries reveal his importance in her life, his story was included as well, concentrating on his personal life rather than his official career. 
Merea was a member of several Ohinemuri hapu, with links through whakapapa to some of their more senior rangatira. Mostly living at or near Waitoki, between Paeroa and Te Aroha, she lived a frugal life, not wasting the income she received from land sales. These sales first required her to insist on her rights both in the land court and in a convoluted legal battle over a will signed in her favour by a distant relative. Over time, she would sell most of her land, but never became entirely landless. She invested in only one mining claim, but in the 1930s joined others to claim that the government was not paying them goldfields revenue for land they had sold.
George Thomas Wilkinson entered her life in 1880, when he was the ‘native agent’ in Hauraki. Despite having fought against Maori and nearly being killed, his surviving diaries reveal that he lived in the manner of a Pakeha Maori with three Maori women (simultaneously for a time), having children both by Merea and the woman he would eventually marry. Wilkinson had close friendships with many Maori and Pakeha Maori, and his genuine regard for them is reflected not only in his attempting, in his official capacity, to be fair to their interests – even as he assisted the government to separate them from their land – but in particular by his affection for a young girl, Wairingiringi, who shared his house in Thames. Although he and Merea would part, he tried to ensure that her children, like all his children, would do well in a Pakeha world.

text: Merea Wikiriwhi and George Thomas Wilkinson Merea Wikiriwhi was one of the few women to invest in Te Aroha mining. Her life has been traced in as much detail as can be found because so little has survived about the lives of Maori women. As George Thomas Wilkinson’s surviving diaries reveal his importance in her life, his story was included as well, concentrating on his personal life rather than his official career. 
Merea was a member of several Ohinemuri hapu, with links through whakapapa to some of their more senior rangatira. Mostly living at or near Waitoki, between Paeroa and Te Aroha, she lived a frugal life, not wasting the income she received from land sales. These sales first required her to insist on her rights both in the land court and in a convoluted legal battle over a will signed in her favour by a distant relative. Over time, she would sell most of her land, but never became entirely landless. She invested in only one mining claim, but in the 1930s joined others to claim that the government was not paying them goldfields revenue for land they had sold.
George Thomas Wilkinson entered her life in 1880, when he was the ‘native agent’ in Hauraki. Despite having fought against Maori and nearly being killed, his surviving diaries reveal that he lived in the manner of a Pakeha Maori with three Maori women (simultaneously for a time), having children both by Merea and the woman he would eventually marry. Wilkinson had close friendships with many Maori and Pakeha Maori, and his genuine regard for them is reflected not only in his attempting, in his official capacity, to be fair to their interests – even as he assisted the government to separate them from their land – but in particular by his affection for a young girl, Wairingiringi, who shared his house in Thames. Although he and Merea would part, he tried to ensure that her children, like all his children, would do well in a Pakeha world.

year: 2016