title: Maori Te Aroha before the opening of the goldfield (mostly through Pakeha eyes)

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: The various names of the peaks of the mountain and the legends concerning it reflected a violent past. As proof, several pa have been located, both at Te Aroha and at Waiorongomai, and the names of some of the streams indicate the nature and consequences of the battles fought in this contested area.
Ngati Rahiri was subdivided into three hapu: Ngati Tumutumu, Hgati Hue, and Ngati Kopirimau, descendents of these ancestors. In the nineteenth century, when the population was small, Hou was the senior rangatira, with Tutuki being the subordinate rangatira of the plains. A pa (later known as Tui pa) was constructed at Omahu, to the north of the hot springs, which were prized by Maori and increasingly enjoyed by Pakeha. Some of the land was cultivated, though visiting Pakeha considered that settlers could do much more to develop the agricultural potential. Most Ngati Rahiri were regarded as being ‘friendly’, welcoming (and benefiting from) visitors. Elaborate welcoming ceremonies were held for officials and rangatira, and a hotel operated by a rangatira’s son provided basic accommodation. Under Maori auspices the first race day was held in January 1878. 
Also in 1878, negotiators obtained an agreement to make a road to Paeroa, using Maori workers, and as the benefits of such improvements became apparent there was increased willingness to permit the construction of more roads, a bridge, and the snagging of the river, over the objections of a minority. Pakeha disapproved of how money raised through land sales in particular were wasted on extravagant displays of mana, which were not possible after the end of the 1870s because of lack of money, necessitating seeking paid employment. Friendly contact increased steadily, apart from occasional worries prompted by such events as the shooting of Daldy McWilliams, and a football match in May 1880 reportedly revealed ‘the utmost friendly feeling’ existing between Maori and Pakeha.

text: Maori Te Aroha before the opening of the goldfield (mostly through Pakeha eyes) The various names of the peaks of the mountain and the legends concerning it reflected a violent past. As proof, several pa have been located, both at Te Aroha and at Waiorongomai, and the names of some of the streams indicate the nature and consequences of the battles fought in this contested area.
Ngati Rahiri was subdivided into three hapu: Ngati Tumutumu, Hgati Hue, and Ngati Kopirimau, descendents of these ancestors. In the nineteenth century, when the population was small, Hou was the senior rangatira, with Tutuki being the subordinate rangatira of the plains. A pa (later known as Tui pa) was constructed at Omahu, to the north of the hot springs, which were prized by Maori and increasingly enjoyed by Pakeha. Some of the land was cultivated, though visiting Pakeha considered that settlers could do much more to develop the agricultural potential. Most Ngati Rahiri were regarded as being ‘friendly’, welcoming (and benefiting from) visitors. Elaborate welcoming ceremonies were held for officials and rangatira, and a hotel operated by a rangatira’s son provided basic accommodation. Under Maori auspices the first race day was held in January 1878. 
Also in 1878, negotiators obtained an agreement to make a road to Paeroa, using Maori workers, and as the benefits of such improvements became apparent there was increased willingness to permit the construction of more roads, a bridge, and the snagging of the river, over the objections of a minority. Pakeha disapproved of how money raised through land sales in particular were wasted on extravagant displays of mana, which were not possible after the end of the 1870s because of lack of money, necessitating seeking paid employment. Friendly contact increased steadily, apart from occasional worries prompted by such events as the shooting of Daldy McWilliams, and a football match in May 1880 reportedly revealed ‘the utmost friendly feeling’ existing between Maori and Pakeha.

year: 2016

title: Mining at Te Aroha before the murder in February 1881

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Mining was slow to restart after the Christmas holidays on a goldfield whose value was still unknown. Some miners did not return, but other men, mostly with mining experience, replaced them. As was pointed out, more testing was required to justify the cautious optimism, and more explorations did not discover any payable ore or a reef of any sort. More capital was needed to fund adequate development, and the lack of a battery held back the field.
Some searched the nearby countryside, fruitlessly, but at Tui the mostly Maori miners working there seemed to be having better results. Unskilled miners who drove incompetent and even dangerous adits wasted their efforts, while others were accused of shepherding their ground. Two companies formed during January attracted many small investors, but experienced miners started leaving for newer finds, and non-miners abandoned their attempts at mining after discovering that gold was not easy to find. But others remained hopeful, and waited for the erection of a local battery to prove the value of what they had found.

text: Mining at Te Aroha before the murder in February 1881 Mining was slow to restart after the Christmas holidays on a goldfield whose value was still unknown. Some miners did not return, but other men, mostly with mining experience, replaced them. As was pointed out, more testing was required to justify the cautious optimism, and more explorations did not discover any payable ore or a reef of any sort. More capital was needed to fund adequate development, and the lack of a battery held back the field.
Some searched the nearby countryside, fruitlessly, but at Tui the mostly Maori miners working there seemed to be having better results. Unskilled miners who drove incompetent and even dangerous adits wasted their efforts, while others were accused of shepherding their ground. Two companies formed during January attracted many small investors, but experienced miners started leaving for newer finds, and non-miners abandoned their attempts at mining after discovering that gold was not easy to find. But others remained hopeful, and waited for the erection of a local battery to prove the value of what they had found.

year: 2016

title: Preparation of phosphinate-based ionic liquids for rare earth recovery

authors: Sanders, Sinead

subjects: Rare earth elements

abstract: The rare earth elements are vital components in many modern technologies, including  green energy technology such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, however the  extraction and separation of these elements remains a problem. Due to the similar  chemical properties of these elements, achieving pure single elemental concentrations of the REEs is difficult, often requiring multiple steps in the separation process, as well as the use of large volumes of harmful organic solvents. With the demand of these elements projected to grow in the coming decades, greener and more efficient extraction and separation methods need to be developed. 

In this work, a series of hydrophobic ionic liquids were prepared through simple neutralisation and protonation reactions. The successful synthesis and characterisation of camphyl phenyl phosphinic acid is also described and used as an anion precursor in IL preparation. Five phosphinate-based ionic liquids were successfully prepared and tested for the separation of the rare earth elements, as well as for cobalt/nickel separations. Both liquid-liquid extraction methods using a neat IL, and column chromatography methods using supported ionic liquids were tested. Results showed selectivity towards the heavy rare earth elements, achieving a La/Yb separation factor as high as 55.3. For the liquid-liquid extraction experiments, La extraction efficiencies of 99% were achieved for a majority of the tested ILs. For the Yb column extractions, high extraction efficiencies were also achieved, ranging from 85.5 - 99.9%. Repeated extractions of cobalt and nickel showed the stability of the column, with minimal decrease in extraction efficiencies over 10 repeated runs, and an average separation factor of 2.79 across these runs.

text: Preparation of phosphinate-based ionic liquids for rare earth recovery The rare earth elements are vital components in many modern technologies, including  green energy technology such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, however the  extraction and separation of these elements remains a problem. Due to the similar  chemical properties of these elements, achieving pure single elemental concentrations of the REEs is difficult, often requiring multiple steps in the separation process, as well as the use of large volumes of harmful organic solvents. With the demand of these elements projected to grow in the coming decades, greener and more efficient extraction and separation methods need to be developed. 

In this work, a series of hydrophobic ionic liquids were prepared through simple neutralisation and protonation reactions. The successful synthesis and characterisation of camphyl phenyl phosphinic acid is also described and used as an anion precursor in IL preparation. Five phosphinate-based ionic liquids were successfully prepared and tested for the separation of the rare earth elements, as well as for cobalt/nickel separations. Both liquid-liquid extraction methods using a neat IL, and column chromatography methods using supported ionic liquids were tested. Results showed selectivity towards the heavy rare earth elements, achieving a La/Yb separation factor as high as 55.3. For the liquid-liquid extraction experiments, La extraction efficiencies of 99% were achieved for a majority of the tested ILs. For the Yb column extractions, high extraction efficiencies were also achieved, ranging from 85.5 - 99.9%. Repeated extractions of cobalt and nickel showed the stability of the column, with minimal decrease in extraction efficiencies over 10 repeated runs, and an average separation factor of 2.79 across these runs.

year: 2023