Author(s): Mike Johnston

Nelson

The History of the Wakamarina Goldfield In a narrow valley about midway between the towns of Nelson and Blenheim, New Zealand, gold was found in 1864 by settlers prospecting the gravel bar at Wilson's Beach, on the Wakamarina River. Canvas towns sprang up along the valley, populated with goldminers and their followers, but the Wakamarina was never a large goldfield, by area or yield, so whilst a few claims paid very well indeed, most camps appeared and disappeared in a short time. This is the goldfield associated with the most infamous crime of the times - the robbery and murder of five Wakamarina men on the Maungatapu Track to Nelson. In this book Mike Johnston has compiled an entirely fresh and full history of this famous goldfield.