Historic Waiorongomai Valley
The Waiorongomai Valley is a significant gold mining site in the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park. The valley offers numerous walks following old mining trails.
A prospector, Hone Werahiko found gold in the Waiorongomai Valley in 1881. The goldmines were never very successful - expensive engineering projects failed due to low yields from the unexpectedly hard rock of the enormous gold bearing reef. One of these projects is the Piako County Tramway.
The Piako County Tramway
The Piako County Tramway was built in 1882-83 and is New Zealand's most intact example of an historic mining tramway.
The helicopter picking up the headframe
The tramway was used to shift ore carts during the goldmining era of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It features three self acting inclines, of which Butlers Incline is 400 metres long and at 25 degrees is very steep. It is a showcase historic site for the Department of Conservation.
There are also a number of other historic areas to explore such as Fern Spur Incline, Bendigo Battery, Low Level Drive, May Queen Incline and winding gear and many more.
DOC's work
From 2004-2009 DOC staff have been carrying out work to upgrade walking tracks and restore the tramway. This has included the removal of slips and vegetation, retrieving, treating & repairing historic steelwork and lifting the old rail onto new sleepers to reduce deterioration.
Part of the historic compressor is lowered
beside the tramway
The finishing touches to the restoration were made in September 2009. DOC brought in a helicopter to install a re-constructed headframe, and shift historic winding gear and a compressor into place along the tramway. The items weighed more than 3.5 tonnes each.
Getting there
The Waiorongomai Valley lies at the end of Waiorongomai Loop Road. The Valley is just four kilometres south of Te Aroha, near State Highway 26.