Wakamarina Goldfield (Canvastown), Marlborough Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Wakamarina Goldfield (Canvastown)	Ore Field
Marlborough Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

`It is a weary journey for men to come only to learn their own folly; and it is a wearier journey back when the hopes which buoyed them up have left them'.

No-one seemed particularly interested when Elizabeth Pope reported specks of gold, while washing clothes in the Wakamarina River in 1860.

More interest was generated when in 1864 John Wilson, Joshua and George Rutland, and Hirram Harris discovered 54 ounces of gold in a few days at Wilson's Beach on the river. Around 6000 men soon descended on the river, with every part claimed. Some jumped claims, forcibly taking possession, and threatening others with guns. Meanwhile further down the valley, a settlement sprang up, which came to be known as Canvastown. Drunken brawls were common, and one writer at the time stated it was no place for respectable women.

Hordes of men were delivered to Nelson by steamer, and undertook the track to the goldfield, only to be dis-appointed to find all claims pegged. The track was described as in a wretched condition, with prior users felling trees across the road to try and block, or at least impede others from following. One writer counted 137 men making their way from Nelson to the goldfield when he traversed the road. It included 13 year old boys, one man missing a leg and walking on crutches, and another only making headway by being supported by a mate.

Scaly waterworn gold was being found in a 2 to 3 inch wash in red gravel. The rush was over within a year. Canvastown still remains, although blink and you will miss it- consisting of a hotel, shop, church, and a few scattered houses, between Havelock and Pelorus Bridge on State Highway 6. A company proposed an open pit gold mine next to the town in 2017, generating considerable opposition from the few residents. Permission for the mine was declined.

Dredges tried their luck on the streams in the 1890's with mediocre results. The Golden Point dredge was the most sustained, working Muttontown and Quayle creeks from 1901 to 1904.

Quartz lodes were mined by companies for gold and scheelite around the years of World War One. The Golden Bar Mine was the most substantial, with minor amounts from Alford's, and Smile of Fortune. Around 150 alluvial miners were re-working the streams in the 1930's Depression years. Since the 1960's, divers with suction hoses have worked the deeper areas of the river with some success.

A gravel road heads south of Canvastown to a basic camp ground at Butcher's Flat. The former mines are on the eastern side of the valley, near Mountain Camp, Dead Horse, and Deep creeks. At least one unmarked tunnel remains. Old gold workings at Doom Creek can be accessed via a side track up the Wakamarina River from the camp ground.

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