New Zealand - Thames - The view in the photograph is looking south over Pollen Street, the main street of the town, with the Waihou River and Te Aroha Mountain beyond. #603304 - Thames was at one time the second-largest city in New Zealand, behind Dunedin and ahead of Auckland. After the gold began to diminish, so did Thames' population, although not substantially, and it has remained relatively stable ever since. It is still the biggest town on the Coromandel. The population in the 2013 census was 6,693, a decrease of 60 since 2006. Until 2016, a historical oak tree that was planted by Governor George Grey stood on the corner of Grey and Rolleston streets. - Thames was formed from two historic towns, Grahamstown and Shortland, of which many original buildings still stand. Shortland was to the south of Thames and was founded on 27 July 1867 when James Mackay, civil commissioner for the Hauraki District, concluded an agreement with local Maori. The land was rented for mining purposes for the sum of £5,000 per year, a colossal sum in the mid 19th century. This agreement secured the rights to local mineral deposits leading to the proclamation of the Thames Goldfield on 1 August. The leasing of the land for such a huge income was a source of great envy by other Maori iwi and hapu. - Grahamstown was founded the following year at the northern end of present Thames, approximately one mile from Shortland. The two towns merged in 1874 after it emerged the heart of the Goldfield was in Grahamstown. Shortland waned in importance until the turn of the century when the Hauraki Plains were developed for farming and the Shortland railway station was opened. - The town was initially built during a gold rush, with the first major discovery of gold being made on 10 August 1867 by William Hunt, in the Kuranui Stream at the north end of Thames. The subsequent mine produced more than 102,353oz bullion and was known as the Shotover. The era from 1868 to 1871 were the bonanza years for the town with gold production topping one million pounds sterling at its peak. Official figures for production of the Thames Mines recorded a yield of 2,327,619oz bullion with the value at $845 million. The three richest fields were the Manukau / Golden Crown / Caledonian mines but many others yielded near equivalent amounts. Towards the end of the 19th century, Thames was the largest centre of population in New Zealand with 18,000 inhabitants and well over 100 hotels and three theatres in 1868. For a while, it was thought it would replace Auckland as the major town in the area. Thames also benefited from a period of extensive Kauri logging in the surrounding ranges around the same time. - The land involved in goldmining in Thames was Maori-owned; important parts of the goldfield were owned by the Ngati Maru rangatira (chief) Rapana Maunganoa and the Taipari family. In 1878, when Wiremu Hoterene Taipari married a woman of the Ngati Awa tribe of Whakatāne, Ngati Awa carvers arrived at Thames and built a meeting house at Pārāwai. It is incorrectly said to have been a wedding gift for the couple when actually Wiremu's father had paid money for another whare (meeting house), which was sold to the governor general at the time. When Wiremu's father returned to collect the whare the Ngati Awa chief apologised and said he would have another one built which would signify the marriage between Wiremu Taipari and his daughter. The house, named Hotunui in honour of an important Ngati Maru ancestor, now stands in the Auckland War Memorial Museum. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames,_New_Zealand) - Whites Pictorial Reference has been produced to tell a new story - a modern story. Aerial photography has been utilised to show where New Zealanders live and the countryside from which comes their wealth. Most important, it also illustrates most vividly the Dominion's growing cities and towns, but perhaps more to the point it shows that there is still plenty of room for further development... Author: White Leo (compiled) Click the link provided at the top to purchase the book through the MAD on New Zealand Shop - Supporting New Zealand Authors and Artists #thames