TOHU WHENUA

TOHU WHENUA Exploring Denniston on foot

Located just 30 minutes north of Westport, the Denniston Plateau is an absolute mustsee when you visit Te Tai Poutini West Coast. It’s a place of unique geology, sweeping coastal views, and incredible history – and the best way to explore it is on foot. Not only will you see many of Denniston’s most iconic coal mining relics, you’ll be walking on the same tracks that residents and miners used over a hundred years ago.

WORDS: Claudia Babirat IMAGES: Jase Blair

Brakehead Walk – 40 minute loop Not far from the carpark is Denniston’s best-known feature, the incredibly steep incline railway. It’s an exhilarating feeling to stand at the edge of what was once described as the eighth industrial wonder of the world where, for 87 years, wagons brimming with coal (and sometimes the odd sneaky passenger) hurtled 1670 metres down a near 45 degree slope. Denniston’s coal was of the finest quality and highly sought after; even the British fleets couldn’t get enough of the stuff. But it came with a price. The engaging on-site interpretation tells the stories of the plateau’s 1400 tough-as-nails residents, who had to endure some of the country’s most extreme living conditions. Being located 518 metres above sea level meant that isolation, harsh weather, and weeks of endless fog were the norm. The rocky plateau, though spectacular to look at, was no good for growing food, burying the dead, or even digging a long drop. What’s more, work in the mines – where even young children were expected to do their part – was dark, dusty, and dangerous. Despite all this, social life in Denniston thrived with brass bands, bowling greens, pubs, and unionism. Make sure you take time to soak in the expansive views of the coastline and forest-clothed mountains before continuing past the Q wagons at the brakehead to Denniston’s first settlement ‘The Camp’, and on to a stunning feat of Cornish stonemasonry at the Banbury Arch. The track returns via the historic mine workshop site. Coalbrookdale Walk – 1 hour return

This is an absolute gem of a walk – and one that fewer people are aware of. To get to the start of this walkway, drive past the Friends of the Hill Museum and left down Burnetts Face Road (a good gravel road). The track leads you along part of the cablecar rope road that carried coal from the mines to the top of the Denniston Incline. Relics include tunnels that you can wander through, foundations, a haulage winch, and mine entrances. At the very end of the track is its pièce de résistance, the country’s best remaining example of a mine fan house and a photographer’s dream (bring a good torch to capture the symmetry of the brickwork inside). The fan house was built in 1912 to improve ventilation in the growing mine. Originally steam-powered, it was converted to electric power in the 1920s and remained in use for 30-odd years. If you’re still feeling adventurous, you can continue your exploration of Denniston Plateau along Whareatea Mine Road which takes you a few minutes further along, past reservoirs, viewpoints of Mt Rochefort, and more historic relics. The plateau is also crisscrossed with mountain bike tracks.

TOP TIP:

Make sure you download the Denniston Rose Trail app to get the most out of your visit. This is an interactive self-guided literary trail to the place that inspired the best-selling books by Jenny Pattrick – The Denniston Rose and Heart of Coal.

“It’s an exhilarating feeling to stand at the edge of what was once described as the eighth industrial wonder of the world.”

Denniston is recognised as a Tohu Whenua and one of the country's best heritage experiences. Tohu Whenua aims to connect all New Zealanders with our most treasured historic places and is a partnership between Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, and Te Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. For more information visit tohuwhenua.nz Heritage Quarterly 17