Why is this place significant?

Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?

Early History Callery’s Battery sits in the hinterland of an area traditionally associated with the Kāhui-tipua, Te Aitanga-a-Rapuwai, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe and latterly Kai Tahu iwi. Travelling routes along the Waihemo, Te Hakapupu (Pleasant River) and Waikouaiti awa enabled access into the interior for many generations of iwi. Key coastal settlements at Moeraki, Matakaea (Shag Point), Waikouaiti, and Huriawa (Karitane Peninsula) attest to the rich resources in the area supporting those vibrant communities for generations. For example, the Waihemo awa was recorded by local Ngāi Tahu kaumātua, Merekihereka Hape and Rāwiri Te Mamaru, as a kāinga mahinga kai (food-gathering place) where tuna (eel), īnaka (whitebait), pātiki (flounder), raupō, aruhe (bracken fernroot), and pipi were gathered. The mouth of the river was a shelter for waka, a place of sea and freshwater fishing, and a habitat for fur seals and moa. Inland and to the west, Pātearoa/ Rock and Pillar Range, was a place of mahinga kai particularly for weka and tikumu/mountain daisy. Stone resources, particularly silcrete, were mined at different inland quarry sites and transported as blade blanks for use at coastal sites such as Matakaea Mining history Mining is one of the major themes in New Zealand’s history and has a ‘great impact on New Zealand landscape.’ Otago was one of the principal areas of mining (along with the West Coast and the Coromandel). Gold mining took two forms – alluvial gravels and quartz bedrock mining. Scheelite was an important ore of tungsten used in the steel industry. It is sometimes found in association with gold bearing deposits, and was also mined in Otago – with the most significant scheelite deposits at Glenorchy and near Macraes, including an area known as Golden Point. One of the most important areas of quartz bedrock mining was at Macraes, inland from Palmerston in Otago, known to Māori as Ōtī and an area associated with seasonal food gathering. Quartz mining required money, men and equipment – the rock had to be mined, crushed, and treated to extract the gold. Such processing required large plant and buildings, as well as motive power such as water power or steam power using coal as fuel. Both alluvial mining and quartz bedrock mining left characteristic landscape effects: alluvial mining left its logical sequence of water races, reservoirs, sluicing faces, tailings and tail races, while quartz mining left shafts and adits, mullock heaps and battery sites. Quartz mining was capital intensive: quartz was blasted from the bedrock, tunnels dug, ore crushed and gold extracted with cyanide or mercury. Much gold was lost in this process. While gold was more easily extracted from the top oxidised layers of rock, returns dropped as mines went deeper, and the gold could not be chemically liberated as easily. The first quartz mine to be worked in the Macraes area was at the Eclipse Reef in 1866, which by 1868 had become known as the Duke of Edinburgh. A stamper battery was built in about 1868, but had stopped working by 1872. Local quartz mining then proceeded at a number of sites, including in the area of the present Golden Point Historic Reserve, where at least five different batteries have operated. Callery’s and its predecessor, McGill’s operated at the same location. Two main ore bodies bound this reserve, and were served by these batteries: the Maritana Reef and the Golden Point Reef. The Maritana Reef was probably discovered in 1889, but unless some small-scale work was carried out by the Donaldson brothers in association with the Golden Point Mine, work did not commence until 1902. The Charles Hay’s Maritana Quartz Mining Company was operating in the area in 1889, pegging out a claim on a reef, close to Golden Point – and perhaps giving the name to the reef. The Mount Ida Chronicle reported in September 1890 that a number of reefs had recently been discovered around the Macraes area – notably the Maritana, the Golden Point and the Orient, and had looked to be good prospects, with only a lack of capital preventing progress. Another mineral was found in association with the gold deposits and added to the history of mining near Macraes. Scheelite, the main ore of tungsten, was also mined and processed in the vicinity of Golden Point. Along with mines at Glenorchy, this was one of New Zealand’s most significant scheelite mines. Scheelite was found in quartz veins, often in association with gold. Scheelite mining began in New Zealand in the 1880s, with ore exported to Germany. The scheelite trade with Germany ended with the declaration of war in 1914, with Britain buying New Zealand’s scheelite. Scheelite was used in steel manufacture, and was used to strengthen steel and in weapons manufacture. It was difficult for miners to save both gold and scheelite from the ore, as they require different techniques. Scheelite is most efficiently saved as coarser grains (sand size), but that size of particle does not release much gold from sulphides, or even from quartz. Miners had to decide whether to save gold or scheelite, a decision usually reflecting the price of the ore. Callery’s Battery at Golden Point was used for processing both gold and scheelite. Around 1902, the Maritana Mine was opened by Charles McGill, and McGill erected a six stamp battery powered by a 16 feet diameter [4.8 metre] water wheel to work the reef. McGill had prior experience in South Africa. The reef was found to be gold bearing, but highly refractory (resistant to cyanide processing), and a small concentrating buddle (a shallow container in which ore is washed) was installed in 1903 to improve recovery. In 1905 a Frue vanner (a machine used to separate ore) was added again to improve the saving of concentrates, and a nine bhp oil engine was installed to provide motive power during dry weather. Despite this extensive development work, the 1906 Warden’s report commented that gold returns were small, and by 1907 work had ceased at the mine and battery. At this point the history of the Maritana Mine and its batteries becomes more complex. In December 1909 the Inspector of Mines reported that a Timaru syndicate was about to reopen the mine, but it was not until 1911 that the Maritana Mining Company was floated and began operations. The new company purchased a ten stamp battery from Barewood and re-erected it beside the mine to the east of the old battery, which was still standing. The new battery was linked to the mine workings by a tramway, these workings probably being further around the hillside to the north from the earlier mine of 1902-1907. In 1912, the West Coast Times reported that the Maritana Company was expected to begin crushing scheelite in three months, ‘an expensive and modern plant having been erected.’ In 1913 the company was working with a ten stamp battery and employed eleven men. By 1913 levels one and three in the mine were worked out. Prospecting in ground adjacent to the Deep Dell property came to nothing, and the mine closed down that year. In March 1914, the Mount Ida Chronicle reported that the Maritana mine was abandoned. In 1914 W.H. Bickerton and party purchased the old Maritana Mine machinery, including the battery, with the intention of relocating it to their workings at Nenthorn, where they had pumped out some of the old shafts, but there is no evidence that the machinery was ever re-erected there. In the meantime, the original Maritana Battery was still in existence on its original site, even if in a much-modified form. The Callery Brothers took over this battery, and continued to modify it until the present form took shape, probably with none of the original machinery remaining (although some original timbers may have been recycled in the structure). During the 1940s scheelite was in high demand because of the war effort. Callery and party worked the Round Hill Mine, and transported the ore to the Callery’s Battery, known at the time as the ‘Deep Dell Battery’ for treatment. Note that this battery is not the old Deep Dell Battery nearby at Horse Flat (site I42/13). Scheelite mining (at both the Round Hill and Golden Point Mines) and processing continued until at least 1951, with the occasional return to gold mining depending on the fluctuating prices of the two commodities. In 1980, the land was donated to the Department of Lands and Survey by members of the mining syndicate that still owned it. In 1985 the wider Golden Point area was gazetted as an historic reserve. In 2019, Callery’s Battery remains part of the Golden Point Historic Reserve and is accessible to the public, with interpretation panels explaining the site. The Battery is operated at irregular intervals.

Setting Golden Point Historic Reserve, in which Callery’s Battery sits, is located in a valley close to the Otago settlement of Macraes Flat, next to an area of active open cast mining. Golden Point is located in the gully formed by meandering Deepdell Creek. The area is scarred by mining – with evidence of alluvial, hard rock mining, as well as the dramatic modern mining. The juxtaposition of modern mining and the historic reserve adds an interesting dimension to the site, a reminder of how active this landscape was (and remains today). Callery’s Battery is part of a complex of mining sites in the wider Golden Point Historic Area (List No. 7211). These sites include mining shafts, tailings, benched tracks and roads, and water races, as well as former miner’s residences. The sites are associated with the Golden Point and Maritana mines, and include surface features, and sub-surface workings. The Maritana mine is much smaller than Golden Point, but it is unusual due to the presence of prospecting drives every six to eight metres. These were usually removed as the mine was worked. Several water races wind around the hillsides. The wooden house occupied by the Callery brothers is still in good order within the historic reserve, and there are two other mudbrick dwellings and their associated outhouses nearby, also located in the historic reserve. Current Description The battery house stands intact at the foot of the Maritana hillside, together with the associated ore bin, grizzly and rock breaker. The battery house is a corrugated-iron clad, timber framed building of a type that was once typical of stamper batteries, but has now virtually disappeared (the only other authentic examples are the Sawyer’s Battery in Thames and the Coromandel Government Battery). The ore bin, grizzly (a device for improving the screening of gravels) and rockbreaker are situated on the hillside behind the battery, and a short length of tramline allowed broken rock to be pushed by hand to the back of the stamp battery. The grizzly is set with a nominal gauge of 1 ½ inches (it actually varies between 1 ½ and 2 inches) [3.8-5 centimetres] and any larger lumps were fed through the Dodge Rockbreaker that was manufactured by Parke & Lacy of San Francisco. The existing stairs up to the rockbreaker are a modern addition for visitors. Inside, Callery’s Battery is intact and operational. The battery does not belong to any one period, and is the result of additions and modifications up to its operational retirement in the 1950s. The main operational plant consists of a five stamp stamper battery with automatic ore feeder and hopper. The battery frame has vertical timber battery posts with forward braces, with horizontal beams to support a camshaft level walkway to the front and the ore floor to the rear, although these do not appear to structurally support the battery itself. The mortar box is a heavy one-piece casting, with inclined slot screen mount. The cams are heavy duty items with webs on the leading faces, and are secured in place by conventional keys in a keyway. The stamps are fitted with gib tappets, and very heavy shoes (9 in. diameter and 10 in. long [2.9 centimetre diameter, 25.4 centimetres long]). The battery was used for both gold and scheelite recovery at different times, and so gravity separation was the principal treatment method used. There is a short copper-alloy table with eight steps in front of the stamps, and the pulp was then taken by a launder to a Wilfley table. This table is probably the only historic operational Wilfley table still in its last place of work in the country (the table at the Hauraki Prospectors’ Association in Thames has been relocated to the Coromandel Goldfield Centre museum). A Wilfley table is a large wooden table, on top of which are a series of parallel riffles. The table is set at an angle and the sludge is poured from the top corner. The heavier particles (gold) are held up along the riffles, while the lighter particles roll over the top. The whole table shakes, which works the gold down the riffles where they are removed. The paraffin engine is in a small room at the rear of the building and drove the stamper battery and other machinery via a flat belt to an intermediate shaft. The framework that supports this shaft is partially constructed from timbers that have been recycled from other machines, possibly even earlier incarnations of this battery. The building also contains a workshop/smithy area, with a forge and hand-operated blower, anvil, mercury retort, and assorted tools. Another work area with a workbench is on the upper level of the battery, beneath the intermediate shaft frame. Remaining from the Callery battery is the original well in which the waterwheel was located and some battery stampers which are possibly original. All the equipment associated with the mineral extraction process is now enclosed in the adjacent corrugated iron shed. A roadway leads up to a hopper and a collection of rusting metal equipment, including a Huntingdon battery from the Bonanza Mine. Callery's wooden house is still in good order; two mudbrick dwellings and their associated outhouses occupy terraces a short distance along the road, and the concrete foundations and fallen brick chimney of another building sit among the tailings on the valley floor. The other battery sites in the Golden Point Historic Reserve (but not included within the List entry) are foundations: • Donaldson’s Battery: NZAA Site No. I42/52. Constructed in 1889 as the first Golden Point Battery, and soon sold to the Donaldson brothers. Remodelled several times. Demolished in 1953. Site includes one set of timber mortar blocks and one concrete mortar block. • Site of the second Maritana Battery : NZAA Site No. I42/180. Constructed in 1911 when the old Barewood Gold-mining Company battery was purchased and moved to the Maritana ground (AJHR 1912 C2: 53). Site includes concrete mortar blocks for the 10 stamp battery. • Golden Point Battery: NZAA Site No. I42/18 (part of overall Golden Point Mine site). Constructed in 1930, and closed in 1944. Site consists of concrete battery foundations, presently off-limits due to nearby modern mining operations. • In addition, the Bonanza Mine Huntington Battery from Nenthorn has been relocated to the Golden Point Reserve, and has been re-erected at the foot of the Maritana Hill. Comparative Analysis Stamper batteries were once found at hundreds of quartz mines. Fewer than 20 still stand on their original sites. Only three batteries still survive intact within their original buildings, these being the Government Battery in Coromandel township, the Lillis battery nearby and Callery’s Battery. Another stamper battery is located on the site of the Caledonian-Golden Crown-Manukau claim in Thames. This is an assemblage of battery machinery reconstructed into a working battery. The five-stamp Golden Fleece Stamper Battery at Blacks Point Museum on the West Coast, is also in working order, but has been relocated from its original site. The 1899 Government Battery at the Coromandel Goldfield Centre is a Category 1 historic place (List Entry No. 130). The battery is powered by New Zealand's biggest working water wheel and was also one of the first stamper batteries in New Zealand to be started with a diesel motor running part of the plant. It is part of a working museum, demonstrating the process from crushing the rock ore form the mine to the final product - gold. The building is full of local history and relics from the past. According to the museum, this was the first diesel-powered gold processing plant in New Zealand and its last original stamper battery is the only working six-head stamper battery in the world. Petchey writes that the battery finally closed in about 1939, and then languished for many years with some parts removed and suffering from vandalism. The first curator of the Coromandel Museum, Gordon Allingham, and later R. Drinkwater, worked to preserve and restore the battery, which was operational again by the 1980s. The parts that were removed included the five-stamp mortar box, and the one presently in the battery was recovered from the Long Trail Mine at Colville. The present 3.5 h.p. single cylinder diesel engine and 25 feet [7.6 metre] diameter water wheel were installed at the same time. Another small stamper battery is operated at Mitchell’s Gully near Charleston on the West Coast, but this was built in 1977 on an old battery site using early battery parts. Callery’s Battery ‘is the best preserved and most authentic stamp battery to survive in New Zealand’: modified in the course of its operation, as would be expected of a working battery, ‘overall Callery’s Battery is an outstanding example of a small-scale stamp battery in original working condition. It not only shows how a stamp battery was set up to run, with its stamps, drive train and power source all intact, but it also shows how all of the smaller items in a battery, such as workshops, electrical plant and the forge, were arranged. It is the best surviving stamper battery in New Zealand.’ It is one of the most significant goldfields sites in the country.’

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