Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf Islands

Coppermine

Kawau is home to the iconic Mansion House. Surrounding the house and extending up the valley are exotic gardens established by Sir George Grey.

Kawau Island is also the site of one of New Zealand's earliest mining ventures. Remnants of the copper mining industry remain and can be explored using the network of tracks through the Kawau Island Historic Reserve.

The Kawau Island Historic Reserve was created to protect Mansion House and gardens, together with sites and relics from the historic copper industry.

Today about 10 percent of the island is protected as publicly owned reserves managed by the Department of Conservation. The remainder of the island is privately owned with a small resident population.

Historic copper industry

Copper was discovered by accident. The original mining operations were to extract manganese. Copper was mined from 1844 until June 1852 when the mines were inundated.

There were up to 300 people living on the island during this period. Mining villages were located at Mansion House Bay, Two House Bay, Sunny Bay, Schoolhouse Bay, Dispute Cove and Miners Bay.

The copper ore eventually became difficult to extract, because most of the mine workings were below sea level and had to be constantly pumped free of water.

Problems were also encountered shipping the ore to the Northern Hemisphere. In 1849 a smelting works was built to partially process the ore on the island. A rival smelting operation was built on Motuketekete Island.

Eventually flooding and competition between two companies working the same ore body led to closure of the mine in 1852. There were further attempts to reopen the mine in 1854-55 and 1900-02, but it is likely that little copper ore remains.

Coppermine engine house and smelting house

The ruins of a sandstone building built to house the steam engine and pump which kept the mine free of water is one of the more visible relics of the copper industry. Built in 1854 during an attempt to de-water the mines, it is very similar to engine houses found in Cornwall, the home of many of the Kawau miners. The enginehouse is located beside the mine workings at Mine Point.

Another ruin which can be visited or viewed by boat is the old smelting house in the Smelting House Historic Reserve, on the north side of Bon Accord Harbour. A busy industrial complex and village which once stood on this site is now marked only by the sandstone walls of the smelting house building.

                                ?By: DOC

Features

Location

Directions

Nearby this Place

Explore

Nearby
Ladys Bay
Ladys Bay

Beaches

South Cove
South Cove

Cove

Featured Nearby

You May Also Like

Dispute Cove
Dispute Cove

Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf Islands

0.3 km 4

South Cove Wharf
South Cove Wharf

Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf Islands

0.6 km 5

Mansion House Bay Cafe
Mansion House Bay Cafe

Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf Islands

1.2 km 10

School House Bay
School House Bay

Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf Islands

1.4 km 3