Coaltown Museum Westport

It’s worth going to the museum before visiting the old coalmining towns. The exhibits on the coalmining and goldmining history of the area are fascinating.
The photos of the miners and their families show their grit and perseverance in harsh and dangerous working conditions and the primitive nature of their early housing. You can enter a facsimile mine complete with pit props and sound effects and look at an original Denniston coal wagon, perched on rails set at the steepest angle of the famous Denniston Incline (1:1.25).
An excellent video on coalmining includes shots of wagons descending the Incline. Other interesting displays:

• photographs of early sailing and steamships
• photographs of the 1929 and 1968 West Coast earthquakes
• aviation and transport displays
• a collection of minerals.

There are two separate film areas, one on Coal Mining and the other on Logging/Bush Tramways; other exhibits include Gold Mining, Maritime, Brewery and Transport.
Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Brebner Team Architecture have designed a new home for the museum which is now in a more central location. (designer Murali Bhaskar)