Huntly

The Huntly Information Centre is closed. But Huntly is still here, sandwiched between the Waikato river and State Highway One.

Coal mining and Rugby League are characteristics of Huntly (population 8,000), while the dominating man-made physical presence is New Zealand's biggest thermal power station.

Tainui were first here, and they were first to use the coal that is so plentiful in the district. After the landwars, a commercially minded militia man Captain Ralph, set up the Taupiri Coal Mining Company, and his first pit was to become one of a hundred that kept local Tainui and newcomers in employment for many decades, along with a side trade in bricks and clay for pottery, and now a growing dairy sector.

The railway, and the bridge across the Waikato are very important infrastructure here, and there was at one stage a dispute when a rail bridge was dynamited and coal was unable to be dispatched from the town.

In the main street, which is pretty tidy, there is a monument to the 43 miners who died in one of Ralph's mines in 1914, another five had been lost in 1890. The mines were big and small, came and went, as did the mini mining townships, like Rotowaro. The Glen Afton Mine was another that suffered an accident, ten men were lost there, most trying to save others. Nowadays the old tramline, Glen Afton Line has become a popular bush railway club.

Two of New Zealand's industrial disputes have been fought in the manpower reliant mines of Huntly, the first being the General strike of 1913, and then another during the Second World War when coal demand and labour shortages were poorly managed, leading to a 1942 strike which was resolved by the government which then took over and all the mines until the end of the war.

The Huntly Power Station, which was initially fired by coal, is now run on natural gas and is New Zealand's largest thermal power stations. Coal mining is now limited to Rotowaro opencast site, which was sold to Bathurst Resources after the collapse of government owned Solid Energy. A large portion of the product goes straight to Glenbrook Steel Mill. Until 2012 Huntly East Mine was also operating, but has now been sold off to private landowners, one of whom hopes to create a recreational watersports lake.

To get a flavour of the town, try clicking on THIS roadside story.

Image Credits: Hakanoa Street, Huntly, photograph probably taken by William Price, circa 1910. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Hakanoa Street Huntly 213. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches Hakanoa Street, Huntly. Ref: 1/2-001752-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. View of Huntly South with the railway line running into the distance on the right, and a row of houses on the left. Photograph taken by William Archer Price, circa 1910s. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Huntly South. 224. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches Huntly South, ca 1910s. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948 :Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001753-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/23108296 A punt, or pontoon-style ferry being winched across the Waikato River at Huntly, photographed by William Archer Price, circa 1910s. A group of women and children are travelling on the punt. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Ferry crossing. Huntly. [No.] 208. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches Ferry crossing the Waikato River at Huntly. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948 :Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001867-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/22695619 Main Street in Huntly, photographed by William Archer Price, circa 1910s. The post Office is centre left, with a two-horse carriage standing outside, and several people on the street. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Main Street. Huntly. 209. The Great South Road is named Main Street when it runs through the centre of Huntly. (See UBD "Waikato and Districts, including street maps of Huntly ...") Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches Main Street, Huntly, ca 1910s. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948 :Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001757-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/22736050 Railway tanks and railway yard at Huntly, photographed by William Archer Price, circa 1910s. The Railway Station is visible centre left, with the workshops centre right. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Railway tanks & yard. Huntly. 227. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches Huntly Railway Station and railway yards. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948 :Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001748-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/22907143The public school building at Huntly, photographed by William Archer Price, circa 1910s. A woman with a pram and several older children are walking in front of the school. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Photographer's title on negative -bottom left: Public School. Huntly. 210. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 4.75 inches The public school at Huntly, ca 1910s. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948 :Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001750-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. natlib.govt.nz/records/23044306View of a coal hopper wagon at Huntly. Photograph taken by Albert Percy Godber in 1910.