26 Aylmer Street, Ross, Westland

Ross

Westland Gardens

Three hundred or so hardy West Coast souls remain in Ross, a gold town which was home to 3500 in 1860s and continues to give up the glittery stuff to this day.

Very deep deposits of alluvial gold gave Ross a longer gold-mining history than many other West Coast settlements which are now ghost towns. Birchfields Ross Mining are still mining in an opencast alluvial pit beside State highway 6 at Donoghues, keeping locals in work and raising complaints from others.

The good old days only lasted until about 1900, but there are lots of gems left here and Heritage New Zealand have seen fit to designate a sector of town as an 'Historic Area' (go straight ahead when arriving southbound, rather than following the highway around the corner).

Westland’s oldest wooden church, St Patrick's, is the centrepiece of the historic area, and it is still the town's Catholic Church, though it is not as busy now, compared with when there were 3500 miners here, many of them from Ireland and dedicated Catholics. It was 1866 when the Church went up, built from a very unusual timber, Baltic Pine. The story goes that the importer of the pine (to a province full of native kahikatea) was not well thought through and he could not sell it nor pay the bill. So the miners of Ross came together and bought the shipment for their church which remains in very original condition. The associated Presbytery is now a private home but is also part of the Historic Area,

Across the road is the Information Centre, which bears a replica paint job for it's original, when it served as the BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES, an organisation which did well in the mining days. In between times it was named Grimmond House and served various purposes but was restored to it's 1870 status in 1990.

The other protected and interesting buildings are de Bakker Cottage, 1885; the 1890s Jail and a rebuilt version of the old 1874 Fire Brigade Tower.

Also in the Historic Precinct the start of the excellent Ross Water Race Walkway. A specially designed 1km track packed full of real life education about gold mining. It takes 60 - 90 minutes beginning with the track up to the cemetery.

The ashphalt on Gay Street stops abruptly as it does at the perimeter of many West Coast towns, but the dirt road is fine. When you get to the top, a treasure trove of history awaits. It is the Old Ross Town Cemetery. There is a new one now, down on the flats, but this is where all the real history is parked, with a fine view out towards the Coast. It can't have been a very gay life in the old sense of the world, because amongst the gravestones are very few assigned to people who made it past 50. Many children perished due to illness, safety and maybe cold. One famous couple interred up here are Mr Mitchell, VC, and his wife Agnes who must have been superhuman to bear 11 children then live on until 71, after he drowned at 52.

Not an official member of the Historic precinct, but probably the leader of the pack all the same, is the pub with the name Historic Empire Hotel Ross. It is old alright, and utterly genuine, in that all the locals gather here to eat and drink, and visitors are welcomed in classic West Coast fashion.

Across the road from the Empire is a funny little gimmick on the side of the town lake called the floating Golf Challenge, similar to the one at Great Lake Taupo, with prizes for a hole in one.

Further around the lake are the new Ross Chinese Garden, created to pay tribute to miners who came from China to the area from the 1870s and stayed until after the turn of the century. And a poignant and recently installed Memorial to Samuel Mitchell VC, New Zealand's first Victoria Cross Recipient who drowned in the Mokinui river after settling here in Ross as a farmer.

Back in town, Ross has a squash club (Squash is popular on the Coast as it is not weather dependent). And an Art Gallery. And the ubiquitous small town Fire Brigade. And a set of motels.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT THE ROSS MOTELSThe Ross Beach Top Ten Holiday Park is a few kilometres away, down the track to Ross beach, which is a West Coast Special, wild, rugged, windy and provides incredible sunsets.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT THE ROSS BEACH TOP TEN HOLIDAY PARKRoss is a key starting or finishing point for the West Coast Wilderness Trail, a very popular cycle trail bringing more tourists to the Coast.

If you visit Ross, the town, please consider submitting your photos to NZPlaces.

Image Credits: Google Map

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