Historic Ruins at Kawau Island

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 370, 2 June 1928, Page 26

Historic Ruins at Kawau Island

OF all the old ruins still standing in New Zealand as monuments to the early pioneers of nearly a century ago, few, if any, are as romantic as the copper mine buildings on the island of Kawau —romantic not only as a reminder of a unique mining venture so soon abandoned, but more especially for the quaint appearance of their architecture, transplanted from Cornwall 82 years ago. Some New Zealand buildings still intact may be older, as for instance, the church at Russell and the two houses at Keri Keri, Bay of Islands; some carry more intimate associations with the people of to-day, as the old windmill at Symonds Street, Auckland, still grinding grain as efliciently as it did in the days of Auckland's infancy; but none of ;hese, to my mind, has the peculiar interest possessed by the strange relics standing solitary and unheeded amid the rocks and bush-clad slopes of Kawau. Coming from Auckland to Kawau by steamer or smaller craft, one comes suddenly upon the tall smelting house, as a jutting point on the south-west-ern shore is rounded. From a distance it looks like a small factory, and might be mistaken for a modern fish-canning plant, but as one gets nearer, its deserted appearance is noticeable, and its great age more readily discerned. Built on the rocks near a steep cliff face, the sea washes its base, and well has it survived the storms of nearly a century. Its shape is unusual. It is much taller than its length or breadth, and has three storeys and a basement, while its appearance of exceptional height is accentuated by a tall brick chimney wh ch towers some 40ft. or 50ft. above the top of the building itself. This is the original smelting house, built by the party of Cornish miners, bricklayers. stonemasons and carpenters brought out to this country by Captain Ninnis in 1816, in the chartered ship Augustine. It was not destined ] to be in use very long, for a few years later the works were abandoned. THE FIRST MINING VENTURE Let us make a closer inspection of, this interesting old building. On ap proaching it the marks of age can be | more readily discerned. Great blocks I of sandstone, cemented together, were ! used in its construction, and huge! cracks have made their appearance in several places. Whether these were made at the beginning by the intense heat of the furnaces, or whether they came later with storms and weather-! iug. we shall probably never know, but they give an air of intensity to the j place, and lead one to speculate that probably not many more winters will; be needed to demolish it altogether, j The i imbers forming the loor joists ■ of the various storeys have rotted j away, and now there is neither roof nor floor. An opening on the seaward title was probably used to load the [ smelled ore on to barges, while at the . back there are signs of the furnace immediately underneath the tall brick chimney, la ihe cliff face there are j fa

!Written for THE SUN by FRANK M. PRICE , M.A.)

two shafts, some few score yards apart. The nearer one, which ran out under the sea, is full of sea-water, and in the dark blue depths can be seen old timbers with moss and seaweed clinging to them. A gruesomelooking place indeed, even in the bright sunlight. The other shaft runs inland and is quite dry, with the stout overhead timbers still in perfect preservation. Truly a weird looking mine, and quite different from the coal mines or gold mines to be seen in New Zealand to-day. The rock face in places | gives unmistakable evidence of the ! presence of copper ore, and it doo3 not need a very imaginative mind to visualise the high hopes for success ! held by that little companj r of venture-

i some spirits who toiled and hoped jin the days when Auckland itself barely existed. A short run oL’ half an hour or less , brings us next to Eon Accord Har- ! boui\ and here there is another vei minder of the activities of Captain j Ninnis’s party. In what is now known i as Mansion House Cove, some of the j buildings of the captain (house and 1 offices) were erected. Some of these 1 still stand, easily recognisable by their blocks of yellow sandstone, i A portion of the shoreward end of the i present pier is built of solid stone . blocks, and was part of the original | wharf erected by the early miners. 1 Although these relics of early days i —smelter house, shafts, offices and

ROMANTIC REMINDERS OF A UNIQUE COPPER-MINING VENTURE

wharf —are most interesting, there is another ruin on the island of Kawau which holds a still greater fascination for those who are interested in links with the past. This is the smelting house ruin, which stands on the northern shore of Bon Accord Harbour. Built by a rival company about the same time as the smelter house of Captain Ninnis, it is much the larger of the two, and there is no mine adjacent. Where the ore smelted there came from is a mystery, although rumour has it that this company was not allowed by the original company to take the copper from the island, hut had to get it from the rocks below highwater mark during low tide. However that may be, there is no doubt that smelting was carried on on a large scale, for this ruin is of conj siderable dimensions. Standing near the water’s edge in a sheltered deepwater cove, it is surrounded by heaps I of discarded copper ore; while at the ! back old tracks are still risible lead- ; ing to the fresh-water creek. ! But it is the view from the sea. I some chains away, which grips the : imagination. The shape of the struc- , ture is unique lor a New Zealaud building, for everyone of the four j sides is composed of a series of great ! arched apertures. Rounding a headland and coming upon this relic unexpectedly, one’s first impression is of an ancient Aztec ruin, so incongruous seems this strange, lonely building on the water’s edge, with its background of scrub-covered hills. Its arched window openings, however, give it a peculiarly Roman aspect, and the thought occurs to me that as this style of architecture was brought here by the Cornish miners, Cornwall itself may still perchance retain traces of the Phoenician and Roman contact. known to have influenced it many i centuries ago when Cornwall was the ; greatest tin-mining country of the then-known world. Is this an extravagant theory? Perhaps so, but an in- [ teresting speculation nevertheless, | and one on which future investigation | may throw some light.

And so we leave the ruins of the copper mines at Kawau. Silent they stand, reminders of the busy days eighty years ago when (.here were 500 people on the island. They are gradually crumbling away, and soon they must eventually disappear. Hotv much longer are our people to remain indifferent to ruins such as these? They are all falling into decay through lack of interest and adequate protection. St. Thomas’s Church at St Ileliers. the old Mount Eden windmill, many old Auckland buildings, the mission house at Kohimarama—all are going gradually, and some dav the people of New Zealand will wake up to the fact that although admittedly we are a young country, wa should jealously preserve the few old relics left to us. But alas! it will then btoo late.