Kumara

Many times we've driven through Kumara on the way to somewhere else. We've never stopped there - just slowed down to the speed limit and driven through. So we never knew this little town was so rich in history!
The other day, while we were in the area looking at some land we had half an hour to spare before meeting the real estate agent, so we parked on the main street and had a look around.

Billboards in a park on the Main Street sharing historical information.

Kumara is a town on the West Coast of the South Island. It's located 30kms south of Greymouth on State Highway 73 which leads across Arthurs Pass to Canterbury.
  
The name Kumara is believed to be from the Maori words "Kohe Mara' which means the blossom of tataramoa (bush lawyer).

In 1876 gold was discovered at Kumara. Apparently two years earlier, in 1874 two miners decided to set up an illicit whiskey still opposite the house site of Richard Seddon (New Zealand's longest serving Prime Minister who was once the mayor of Kumara and lived in the township). While clearing the area for the whiskey still these two miners discovered coarse nuggety gold in the gravel. They kept their find a secret until 1876 and then word got out and the gold rush win the area began. During the height of the gold rush, Kumara had close to 50 pubs, a hospital, courthouse, police station and its on newspaper.

One of the pubs built in 1876 was owned by Otto Anderson ( from Scandinavia) and Annie (from Germany). A 30 metre theatre was added to the hotel and traveling shows from England and America came to perform. New Zealand's famous poet 'Thomas Bracken' was a popular guest and Richard Seddon was known to sing there.

Dancing girls were employed to dance with the gold miners. When the miners struck gold a message would be passed down to Annie to get the dancing girls ready as the boys were coming to town!

In 2010 Kerrie and Mark Fitzgibbon purchased the hotel which was in total disrepair and had been vandalised. They spent two years restoring and rebuilding it and it is now open for visitors to enjoy a drink, a meal or an overnight stay. A great place to learn about this little town's history. 

Not far up the road are some old swimming baths. These were built in the 1930s using the rocks from gold sluicing. A local man had watched children in the area enjoying a pool formed by flood waters and got local men to volunteer to build a much better pool. The stones used were 'tailings' left behind from gold mining in the area. The wood was provided by a local mill. The Woman's Institute raised money for some changing rooms for women.It was a real community project which raised the communities spirits and provided a focus. 

The water for the olympic sized pool came from the Dillmanston water supply. It was the largest swimming pool in New Zealand back in the day. 

Unfortunately the pool closed in the 1940s. The huge pipes which provided the water began to rust and the water supply was lost.  Now all that remains is the rock exterior.

Today, Kumara has a population of just over 300 people. Now that the 'West Coast Wilderness Trail' goes through the town, its history can be discovered and shared.