For nearly a thousand years Maori people tracked across the formidable Southern Alps or rowed the wild oceans in their quest for valuable Jade.

The Maori folk lived here to trade. occasional rivalries sparked violence and deaths with an annihilation of one community.

1860s - 1920s
Modern civilizations found gold here. They swept over the land plundering the giant forests, shredding the land and slicing into waterways.  The wealth gold swept the new colony of New Zealand into a prosperous independent country.  By the 1900s gold declined the crowds left this zone leaving many cities and towns derelicts.

1920s - 1980s
Those hardy folk who stayed changed and the majority of towns folk began working for the the growing timber and coal mining industries.

1980s Onwards
The main industries, were smashed again as demand for coal dropped and pressure from the conservationists to keep the native trees arrived. The locals were devastated again large portions of the people left the area and communities died away.

Studies
We follow the stories of the zone seeing the vulnerabilities of settlements. We see for ourselves the effects of crushing economic blows and begin to understand how cultures develop. We learn about communities that die and experience the sobering results of these situations.