- 1830s  Greenstone gathering (Stone Age) Maori traded their valuable stone

1830 - 1860s Local Maori were massacred the area largely deserted.

1860s - 1900s - Gigantic gold rush bought swarms of modern European settlers flooding the zone.  Forests were cleared; roads, towns and ports pulsed. This was a bustling financial centre of New Zealand.

1900s - 1960s Gold dwindled, towns were deserted to the devouring forests.  Coal mining, farming and timber milling sustained the decimated populations.

1960s - 1990s Milling was banned and coal markets collapsed.  People left their homes to the angry forests.  Dreams gone, skills unwanted.

Now -  Tourism and diary farming mainly keep the locals employed.

Studies
Remnants of the past still here quickly help us realise our vulnerabilities.

Memories - of better days