The Golden Reefs: an Account of the Great Days of Quartz-Mining at Reefton, Waiuta and the Lyell by Darrell Latham.
Increasingly difficult to source, this 1984 first edition from Pegasus Publishing is a hardback in good condition, with a counterfeit dust jacket. Endpapers are a little stained, but the unique thing about this book is the previous owner - Sylvia Broad, granddaughter of Magistrate Broad, after whom Broadway in Reefton is named.
After the exciting era of the West Coast alluvial gold rushes was over came the 'quartzmania' as men tried to wrest a fortune from the hard quartz reef of the Coast. This is the story of that mining effort.
This book describes the period of European discovery, the important mining ventures at Waiuta, Boatman's, Larry's Creek, The Lyell and Crushington and the fluctuating fortunes of the mines in the region.
500 pages
Illustrated
145 x 220mm