West Coast Region – the gold discovery on the Taramakau in 1864
In 1864 two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau, found gold near the Taramakau River, and within a year an estimated 1,800 prospectors had arrived. Hokitika grew so fast that in 1866 it was briefly the most populous settlement in New Zealand, while rush towns such as Ōkārito flared and faded as miners moved on. The region is home to Ngāi Tahu, who value it above all for the pounamu, or greenstone, found here in abundance. Coal followed gold: discovered near the Buller River in the mid-1840s, it was mined in earnest from the 1860s. Today Te Tai Poutini is the least populous region in the country, with around 32,900 residents. Share your memories and photographs with us.