BIRTH AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
He also added that “the details of the proposition, together with a Bill to enable me to carry it into effect, will be submitted to you for consideration.” An Act “to promote the construction of a railway from Westport to Charleston and Brighton” was passed by the Provincial Council and received the Governor’s assent, on 4th November, 1867. There, however, the matter ended, for the railway was not built.
In 1869 the Resident Magistrate, Mr. Charles Broad, reported to the Government that “very extensive workings are noted at Charleston immediately upon crossing the Nile bridge from the north, extending four miles to the Tikopihi River, with a depth of three or four miles to the sea. In this block is the township of Charleston, of which all the available ground continues to be worked; while dams and water-races meet the eye in every direction. The township of Charleston probably contains some two hundred houses, a very large number of which are public-houses. The town is rapidly improving in appearance; the banks and churches are all pretentious buildings, and some of the hotels present an exterior that would do credit to a longer-settled community.” The Tikopihi River referred to is the stream later known as the Four-mile River. Mr. Broad continued: “The results anticipated by my predecessor, Mr. Lightband, as to the effect upon the district of the introduction of machinery, and also the granting of extended areas, has been fully realised.”
In 1869 an official return showed that 80 of the principal claims were worked by machinery, employing 513 men, and the plants were valued at £86,010. Ten of these claims were worked by steam, and seventy by water power. In addition, there were twice as many water-wheels, horse-whims, and hand-machines. This would indicate that about 240 claims were working cement. In this year, 1869, 470 applications were heard for head- and tail-races, 307 for dams, 99 extended claims were granted, 22 goldmining leases, 5 agricultural leases, and 4 special claims. A footnote to the report added that “Charleston has already put on an appearance of permanent and lasting prosperity”—a false impression, as the years have proved.
In 1870 the Magisterial report stated: “Many miners
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