In 1854 the Gibbons family sailed into the Manukau Harbour. Being veteran timber millers in their native Nova Scotia, they must have been pleased to see the richly timber clad hills of the Waitakere Ranges.
The Gibbons almost immediately secured cutting rights in the wide open Huia Valley and soon after the adjacent narrow and heavily gorged Karamatura valley. It is believed that John Gibbons milled the Huia valley, whilst his son Ebenezer oversaw operations in the Karamatura.
In the Karamatura, the Gibbons built a large earth holding dam located in the present picnic area. This holding dam feed water and logs to a water-powered sawmill at the mouth of the Karamatura Stream, some 400 metres from the dam.
In the high headwaters of the Karamatura, a small tributary stream known as Whites Stream meanders through a flat plateau. This high plateau would have been ideal for Kauri forest and rich pickings for the Gibbons family.
The problem was getting the timber out to the mill; Whites Stream drops off the plateau to the main stream over large bluffs and an impressive waterfall. To overcome this obstacle, the Gibbons built a low dam in Whites Stream and floated logs down to an earth holding dam above the waterfall. They then cut a deep trench through the low ridge, and lowered the logs by chute into the main Karamatura Stream about 60 metres below. From here the logs were probably moved by rolling sideways downhill along a 'rolling road' to a bush tramway in the lower part of the valley, and then onto the mill.
It is interesting to note that based on their native Nova Scotia experience, the Gibbons floated the timber downstream with a low dam. This form of gentle flotation was not suited to the rugged New Zealand hills that needed a big surge of water to flush the logs. The Gibbons quickly adapted to this and pioneered the concept of driving dams that were used throughout the New Zealand timber industry until the 1940's.
Around 1870, the Gibbons ceased milling in this area and moved on to build another mill at Whatipu. Considerable millable timber remained, and in about 1900, The Manukau Timber Company took over the area. They breached - and probably removed - the Gibbons earth dam on Whites Stream. They erected a timber barrier over the Gibbons Cut and drove logs directly over the waterfalls. Presumably the driving technique was sufficiently developed by this time that the trench and chute over the ridge was no longer required to safely transport the logs.
The cache site is easily reached from the Karamatura car park by following the Karamatura Track. The track climbs steadily up the valley until the lower Whites Stream is crossed. It's then a sharp ascent as the track climbs about 120 metres elevation in a short distance to the old Gibbons trench waypoint. The old trench crosses the track and is very obvious on the uphill side of the track (waypoint given). The trench is about 40 m long and leads to upper Whites Stream. The cache is on the right hand side of the cut entrance on the bank, behind two tall Kanuka trees. There is no need to leave the track. No camo, 1 litre plastic box, please cover well on leaving
The remains of the old earth holding dam have been completely obliterated by the passage of time and later milling efforts, but the diversion cut through the low ridge with pick and shovel remains as testimony to the efforts of the Gibbons family almost 150 years ago.