Don't Fall (Waikato) Traditional Cache
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A nice walk to see a great view of the Waihi Pump House and the famous Waihi Martha gold mine.
Waihi Martha gold mine
William Nicholl marked out a 5 acres (20,000 m2) claim, calling it "Martha" after a family member. Several smaller claims were later merged to form the Martha Company. By 1882 the first battery to break gold-bearing rock was in operation. The Martha Mine eventually grew into one of the world's most important gold and silver mines, after industrial cyanide processes made recovering gold from the low-grade ores easier. Waihi prospered with the mine, by 1908 being the fastest-growing town in the Auckland Province, three times the size of Hamilton.
Waihi Pump House
Completed in 1904, the building, based on a design used in the tin mines in Cornwall, England (there is one other example in New Zealand, on Kawau Island) was used to house the steam engines and pumps to keep the 400-metre deep No. 5 mine shaft dry. The pump was designed to shift 6375 litres of water per minute and was used until 1913, when electric centrifugal pumps replaced it, though it was kept in working order until 1929, on account of miners’ deep mistrust of that newfangled electricity. Today it is a gorgeous shell, Gothic-looking, with its tall, imposing lines and cathedral-scale windows, and has become a symbol for the town. But it lives a perilous existence.
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