Blacks Point

Blacks Point Dick Lomax Horse Cart People Horiz
Rata Cottage 220 pixels

Blacks Point is a historic township just 2 km east of Reefton on the Lewis Pass Highway (SH7) to Christchurch. It is a small settlement rich in cultural history with strong Cornish and Celtic connections dating back to the 1860s when alluvial gold was first found in Murray Creek by the Murray brothers. With its setting alongside the Inangahua River, historic cottages, cottage gardens and meandering streets, Blacks Point is an interesting place to wander around and is the start of the Murray Creek walking track network

Blacks Point Museum

This fascinating museum right in the heart of Blacks Point is housed in the old Wesleyan Methodist Church dating from 1876. The museum houses thousands of exhibits which offer an insight into the history of the Inangahua area and the early settlers who came to work the mines and make this area their home.

Peter Lawn or Graham Gollan, the museum's enthusiastic curators, are always willing to explain the history of the area to visitors, or to assist the search for information in the museum's extensive archive.

From late October to mid April the museum is open:
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday 9.00 am - 12.00 noon, 1.00 pm - 4.00 pm
Saturday 1.00 pm - 4.00 pm.

Museum entry is $5.00/adult; $3.00/children; $12.00/family; group concessions by arrangement

During the winter months, the museum is often open during school holidays or long weekends, or can be opened by arrangement by contacting:
- Peter Lawn, phone (03) 732 8835
- Graham Gollan, “Larch Cottage”, phone (03) 732 8446
- Reefton Visitor Centre, phone (03) 732 8391 or email reefton@i-SITE.org

Gold Stamper Battery

 

Directly behind the museum on the site of the former Golden Fleece Battery is a working 5-head quartz stamper battery. The battery is powered by a water driven pelton wheel recovered from the Golden Lead Mine site in Deep Creek.

This is a fascinating piece of mechanical machinery, carefully restored and maintained in working order by Bill Watts. You can watch the stampers (vertical hammers) move up and down in a cyclical rhythm crushing the quartz and releasing the gold.

The battery operates as part of the museum and is open every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon from late October to mid April. Entry is $1.00/adult.

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