West Coast pit stop

The once-famous mining town of Denniston. Picture / Jim Eagles

As we turn off our miners lights in the dark depths of the Coalbrookdale mine, we ponder what life was like for the hardy West Coasters who worked here 100 years ago.

I grip my thick, whitebait pattie sandwich and try not to think about the rats that are now the most regular visitors to the "crib room" I'm sitting in.

It's not hard to imagine the grim monotony of mining life. I'm relieved when the lights come back on and I can see where I've left my cup of tea.

Experiencing the coal mine as our West Coast forebears did is a tourist attraction in the making for the Buller region. Although final consents and schedules are yet to be approved, it seems hard to imagine the proposal won't get off the ground. Or under it, as the case may be.

We had special permission to be the guinea pigs for Gary James - one of Denniston's six permanent residents - and his coal mine experience which takes in the rich history of the old mining town set high on the hills behind Westport.

The town is affectionately known as The Hill and its colourful history is James' passion.

He runs the museum and speaks of the town's former residents as if they are old friends who shifted away to the city last week, instead of ancestors long dead and buried.

On our journey up the winding road to the mine entrance he stops often to compare the black and white pictures of the school, hospital and houses with the naked hillside now home only to grass.

"We're parked in the front room of this house," he says, pointing to sepia-toned photos of the old homestead.

It is extremely hard to believe this was once the site of a busy West Coast town.

It's an easy half-hour walk up the old coal tub line. The line runs from the mine to where the coal was loaded into other tubs and sent down the perilously steep rail incline that reached all the way to the flat land far below Denniston.

Inside the Coalbrookdale mine it is dark but not cold or damp. Our eyes soon adjust to the minimal light and we walk carefully before climbing a ladder into more darkness and eerie calm.

It's only a short haul and we aren't really very deep underground, but we are treated for our efforts with the whitebait pattie sandwiches and a cup of tea, followed by lashings of cake made by Gary's wife. This is what miners call "crib", otherwise known as lunch.

This may or may not be the cuisine future clients receive - the nitty gritty of the trips have to be worked out.

But whitebait pattie or not, a trip to Denniston is worth the jaunt up the winding road, even without the promise of a miner's lunch at the end.

The ghost town is little more than a collection of ruins and historical information but it's a fascinating history lesson to stand on the stark, wind-swept hilltop, trying to imagine the scores of houses and people that used to inhabit the area.

But those who do have forebears here are fierce in their loyalty to the region. Once a year the living relatives return for a gathering. They call themselves the Friends of the Hill and photos of their parties adorn the museum walls.

A quick way to get the gist of the bleakness of mining family life in 1800s Denniston is to read Denniston Rose, a story of a girl who grew up there. Talks are under way to make the novel into a movie.

Look up Gary James before you make the 20-minute trip out of Westport. If he is not working at a nearby open cast coal mine (where fellow miners call him Half Day on account of his part-time employment), he will probably be at the museum and more than happy to spend an hour or two to talk you through the history of the village.

Further information

For local advice on the West Coast talk to Chris Hartigan at the Coaltown Museum in Westport, 03 789 8204; Dulcie McNabb at the Karamea Information Centre, 03 782 6652; Lynn Taylor at the Westport Information Centre, 03 789 6658; Debbie Collings at the Greymouth Information Centre, 03 768 5101.

* Monique Devereux visited the Buller District courtesy of the West Coast Development Trust.