Cherry Channon (front) and Charlie Bilby emerge from a vertical shaft to a platinum mine on the Sledge Track. Photo / supplied.
The image of a lone prospector spending 52 years searching for platinum in the foothills of the Tararua near Palmerston North is a romantic one. But it's not quite what it seems.
Hungarian-born Alexander Menesdorffer prospected the area of what is now the Sledge Track between 1875 and 1927, but
his visits to two claims totalling 40ha were sporadic.
Platinum was there, proved by specimens submitted by him. Of four separate specimens assayed at different laboratories in Melbourne, three yielded indications of platinum, while the fourth was pronounced as "satisfactory". But that was as far as it went for despite some excitement at Menesdorffer's find, no commercial exploitation ever take place.
Several mines created by Menesdorffer are signposted on the Sledge Track and you can climb on ladders down vertical shafts. The mines add to the track's attraction. A moderate to hard outing, the track is visited frequently by the Wanganui Tramping Club, the last time in September.
The club's weekend programme for January is:
8 or 9 Sat or Sun, Urchin Peak, leader Adrian
14-17 Fri-Mon, Kime Hut, leader Tracey
15 or 16 Sat or Sun, Ruapehu Skyline Walk, leader Cherry
21-24 Fri-Mon, Trains Hut, leader Brian
28-31 Fri-Mon, Tangarakau, leader Dorothy
29 or 30 Sat or Sun, Whakapapaiti Hut, leader Terry
