Capleston

 Capleston is still spoken of by old residents as Boatman's, its original designation. The settlement is eleven miles from Reefton, via Cronadun, six miles distant. It is in the Boatman's riding of the county of Inangahua, in the electorate of Buller, and the provincial district of Nelson. Boatman's creek, a tributary of the Inangahua river, flows through the valley. The township contains two hotels, a store, a blacksmith's shop, a public library, and a public school, which is attended by about twentyfive children. The local post office, where money order and savings bank business may be transacted, has a telephone bureau. There are two churches—a Roman Catholic and an Anglican—and in the latter various Protestant bodies hold their services. In the Victoria Range, nine miles distant, there are numerous quartz reefs, including Kirwan's Reward Mine. Mining is the staple industry of Capleston, and there are several dredges at work. Good coal is found in the district, and some farming is carried on. The neighbouring mountains rise to altitudes, varying from 3,430 feet to 4,247 feet, and, further inland toward the Mauria river, are situated Mount Victoria, 5,237 feet, and Mount Ralph, 5,070 feet. At the census of 1901, Capleston had a population of 153 persons, with 20 more on the Capleston road. There is a coach service between Cronadun and Capleston.

THE CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW ZEALAND

A road used to run from opposite the Cronadun Hotel to Boatman's Creek, a minor tributary of the Inangahua River, where John Redman and party reported that they had found gold in 1866. The township of Capleston, was once located in the Boatman's Creek Valley, a minor tributary of the Inangahua River. The town was originally known known as Gorgetown until December 1873, when it was named Caplestown, after P.Q. Caples , Otago prospector, who prospected in the Boatman's Creek area. It became the centre of supply and recreation for miners who worked reefs further up at Caple Creek. Capleston had a population of 153, two hotels, a bakery , butcher, store, blacksmith, public library, school, post office and two churches and several dredges worked in the vicinity.

Latham, Darrell, 'The Golden Reefs', Pegasus, 1984.

On this day 150 years ago – 20th January 1874 the newly built township carved out of the thick West Coast bush alongside Boatman’s Creek, now called CAPLESTON   was being marked out and surveyed.

                        This new name was reported a month earlier in December 1873 in the Inangahua Herald …….”The official name of what has hitherto been known as Gorgetown is Capleston, the latter is much more euphonious and more appropriate as associated with Mr Caples, the prospector of the reefs in that locality.’’

                                                          Although miners had been working the Boatmans valley on and off since 1866 after another well-known prospector, John Redman discovered the first alluvial gold in the creek that bears his name, it was not until Feb. 1872 following the rush to the valley a month earlier, Patrick Q Caples, a well-known prospector, who was employed by a number of Greymouth gentleman crossed the range at Boatman’s discovering a reef showing ‘’as much GOLD as would satisfy any man.’’ He pegged out a claim put on 21 men to represent the Greymouth shareholders, a number of them then made their way up the Grey Valley to the Inangahua after P Q Caples sent note to them. They joined the large number of miners from Murray Creek and other locations nearby that also moved camp in search of a strike of their own.

             The Greymouth business men that invested in the Boatman’s reefs were no doubt the same suppliers of goods and transport companies that were continuously reported in the papers improving the road to the ‘reefs over the saddle’ attempting to outbid their goods and trade against their brothers in Westport.

            In early 1872 The Greymouth gentleman were very pleased when the ‘new saddle’ road was discovered and formed from Mai-Mai or Squaretown as it was known then, to Devils Creek (essentially where the saddle is now, albeit  more direct and far less winding than the 1872 route) This new saddle road shortened the distance by several miles,  the original saddle came over further up the Mai Mai valley dropping down near the confluence of the Inangahua & Waitahu (left Hand Branch) rivers,  therefore less charges for freight etc than Westport,,,,,,

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,However,,,,,,,The same Greymouth gentlemen were not happy that the new discovery that was now viewed as centrally located  in the Inangahua  field.

               Boatmans trade that they plyed was now a greater distance by road from 1872, as it now meant that Westport  had the edge on distance as Boatman’s was indeed much closer to the original saddle route than Reefton and the important Murray Creek reefs . Even Hokitika jumped in on the freight and road debate, they argued that due to flooding in the Grey Valley at Stillwater and the Arnold, that a road should be pushed from the West Coast –Canterbury Road through the mining area at Bell Hill to Ahuara the then central town of the valley, where they could supply the Inangahua from their busy port.

Every one wants a piece of good ole Reefton City !

          This marking out of CAPLESTON on this day 150 years ago resulted in a survey of 133 sections divided into 10 groups /lots separated by 5 streets. The main thoroughfare named Church Street, yes there was a church on it , Catholic of course as the population was predominantly Irish, and true to form, there was a pub either side, Rogers Reefers Hotel (my Great Great Gradfather’s Bernard Rogers) and Catherine O’Grady’s  Globe Hotel on the other side.

The other streets were Caplin,Winford, Mount and Healy Streets. Only about half of the 133 section were purchased by these pioneer Coasters, Section No1 and 9 others, along with 2 leases of a couple of hundred acres was taken up by William Brown Archer, who had built a Hotel/store and served as the post office from early 1872, he would be prominent in local affairs followed by another 3 generations that would call Capleston home.

                            The papers would report that Mrs Healy was the first woman to take up residence early in 1872 followed 3 months later by Mrs Archer (Janet) then Mrs Danks.

             As the years rolled on the lure and rewards of gold would result in the establishment of 6 hotels a bakery, library, School of Mines (a larger role than the Reefton school in its first years) A Jockey Club for those kings of the sport in Boatman’s  Valley, Cricket, Football, Tennis, Hockey clubs also formed,  Capleston born Bernard ‘’ Frank’’ Smyth a sergeant that saw action in Ypres, Passchendaele and the Some would swap his helmet for an All Black cap as a hooker in 1922.

Capleston 1877 Looking South

There would be weather events, harsh frosts and snow, loss of life in a land slip taking out a cottage, jobs plenty in the gold and coal mines, the richest gold per ton of ore were in this locality, sadly deaths resulted through accidents and the industry illness –the dreaded ‘miners complaint,’  There were other accidents, a coach load of Reefton racegoers returning home after a day following the horses were dumped upside down into a muddy creek as the bridge collapsed, locals saving them in the murky water, except the driver, the rest of the crowd were ‘marooned’ on the other side of the creek with the coaches and traps, having to hold up there long dresses and walk back to Reefton, arriving at two  in the morning.

      There were the ever popular St Patricks Day sports and parties, weddings , funerals, if a body was found?  as was not the case in one instance, who’s  disappearance resulted in suspicion of murder, however unproved he was last reportedly seen crossing a footbridge at Boatmans, the accused saying he fell into the creek and was swept away,  his body would turn up several years later, somehow it not only made it downstream in the relatively smaller Boatmans Creek, but it also travelled upstream in the Inangahua for about 5 miles, then managed to make it upstream for a similar distance up the Waitahu, I suspect foul play ?

            There would be a survivor of a house bombing, horse falls, police investigation into alcohol offences that publicans Archer and Coghlan would collaborate in a story for justice, the police won ! Archer was fined.

Capleston 1910 -Alexander Turnball Library

Another survivor ‘elderly’ ( in early 1900’s terms) P Q  Caples was missing in the bush , but all was well he had simply been prospecting an area he had explored in the early days over in the Maruia.

     This miner,  prospector, investor, councilor, board member and director of companies and community groups, eventually, as many residents at the town where the Gorge begins, and the gold waned, moved into Reefton.

          Patrick Quirk Caples died in 1904 aged 74. This Irish born intrepid explorer & adventurer had several creeks and a river named after him, as Reefton itself was layed out it included Caples Street, he himself named the Hollyford River on a wee tramp from Otago to the unsettled West Coast in 1863.

           And off course he had a Town named after him, his name was officially written on a title of the map surveyed today 150 years ago….CAPLESTON.

Capleston 1980's Only Bert Bades house remaining after 110 years.

Capleston 1910 -Alexander Turnball Library

Comment:

Kim Charles...

I remember their house. One of the girls was similar in age to me. They moved to Reefton eventually and lived on Bridge street I think...My Uncle Harry Read and Nana Winchester lived next door

Plaque added to P Q Caples headstone at the Burkes Creek Cemetery

A Fire Brigade resulted after the church burnt down, the  hotels either side survived,

another fire destroyed most of the main street, as Reefton built an iron-piped water supply and reservoir in the late 1880’s, so too did Capleston.

Comments from West Coast Recollect:

Colleen Yee

Is this photo taken after the fire destroyed part of the town's buildings?

Allan Archer

Colleen Yee hard to say, the fire was at the top end of the Street, Rogers hotel hasn't had the remodeled front and verandah added, guess mid to late 1880,s ?

Deb Bn

May I ask is this now farmland ?

Malcolm Gollan

Deb Bn yes all gone now. You can still make out the sites in the hill where the churches were from the old trees but sadly on the flat the buildings were all removed and turned into farmland not that much remained even in the 1990s.

Paddy Beban

My grandmother Margaret Anne Slattery was born at Boatman's on 23rd July 1883. She married Artie Beban at the catholic church in Reefton on 24th November 1910

Comment from West Coast Recollect:

Colleen Yee

Both churches were destroyed by fire on Saturday 14 January 1933, as reported in the 'Press" 18 January 1933, page 5.

Vehicles and Horses from Lawrys at Capleston

The Poppet Head of the Fiery Cross Gold Mine at Capleston

1930

The historic Fiery Cross gold mine is 16 kilometres north of Reefton, as part of the Kirwans Track. At the end of this road was the former town of Capleston, which held 1000 people in 1877.

The Fiery Cross Mine was the tenth richest for gold production in the Reefton district, producing 52 943 tonnes of quartz, for 27 843 ounces of gold, at a grade of 34.8 .

The lode was discovered by M. and J. Ryan in 1872, along with the nearby Alexandra and Hopeful lodes. A company was formed, and they jointly built a 15 head battery with the Just-in-Time Mine in 1873. The first crushing for Fiery Cross was so rich, it paid off their share of the battery costs, and generated a dividend.

The Fiery Cross shoot averaged 3 to 4 feet wide, and was 400 feet long in the upper levels, but this decreased at depth. In 1887, the Fiery Cross Mine absorbed the neighbouring Alexandra lease, and then the Hopeful Extended lease in 1888. Several tributers followed, and a company reconstruction, but to no avail, and the company was liquidated in 1893. The blame was placed on the company handing out dividends to shareholders, rather than retaining money to go prospecting for more ore.The plant and claim was purchased by Rooney and party who extracted ore for two years, considered too low a grade by the company, but profitable to a small party of miners.

The Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand Limited purchased the mine in 1895, and cleaned out the Fiery Cross and Just-in-Time shafts in 1899. By 1910, the above two mines and Welcome were all under one owner, supported by a government subsidy, although it did not eventuate into any mining.

Comments from West Coast Recollect:

Malcolm Gollan

Looks like during construction of the winder. The drums are in front and various driving wheels lying around and a horse team just arriving.

Allan Archer

Malcolm Gollan it is indeed, and the winding engine is the one on display at the Isite on Broadway in Reefton City

Malcolm Gollan

Allan Archer where those ladders are looks to be the boiler tubes and the tank above. I don't think any of it remains but it must have been a substantial boiler.

Allan Archer

Unusual looking arrangement Malcolm tubes have quite a steep angle and the tank.being so high and separated, must be a pressure vessel ? Dont know much about it ,could the winder have been air powered?.need a steam enthusiast's opinion on it all

Gary Blackhawk

Allan Archer Internals of a Babcock Wilcox water tube boiler which will be all bricked in to complete. The tubes are arranged on an angle to provide convective circulation to and from the main header drum above. Blacks Point have amakers plate off a similar Babcock Wilcox boiler. This type was used at Waiuta also.

Allan Archer

Cheers Gary. What is the vessel on top ?

Allan Archer

Is it a water reservoir?

Marjorie Mckenzie

Peter's great grandfather Tom McKenzie probably supplied the logs for the poppet head as he had a sawmill in Capleston around this time.

Remains of the Boiler of the Fiery Cross Mine, Capleston, 1975.

Remains of Boilers at the Fiery Cross Mine, Capleston, 1969.

The earliest pic I have found of Capleston 1877

which is also the very year that Great Great Grandad

Bernard Rogers built his hotel after moving from the other side of the Paparoas from Brighton.

The location fits in with later pics of the town with the Globe hotel

a few doors down which remained unchanged in appearance as

time went on.Bernard altered his several times and being staunch Irish Catholic it appears he built next to the church which  ended up on the hill overlooking Capleston,after a fire that destroyed several buildings on the main street aptly named Church St

Rogers Reefers Hotel 1880s? the bloke on the wagon may be the famed teamster Bob Henderson author of Friends in Chains a great ole book on cartage in the Inangahua district with horse and wagons

Rogers Reefers Hotel        By Allan Archer

Article in the Inangahua Times 1880...now online papers past