Shantytown |
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| Attraction - Greymouth | More Information and Bookings | |||||
| Price: | Starting from NZ $28.50 per adult | |||||
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Living New Zealand History at Shantytown Discover fascinating stories of real New Zealanders and experience the sights and sounds of a recreated gold-rush village just 10kms from Greymouth. The gold rush in 1864 saw a population explosion from around 300 to 30,000 residents on the West Coast. The isolation, the extreme weather and the rugged terrain produced stories of fortitude and ingenuity. Shantytown tells these stories through a fascinating mix of experience and displays. Ride the Steam Train along an original tramway through native rainforest, watch out for the wekas! Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a working sawmill, watch the mighty sluice gun blast gold bearing rock and soil from the earth, then follow the races to the gold claim and pan for your own gold - a strike is guaranteed! The beautiful, setting on 500 acres of native rainforest offers a feeling of remoteness while only 10 minutes from the seaside town of Greymouth. The rainforest is easily accessible with short bush walks and trails around the Park. The village, with 30 shops and buildings to explore shows life the way it used to be careful, the Victorian school teachers might make you attend handwriting classes! Purchase a postcard from Reuben Waite's General Store and send it from the Shantytown post-box, stamped with the unique Shantytown Postmark. For a memento of your visit to Shantytown nothing is better than to grab a costume and get an old time photo. The Township With over thirty buildings there is plenty to see at Shantytown. Buildings include the Church, Gem and Mineral hall, Masonic Lodge, the Printers, Hannah Footwear, the Fire Station, the Post Office, the Train Station... and many more. Each building tells a story of life in the Gold rush, through the use of displays, interpretation panels, photographs and of course the collection of museum artifacts inside each. Before you leave make sure you've counted the flies in Groom's Butchery, seen Chinatown, and the Gaol (jail) Steam Trains On either the 1877 L-Class, 1896 improved F-Class Kaitangata or 1913 Climax, you will take a short trip through lush native rain forest along a line which follows an original sawmill tram track of the 1800's. A stop for photos and to inspect the train cab, and perhaps to feed the Weka (flightless native birds) On the return trip our Train stops at Infants Creek Sawmill to disembark and take a short walk to our gold claim, or to see the mighty sluice gun (water cannon) blast gold bearing rock and soil from the earth. OUr gold mining team will tutor you to find your own gold using classic panning techniques, another short rain forest walk has you back in the heart of the village. Gold Panning Feeling lucky? A member of our gold claim team will guide you through the entire panning process where you'll be assured of winning a small 'colour'(piece of gold)as a wonderfuly unique souvenir of your visit Charlie and his team are waiting in the claim to show you how it's done. Old Time Photos For a great souvenir of your visit to Shantytown why not get an old time photo? We have many costumes available for men, women and children. Whether its a brassy bargirl or an old maid...or a policeman or train robber...we have the costume and accessories to set up a fanstastic photo opportunity for you! Nature Walks The area in and around Shantytown was at the centre of the goldrush and the subsequent sawmilling and bush tramways era. Evidence of these times are still clearly viewed from Shantytown's two rain forest walking tracks: Water races from the goldrush era are still visible and Shantytown's steam trains run along an original bush tramway line. | ||||||
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Address Rutherglen Road Paroa Greymouth |
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