The epic gold rush history of Charleston, New Zealand!

Рет қаралды 12,353

2 жыл бұрын

Todays video is something special, something I have been working on for a long time, today I tell you the history of Charleston on the West Coast of New Zealand, which in the 1860's was subject to an absolutetly incredible gold rush, the city was on the path to become the Capital of New Zealand, thousands upon thousands of diggers rushed to this town, some were making the modern equvalient of tens of thousands of $ a day and many more incomes that would blow most jobs out of the water, however drive through today and all you can see is a few houses and shops and hear the roar of the ocean. So what happened? Today I tell of the Boom and Bust of Charleston!
Hope you enjoy and thanks so much for watching!
Huge Credit and thank you to: West Coast gold rushes written by Phillip Ross May, West Coast recollect and biggest of all the locals at Charleston for helping make this video possible.
Become a part of it all and help support The Sluicers by becoming a Patron! Plus get perks like Shoutous, early access to videos, exclusive extra videos and so much more : www.patreon.com/TheSluicers?f...
#metaldetecting #goldprospecting #goldnuggets #gold #goldsluicing #goldmining #goldpanning #findinggold #thefinders #newzealand

Пікірлер: 82

@mw292 5 ай бұрын

Amazing story, I had no idea they found so much gold there

@cedricbadger1348 2 жыл бұрын

I visited Charleston beginning of 1966 with my parents as a 12 year old. From a distance I saw the original European hotel rather skeletal but sadly my mother wouldn't let me venture too close for a photo fearing it might collapse. James McLeish wrote a book " Tavern in the Town " saying that they wrapped a rope around it later in 1966 and pulled it down with a bulldozer. You've done alot of hard work well done

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks awesome bro! Would have been a lot different back then, shame you couldn’t get in to have a closer look. Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed the video!

@GSProspecting 2 жыл бұрын

Great job all around fam. Keep me posted on having fun. Gold Squad Out!!!

@nzpatriot2009 Жыл бұрын

Mate, awesome wee doco, great to hear it told by a local :) Good on you mate, may your pans never rust and your sluice box always shine 🤜🏻🤛🏻 Greg

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks a heap and glad you enjoyed the video! I loved making it and sharing the history of such a cool place! Cheers

@erniepowell3603 4 күн бұрын

Great story mate very interesting

@markwigmore2103 2 жыл бұрын

Very informative and well put together, a brilliant job, well done!

@suebillingMetalDetecting 2 жыл бұрын

What an awesome video! I loved hearing about the gold rush days down south. Very informative. Thank you.

@phoenixkb134 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing this awesome history on the West Coast Gold Mining era.

@NZDirtPirate 2 жыл бұрын

Nicely done bro, thanks for taking the time and sharing this with us🤙

@allcarzautoparts Жыл бұрын

Thanks!!! very interesting love to come visit Charleston and hear more stories about the gold mining days of the 1800s, very impressive!!!

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot, yeah it is a totally awesome place and definitely worth a look, mining history can be seen round every corner!

@phill1304 3 ай бұрын

Amazing video! Thanks bro!

@williamgreen2225 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome story telling mate.

@ScottishGoldHunter 2 жыл бұрын

That’s really interesting man! I wish I took up panning as a hobby at least 10 years before I did! Would have got so much gold in Scotland before the hoards descended!!!Thanks for sharing⛏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot! Yeah aye every year more and more of that gold gets taken out, we are quite lucky on the West Coast as it’s so wet and so often subject to massive floods, gold washes down probably just as quick as prospectors take it out in most sites.

@insidebendprospecting 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely awesome job man! Super cool to learn some gold rush history from the other side of the world

@davidbrind8837 Жыл бұрын

Well done,good work

@stevethomson5522 2 жыл бұрын

Thats great and so interesting. Thanks for the brilliant doco

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Stoked you liked the video bro :)! Really enjoyed making it, thanks for watching!

@calebcustombricks2631 Жыл бұрын

Great video, mate, I learnt a lot! I'm thinking of making a short film for my media class based on this topic

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks heaps bro! In the 1980s my dad did a history report on Charleston for a big school project, he went round and interviewed everyone round the town and went to all the places and he got the highest marks in the whole school and it’s an amazing thing to study and share, it could be awesome to do!

@two-toneblue4872 5 ай бұрын

Thanks. Pretty good.

@georgefairweathermoonlight4 Жыл бұрын

great idea

@joshkeane3598 Жыл бұрын

Trip in October mate looking for that magic. Liking your local knowledge.

@cedricbadger1348 Жыл бұрын

One further note from me, My father Wisely took us on our touristy trip of the west coast slowly. First holiday was Westport exploring around there, then next year Greymouth. Before shanty town was around we saw Lyell Charleston and Goldsborough in broken down conditions. Met an old gold fossiker in Goldsborough who had marked out the original streets of Goldsborough. We were taken inland from Cobden with an elderly man and panned gold on his property, FREE Great fun. Sorry bit long story

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks bro that’s not a long story that’s awesome, it’s amazing how much things can deteriorate in just 50 years, it would have been amazing seeing the ghost towns on their last legs, sounds like an awesome time!

@danzielinski672 2 жыл бұрын

Nice vid, one best iv watched!

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome to hear, so glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

@robperano7708 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking the time and effort to make this mate.Very interesting and enjoyable.Will stop there overnight next time we're over there and poke about

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

No problem, really enjoyed making it and stoked you enjoyed! Definitely worth a look around the area if you are there, some really cool hidden spots! Thanks for watching

@gregberry7647 2 жыл бұрын

Well done. Thank you. I've been curious about the charleston fields for a long time. I've been whitebaiting at the Nile river, off and on since 1974. I still like to go there to try catch a kahawai and herring. There is always something new and interesting areas, I find every time.

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers appreciate it :)! My dad, uncle and more always do waitbaiting trips on the Nile, great spot for it aye! Nice yeah you stumble across old mining stuff everywhere aye! Thanks for watching !

@TheForsakenExplorerNz Жыл бұрын

Great history story, We will be checking out Charleston soon 😎👍

@TheForsakenExplorerNz Жыл бұрын

Charleston is going to one of our ghost Town video sites, Perhaps you might be able to meet up and share some of your history findings with our viewers 🙂

@videoworks7731 Жыл бұрын

well done young fella

@europanzz Жыл бұрын

Excellent video

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot, spent a heap of time on it so glad you liked it :).

@TJRfilmedit Жыл бұрын

Phenomenal video! You've really put so much thought, passion and effort into this so it was an easy subscribe. Living over on the east coast but will 100% be visiting next time i'm over. Bravo again

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks heaps bro really appreciate it! Means a lot! It’s an awesome place and definitely worth a pop in for a weekend! Thanks heaps for watching and the subscribe.

@josephknowlton7246 2 жыл бұрын

Liked, shared and commenting. 👏👏👏👏. Absoflippinlutely awesome! IMO one of yer best vids. I guess we don’t always have 2 c u get gold. In this case the story was the gold. U’ve had some vids that really grabbed my attention. But this was my favorite. And it ended by u getting bit by the gold bug n the story is what did it. Bravo young man!

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Really appreciate it, super stoked you liked this video :)! I spent ages making it and getting it done and stoked it was worth it. Yep aye this tale was the same story that started it all for me in the gold world. Best regards - The Sluicers

@gold-diggersanonymous1085 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Guys! I can tell you put a ton of work into making this video, well done!! looks like Charleston is on the list of places to visit in November! Till then, be safe guys!! Alex

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks bro 🤙👍, yeah stoked with how the video turned out. It’s definitely an a epic place indeed, closer to the time if you like you can call us up and we can give you some pointers to places to go or even show you round ourselfs. Cheers

@winstonsmithsoul Жыл бұрын

Many moons ago I was near a town mentioned here. I walked a DOC track at midday. The light burst through the canopy and lit up the hand cut track drainage. In every step was fine gold sparkling in the sunlight.

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Wow that’s amazing! Would not be suprised, good on you! Did you mine any?

@winstonsmithsoul Жыл бұрын

@@TheSluicers I was just a tourist but I’ve seen gold at the Westport museum. In hindsight I should have returned with some bags and tried to pan it somewhere else. But then I thought about the legality of doing so on DOC land without a prospecting licence. The right person walking the track would’ve maybe taken a different approach ;) I guess the question is... where’s it coming from ? Happy to share area, let’s just say it’s got a great view.

@dylanjames4537 Жыл бұрын

Incredible stories there hey I just love the romance of gold and what the old timers found and discovered along the way. There's so much to be discovered too but those old timers did so well at finding the best stuff I wish I could have been there for a week haha.

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

It is aye, the history is incredible and it’s amazing how much of it has been lost too, it’s so fascinating what happened back then all in chase of that elusive metal. It would be incredible to just go back and see the 1 ounce of gold per pan type stuff

@510prospecting 2 жыл бұрын

New content!! Yes!

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers! Hopefully you enjoy this one as its something a bit different :).

@510prospecting 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheSluicers thanks for sharing the history! Very well done and not easy!

@shedmachine8503 Жыл бұрын

Wicked cool stuff you did a fantastic job kudos my friend, I've recently been bitten by the bug & got the fever here in the states love learning everything about the shiny & the history thanks for sharing this wonderful piece with us all.

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, really glad you thought the video was done well, I loved making it! Ahaha that’s awesome bro good luck getting out there!

@shanedavies9564 2 жыл бұрын

Dam great info and story bud think we will be going for a visit with the detector love the west coast , cheers ,, shaneo , nelson 👍

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot glad you enjoyed! Believe it or not Charleston is actually pretty poor detecting as far as I have found, all the roads have been filled in, the side of streets the ground is so deep fresh soil I can’t find anything older then 1960 and those are very deep, and then the sites of old buildings obviously were buildings and you just find building scraps (at least the sites I have tried), would be some good spots up in the bush where some parts of the town were that haven’t been filled in, probably but pretty hard going as you can guess, I have only tried for a few weekends though so you never know always worth a shot, where I would reckon would be best is done at Brighton in the sea at low tide, as the entire town got washed down into the sea there along with everything in the ground, as I have heard some guys found a bunch of gold sovereigns and too many to count old silvers and relics there. Let me know if your ever heading down and I can give you a bit more of a hand hopefully . Cheers

@shanedavies9564 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheSluicers thanks for the info great stuff👍

@jameshobby1525 Жыл бұрын

Great vid thankyou v much

@thoraworld5743 2 жыл бұрын

Fox River 4 ounces yes please lol great video bud

@g3tphukcedgoogl3 Жыл бұрын

Did the outdoor course in Greymouth and when we were rock climbing in Charleston all I wanted to do was go gold panning. Awesome content bro! Keep it coming!

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

That’s awesome! Yeah there is some epic rock climbing there but the gold is the real fun in my opinion! We will do and thanks for watching!

@motleydude73 Жыл бұрын

My great great grandfather Frank Mitchell started the Mitchells Gully goldmine around 1888. Still operating today by his descendants. I lived in Charleston in the early 1990s, awesome place! Still so rich in history if you go looking for it. Good vid thanks!

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

That’s absolutely awesome bro! My dad used to sneak in there all the time as a kid lol, it was incredible when the stamper was running apparently but went back recently and just got to walk through without anything going, is always still very cool though! It is such an awesome area I absolutely love it! Thanks heaps and glad you liked the video :)

@motleydude73 Жыл бұрын

@@TheSluicers The stamper still runs, was restored in the late 1970s. They still get gold out of there and if you spend enough time sifting through the iron sand on the beach you can find some colour. Magic place indeed.

@rcexcavation8240 2 жыл бұрын

Well done with the video, very informative. I use to own the fox river beach claim still gold there. I live in Westport and have read A lot on the gold rushes around the area. If only my river claim was as rich as they had 😂

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot bro! That’s awesome, love that area and wish there were some “legal” sites you could mine at, got to be some good gold there, Westport area is great too just haven’t had the time to prospect there much, just shame the very best of it was taken aye. Yeah the series of rushes from Brighton-Addison were probably the last set of mega rushes in New Zealand history, but boy were they big! Thanks so much for watching!

@tommychook4552 3 ай бұрын

awsome

@mikha007 11 ай бұрын

turning gold into beer 😄

@ridelife6231 Жыл бұрын

Just subscribed to yr channel mate awsome video. I hope to get down yr way soon 🙏

@TheSluicers Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for the subscription bro! Glad you enjoyed the video thanks a lot, will be great if you can get down here 🤙👍

@Picks_Productions 2 жыл бұрын

15 minutes drive away. I love the west coast

@Picks_Productions 2 жыл бұрын

Addisons flat is still being mined and New Zealand’s first concrete house is still there (well some of it).

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Yeah I think there are still some big commercial mines up there aye! And yeah cool about those concrete buildings, I mentioned them later in the video I think, Im not actually sure exactly where they are though sadly and haven't been able to visit myself. Thanks for watching!

@Picks_Productions 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheSluicers pm via Facebook and I can show you.

@Picks_Productions 2 жыл бұрын

Spr simracer

@thoraworld5743 2 жыл бұрын

Man it would be been cool to live in those times but sounds very cut throat and dangerous

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah aye, it apparently wasn’t so bad once the towns got established and law and order was really introduced, but those early days of 66/67 it was a real Gold rush, and quite literally Wild West environment.

@thoraworld5743 2 жыл бұрын

Chin chin 🥃 Dillan sorry if that's the wrong spelling of your name I would love to go on your tour guide of Charleston

@TheSluicers 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers bro, if you ever visit New Zealand definitely let us know :).