Shantytown Heritage Park

Part of Shantytown seen from a clearing

The Shantytown Heritage Park , or Shantytown for short , is a small open-air museum opened in 1971 on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand , which allows visitors to experience life in a small town shaped by the gold rush in Otago .

geography

The Shantytown is located about 10 km south of Greymouth and about 7 km northeast of Kumara Junction and is on the New Zealand State Highway 6 to the outdoor museum is located northwest, the 3.6 kilometers of road, accessible. The facility is fringed by the forest and open to the north, with a 1.5 km long railway line leading south into the New Zealand rainforest.

Shantytown

Main Street from Shantytown

At the end of the 1960s, Shantytown was built and reconstructed as a gold rush town with 30 replica historical buildings in the style of the 60s of the 19th century. A few buildings came from other locations, were restored to their original state and erected in Shantytown , such as: For example, No Town Church from 1866, Coronation Hall, and Gem & Mineral Hall . All other buildings were reconstructed according to the architectural style of the time.

In the city are u. a. a post office, a building of the BNZ bank , a hotel, a building of the fire brigade and a forge, and various other buildings with shops and service providers for the daily life at that time. The open-air museum was officially opened in January 1971.

railroad

NZR L 508 in Shantytown Heritage Park , built in 1877

→ Main article : Infants Creek Tramway

A historic steam locomotive runs on the grounds of the open-air museum during opening times and takes visitors on the 1.5 km long railway line, known as the Infants Creek Tramway , past the Infants Creek Sawmill through the native rainforest. The locomotives available include an L-Class from 1877 and an improved F-Class Kaitangata from 1896.

museum

Shantytown, considered a museum, is home to over 10,000 objects, 2,000 photographs, and 1,000 archives. The collection, compiled by members of the West Coast Historical Society since 1968 , covers the period from 1850 to 1940.

Photo gallery

Photos of interiors of various buildings and machines

• 

  Coronation Hall , part of the interior

• 

  Interior view of the first floor of the Coronation Hall

• 

  Saloon of the Golden Nugget Hotel

• 

  Replica of the Greymouth Masonic Lodge room

• 

  Dress style of his time

• 

  A National Cash Register company

• 

  Typesetting machine from Mergenthaler Linotype Company

literature

• Helga Neubauer: Shantytown . In: The New Zealand Book . 1st edition. NZ Visitor Publications , Nelson 2003, ISBN 1-877339-00-8 , pp. 978-979 .

Web links

Commons : Shantytown, New Zealand  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Homepage . Shantytown Heritage Park,accessed October 9, 2015. 
• Gold Rush History, West Coast, New Zealand - Shantytown Heritage Park . New Zealand Tourism Guide,accessed October 9, 2015. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Our Collection . Shantytown Heritage Park , accessed October 9, 2015 .  
2. ^ 1866 Church from No Town in the Gray Valley . Shantytown Heritage Park , accessed October 9, 2015 .  
3. ↑ Opened by Richard Seddon in 1903 . Shantytown Heritage Park , accessed October 9, 2015 .  
4. ↑ 30 Shops and Buildings to Explore . Shantytown Heritage Park , accessed October 9, 2015 .  
5. ↑ Entry includes Steam Train Rides . Shantytown Heritage Park , accessed October 9, 2015 .  

Coordinates: 42 ° 32 ′ 8.6 ″  S , 171 ° 10 ′ 53.6 ″  E