1847 -51 Furneaux and Stokes named after cook's navigators
1864 Early land sale in Endeavour Inlet
1870 Charles Turner farmed and prospected Ravenscliff run which apart from Maori reserves and freehold land was the area between Port Gore and Endeavour
1872 Oct-10 Queen Charlotte goldfield included Ravenscliff
1873 John Ashworth Lived at head of inlet with family and carried out intensive prospecting. Was possibly him who discovered Antimony on east side of a creek draining from a saddle at east of Mt Stokes into head of endeavour inlet
1874-75 Marlborough Antinomy Company (first company)
- John Ashworth, William Clark , Walter Herbert and Oswald Curtis , John Dalton, William Dive , Thomas Galloway , Charles and Frederick Turner , William Welford
- Formed small privately owned Marlborough Antinomy company
- Sent samples to England and planned tramways and incline but not built yet
- Smelter erected to process ore
- 1875 winter 1 km tramway laid (from bottom no 1)
- Small settlement at head of inlet began (lower settlement)
- Had an office in Picton and brand etc (MAC with uplifted dagger )
- Planned to ship directly from Endeavour to UK
- Failed and operations suspended because molten stibnite attacked retorts
- Ashworth remained in Endeavour Inlet, continued prospecting and bee keeping and tried to catch porpoises
1877 no buyers for ore and smelting ceased again
1883 Small syndicate of Houston, Logan and Ashworth (as manager) resumed operations
- 30 miners living at top settlement and working in landslide area
- Put in a drive (no. one level) 84 meters below the outcrop on the saddle
- Also sank a shaft
- Tramway extended by over a kilometre up to the mine and now composed of 3 independent but connected inclines
- Upper incline 320m and descended from mine to settlement
- Middle incline (steepest), gradient of 1:3kms and 380m
- Bottom (original) 320m
- at same time prospecting continued along fault line from Titirangi, through head of Endeavour Inlet to Resolution bay
- Stibnite found at 200 m line
- Stored in shed at wharf and shipped to Wellington for transhipping
- only significant ore was the head of the inlet
1885 Endeavour Inlet Antinomy Company Ltd formed (Second Company ) .
- Provisional directors (Walter Turnbull , Nicholas Reid, Charles Willeston, James Wallace, Edwin Crease , Houston Logan (all of Wellington) and William Duncan of Picton.
- Charles and Frederick Turner signed a lease over part of the Ravenscliff run to the new company and released a prospectus for the Endeavour Inlet Antinomy Company Ltd to raise funds to bring smelter etc into full production (13 Nov 1895)
- New company imported men from overseas with mining experience to avoid further disasters
- Jaketh Wearne appointed mine manager .Moved to the inlet with wife Julia and sons William and Thomas. He had mining experience from Cornwall, Victoria , Otago, West Coast, Wellington, Nelson. (Last two not successful) .
- Many miners camped on hillside below top incline but township on flat continued to grow
Township between 1878-1894
- New dwellings now of corrugated iron and built between the original settlement and the smelter
- The company provided the housing and supplied provisions at Picton prices and a good wage
- Harry Ensor employed as mining engineer in the mine office (later became vicar at Havelock)
- 1885 May Jaketh Wearne appointed postmaster
- Approval granted to use foreshore to build a wharf
1885 Post office and School established
1886 recruited mores skilled workers from England
- company had now completed all the development work at the mine and its tramways
- ore came from stoping out the load above the number one level
- Marlborough express article about visiting the inlet and works
1887 April a cross cut (no 2 level) failed to intersect any ore
- Another cross cut no 3 struck rich ore
- Mid year shareholders expectations not realised as dividend evaporated.
- Negotiated with London financiers
- Land board agreed to reserve 26 acres for school site and grounds at inlet
1888 January assets transferred but Endeavour Inlet Company still worked the property
- Link to Marlborough Express article
- Jaketh Weane manager again
- Logan NZ manager
- New levels opened and connected to main incline by way of sidling tramways and ore chutes
- level 4 and 5 dug
- Expanded crushing plant, improved smelting furnaces, new reverberating furnace, additional water race 23 cm higher then first one, 3 kms long ,was dug from dam further up creek
- Workforce swelled to 75 men and along with dependents made a sizeable community with school of 30 children
- This company no more successful at treating low grade ore
- workforce halved
- Logan dismissed for incompetence
- Jaketh Wearne replaced Logan
- Thomas Weane became mine manager
- Reverted to sending dressed ore to England and stockpiling remaining ore till smelter could be built
- Much of the ore was from the landslide with new level (no 6 or slip tunnel) constructed through the loose material to solid rock
- No 7 constructed down the hill
- Agreement between the Endeavour Inlet and NZ Antinomy Companies turned sour.
- Endeavour Inlet Company sort compensation from NZ Antinomy Company
- Settled out of court
- Still not significant quantity of high grade stibnite in the lower levels of the mine
- thought there would be a good chance of mineralisation if went deeper . He advised to keep going with no 7
- Mid year still not much found so shipped out 700 tonnes and then ceased operations
- Assets purchased by syndicate of men involved in earlier operations. Jaketh Weane, William Duncan ,(local) and James Barry , Alfred Miles, Thomas G Macarthy, James Wallace, Edwin Crease, Nicholas Reid, Wallter Turnbull, Edward Seagar (all of Wellington)
- James Barry manager for short while till Thomas McDonald assumed the role (liquidator of Endeavour Inlet Company)
- Jaketh Weane took charge of the mine
- 25 men employed largely on levels 5 and 7
- Ore dressed and shipped via Wellington to England
- Made a profit of 2 pounds per ton but all money went back into prospecting and further development of the mine and investigating means of treating lower grade ore
- 1893 water jacket furnace erected and another effort to smelt
- Link to Evening Post, 29 April 1893 with reference to the sister of the Inlet school teacher "Broadhurst",
- Education board notify the public of changes to school districts to include Endeavour inlet as a seperate district.
- once again the process failed
1894 New smelting attempt
- Edward Seagar (owned Victoria foundry in Wellington) attempted a new process of smelting
- 10 week trial successful and continued till end of year
- 1894 May Patented Seagars Antinomy Cruding furnace
- Evening post article
- Only 4 workers now
- Rev John J Laing was the school teacher.
- The population still sufficient for school to reopen for the year as an "aided" school
- Laing left in March because seemed likely that school would close
- Not sure how long school functioned after that ?
- Later in year operations ceased again but small amount of ore continued to be shipped from stockpile
1897 July J W Russell applied to the Marlborough Land Board for lease in perpetuity over antinomy company’s timber reserve (referred for a report). Not sure if it happened.
1899 Holiday activity at head of the inlet
1901 Companies three leases passed to Edgar Seagar
1902 Surrendered two of the leases
1904 July Surrendered third lease
1904 Patrick Howden (and Elisabeth) Purchased 1040 acres and built Furneaux. Before furneaux built used to stay at miners manager's home along with Holms, and Freybergs
1906 spring Jaketh Weane returned
- antinomy price up with ammunition demand in Europe
- Took up most of old workings
- Small syndicate formed to reopen the mine
- John Mills (wellington foundry owner ) main backer
- Six men employed to clear out old workings and further surface prospecting
- Top 3 levels of mine were refurbished
- A new intermediate level driven 46 m below no 5
- James M Cadigan , William Ewing,jnr , Frederick C Fantham had prospecting licences adjacent to Wearne
- Cadigan , William Ure, Alfred Swetman employed by Sidney McNamara (a Sydney based syndicate) Employed to work at Pukekoikoi to prospect, Trenching showed to be uneconomic so suspended
- July Cardigan and Ure pegged area east side of inlet
- James Dunn (former miner at Endeavour Inlet and son Charles ) objected to Cardigan and Ure's prospecting licence maintaining they had pegged the ground earlier that day but over turned as misinformed
- October Fantham joined Cadigan and Ure opened out a 1m thick zone of stibnite and shipped to Wellington
- Cadigan sold out
- Fantham and Ure sluiced at landslide
- At South East of landslide an outcrop showing good ore exposed
- Put in a drive 1m below out crop
- Point Edgecombe Antinomy syndicate ltd active in this area
- T R Hickson Chairman
- Found stibnite between Endeavour Inlet and Bay of Many Coves (shallow shafts and adits but no reef found)
- James Dunn trenching and cross cutting but no reefs
- Crown lands in endeavour inlet increasingly viewed as having greater potential for farming
- subdivision by the crown proposed
- Increasingly despondent
- Committed suicide (probably in Wellington at 67yrs )
- Later in year Antinomy prices dropped and all prospecting ceased in area
1908 June William Jones (farmed head of inlet) applied to Education board to establish a school on behalf of his family (and other local familes , Peter Mcdonald, R Ewing , Steve Harris and T Jones) . Current school at Glenburn not considered satisfactory . Land to be used was 16 acres of school reserve . Plan was to build. (what happend to previous one ? Is this the one that was on the flat and still there in the 1940's?)
- Willian (Billy ) Jones (1883-1969) half brother of Tom Jones (at Pukakoikoi)
- Kept the post office and milked 20 cows
- Born Blenheim 10th July (1880 ir 1883?) (Married Clarry Baldick )
- Owned 427 acres land at head of inlet of which 42.5 were flat
- Died in 1953 (or 69?)
- Family (Lawrence Glascow (b 27/1/00) Valentine Christopher (18/3 02) Dorothy Caroline (7/6/04) Edward Wilfred (Boss) 30/6 1907 , Malerial Patricia (pat) 13/6 /09, Bernard Royal (Jim) 1911
- Carrie Baldock (1883-1960) Billy Jones' wife was grand daughter of Capt Jimmy Jackson , one of original whalers and settlers in Tory Channel (along with Guard, Heberley, etc)
1908 Telephone (Possibly Port Underwood side but not sure ) the telephone line was erected throughout this part of sounds. The single wire was carried on cross arms fixed with 1/2" galvinised bolts to 6" sq austalian hardwood posts about 20' long
- private lines put through by settlers
1910 Subdivison of much of land at head of inlet and thrown open for selection under the provisions of the 1908 land act
- ? Farming failed
1916 NZ Antinomy company re registered (Fifth Company )
- Re-evaluated the mines because with the First WW price of antinomy was up again
- George Dunn Manager supervised prospecting of the mine and adjacent hillsides
- William Ure (of endeavour inlet ) and the NZ Antinomy company offered the mines dept (on behalf of british government for war effort) , ore for sale .
- Not high enough concentration so rejected and too expensive to mine
- Jim Paton family lived first bay on the left side of the inlet and on the farm had 100 sheep and 19 cows
- Tom Jones lived next to Pukekoikoi bay milking 7 cows andd grazing 700 sheep
- Lew Coster , then Bill Reeves and then Alf master small farm in Punaruawhiti bay and milked 16 cows
- Freddie Maunuires (?correct spelling) lived alone in Punga cove 6 fowls , 6 cats and 3 dogs
- Bill Keans just past big bay , milked 6 cows
- Peter McDonald and family 15 cows
- Fred Adams from belnheim owned holiday bach close to head of inlet
- Steve Harris small farm and miked 8 cows
- Captain Howden owned a 1000 acres along the shore .3 acres of clear land where Furneaux was built
- Aikman then Stan Rollinson then Frank Thomson next farm 150 acres sheep grazing
- The Antinomy mine and associaed buildings wer located in the same area
- 1920 CharlieTetley grazed 200 sheep . A number of these farms were bought with help of rehabilitation scheme after 1914-18 war
- Mr Ackerman 456 acres . Where and when was he ??
- East side of the inlet and on T Payton's property at Pukekoikoi some old drives extended but no real attempts to mine deposits
1932 Capt Harry Howden bought the land from his family
1933 John and Hazel Barker married in April and arrived at Furneaux 23rd May as caretakers
1935 Apr-16 Shirley Barker (later Buckland) Born in Picton
- Post office situated on a flat piece of ground beyond the wharf (is this near current wharf or the old wharf?)
- In June every year Mackerel would shoal at head of inlet !
1943 fire
- A farmer at the head of the inlet having a burn off and fire got out of control and raged across hillside, mostly manuka. Near homestead (later the union camp and no one living there at the time) and from Furneaux to head of inlet.
- At Furneaux got to the edge of the virgin bush. All bracken and secondary scrub had been burnt along eastern side from head of inlet to a 100 yds offf Furneaux
1949. Albert killed in an accident
- Jack sold to Ernie Pinkham
- land adjacent to water front and three blocks back sold as holiday homes .
- Jack and Albert planted the pines previoulsy
1955 Cath and Ron Doig farmed at head of inlet running sheep , house cows , run cattle , hens and ducks.
- Cath ran post office and Telegraph exchange
- Had to place all incoming and outgoing calls
- All letters coming and going were stamped with an Endeavour Inlet post stamp and date
- phone lines had so many joins it it caused poor reception particuarly when it rained and often had to relay through neighbours
- Farmer and family from port gore walked over to Endeavour Inlet post office once a fortnight to collect mail and once a month to collect pension
- Cath Doig died and farm sold to Jim and Mary Garner
- Mary a nurse and had a home birth of second child with midwife in residnce on farm in November
- People used to walk over incline to get to Port Gore instead of bridle track because quicker
- School house On the flat , still there but moved by Education board to another site soon after
(Shirley Buckland)Charlie Woodgate Was a WW1 veteren living alone owned the gully at Tawa bay before the Barkers. Died alone in house
1951 Barkers left Furneaux and renovated gully and moved in with Jack Haywood
1951 Marlborough Mineral Company Ltd (6th Company)
- Walter C Tisch and others with CF Ferguson in charge
- Small syndicate set up
- Re-opened old workings on east side of Endeavour Inlet and new cross cuts were driven
- Sent to England but too low in antinomy
- Company went into voluntary liquidation
1962 last of whaling in Tory Channel and end of whaling meat available to locals in the Inlet
1967 Bridle track opened up by locals . Old track first from Resolution to ship cove then to Kenepuru saddle
1970 Te Puke goldfields ltd (8th Company ) took up the ground
- Prospecting was undertaken on a more organised basis
- Many of concealed entrances located by Pietro and Maria Buzzi
- Mines dept assisted by providing money for drilling from the ends of the four adits closest to Endeavour Inlet
- DSIR investigated whether tailings contained enough stibnite to be economically treated
- Expectations high in Marlborough but mine did not eventuate
- did a large amount of investigatory working but chose not to reopen the mines
- Article written by Italian Geologist Franco Pirajno in NZ Journal of Geology and Geophysics Vol 22 No 2 1979
- Map drawn with location of adits (renamed after Maria Buzzi)
References: Have taken information from Four books. I need to get the correct reference for the other two of the books. Some of the information conflicts and some needs checking .
Mike Johnston, 1992: Gold in a Tin Dish: The History of the Eastern Marlborough Goldfields, vol. 2, (Nelson, Nikau Press)
Buckland, Shirley 2007: Reflections on a lifetime Marlborough Sounds, N.Z. :ISBN: 9780473121518 (pbk.) :
JACKSON FAMILY HISTORY
FLOOD HISTORY
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