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THE GUMTOWN
TO DANCING CAMP
CONNECTION
If you hike back into the Pinnacles
above Thames, you may be
surprised to see directional signs of
tracks leading north to Coroglen’s
Gumtown, connecting at Rangahui
Road. Plan ahead as this is a
challenging walk, camping perhaps
at the Moss Creek Campground or
at the Pinnacles Hut. Expect to see
a lot of mining sites, old logging
‘driving dams’, etc.
Though many trampers prefer
the shoreline tracks, here one
hikes the center of the peninsula,
experiencing streams, canyons,
cliffs, and waterfalls...all part of the
marvelous trail system that DOC
has cleared and maintained.
PINPOINTING THE PINNACLES
DANCING CAMP LOCATION
Thames Treasury’s ‘archeo-sleuth’ David Wilton pinned down the
Dancing Camp’s original location uphill from the Pinnacles hut with
GPS and by digging for clues, in this case wooden posts, obvious
flattened areas, and bottles and pottery fragments from an old garbage
pile. His findings agreed with the estimation that this particular
gumdiggers’ camp was used from 1900 to as late as 1931, but that
gumdigging in the Kauaeranga Valley began as early as 1869.
KAUAERANGA VALLEY
GUMDIGGING
Unlike logging and mining, which required wide tracks and roads, gum
digging could be carried out solo, with little equipment. On first sweep,
diggers would tramp through the bush picking up gum seen on the
surface. Gumdiggers would also set fires to clear away the underbrush.
They would climb trees to collect resin bled though damaged bark, or
they would slash through the bark. They also dug down to unearth the
resin droppings of ancient forests, some of which were preserved in
bogs. A very dirty undertaking.
Pack trains delivered supplies, over sometimes perilous tracks, thus
at great expense. They bought the diggers’ gum, which was graded
according to quality, and packed out for sale for eventual use as
varnish or linoleum.
DANCING CAMP
Located near Kauaeranga Valley’s
Pinnacles camping hut
“Totalspan were really on the ball. They
answered all my questions & got the
job completed on time & on budget.”
07 869 0400 l 29 KOPU RD, RD1 KOPU, THAMES
0800 TOTALSPAN (0800 868 257) l
WHITIANGA - THAMES - PAEROA
0800 boundary (268 632)
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535 Pollen St, Thames • 07 867 9026
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