SCHOOLS AND THE LAW
The first school opened in August 1891 at the
public hall (Loram’s Hall) in the lower Township
opposite the Kuaotunu Hotel (see map p19).
A year or so later a separate school was built
and a proper education committee formed.
Enrolment in those first few years numbered
around 84.
There was no resident policeman in Kuaotunu,
and property quarrels and crimes were dealt
with by Constable Rist who was stationed in
Mercury Bay. His range spread from Tairua
to Matarangi, yet he always tried to be there
“when any jollification was on the boards”.
A lockup and dedicated policeman were
proposed, but the expense wasn’t justified as
the town was in decline.
So law abiding citizens had to tolerate the
miners’ frequent drunken brawls, sometimes
as entertainment. The lack of law however,
fostered a side business – a whiskey still was
hidden in a secluded gulley along what became
known as ‘Whiskey Creek’. (Obviously, not so
hidden with a name like that!) The enterprising
Scott and Kelly distilled the “water of life” for
the mining community, and the beverage was
held in some esteem as far away as Auckland.
GOLD PETERS OUT... TOWN FOLLOWS
In its prime, Kuaotunu boasted a population
of well over a thousand. By 1909, most of
the mines were closed and many batteries
taken apart. Also that year, the timber mills
around Mercury Bay were closing, but some
enterprising entrepreneurs opened up a dairy
factory at Mercury Bay, offering an outlet for
Kuaotunu’s milk producers.
As nearby farmland became available for lease,
some mining families turned to farming or
raising cattle, dairy cows or sheep. A livestock
auction location opened up in Mercury Bay in
1918, and it was quite an adventure driving the
animals all that distance. With so many local
boys going off to WWI, the town was sapped of
its vitality. Many of Kuaotunu’s buildings were
being dismantled or moved to other places
In 1917, the Kuaotunu Hotel was sold and
moved to Waitakaruru. The public hall was sold
and moved by scow to the Bay of Plenty. The
Royal Hotel was dismembered 1920; it was
rebuilt in Pukemiro as a boarding house for
coal miners. The post office managed to keep
operating until 1947; Robin Smith of Mercury
Bay bought and dismantled the structure, using
the timber to build his own home.
The school’s enrolment dropped so low that
the school was closed in 1949, with remaining
children taught by correspondence classes
until a bus was arranged to transport children
to Mercury Bay School.
With gold mining the focus of Kuoatunu, the
stately kauri forests were not felled until 1921,
when a timber company clearcut the land.
However there was continuing heavy demand
for wood to fuel the ore ovens.
KUAOTUNU OFF-THE-GRID
Kuaotunu remained a sleepy little town, with
perhaps a hundred permanent residents and
a few stores. The area was electrified in 1961,
followed by phone service. The road from
Mercury Bay became an official state highway,
SH25. Some of the native trees and plants
were regrowing in the fire scarred areas, and
even the slowgrowing kauri were attempting a
comeback, some as tall as three metres by the
mid-sixties.
As more and more holiday makers discovered
the beautiful beaches of the area, summer
time began bustling with family bach rentals,
caravans, bikers, campers and boaters. The
boat ramp now boasts perhaps a hundred
launches per summer day.
However in the off-season, the town reverts
back to its ‘off the grid’ mentality, settling back
into a peaceful place with quiet reverence for
nature, the sea; for art and handcrafted living.
A saying of the area pioneers –– “Work hard
and live cheap” –– still persists, but now with
time for flat whites. And wifi...
22
COROMANDEL LIFE LATE AUTUMN/WINTER
Kuaotunu School in 1904.
Kuaotunu School in 1890s
ARTICLE SOURCES
Much of this article about the fascinating Kuaotunu region was obtained from the well
researched book by R.A. “Alf” Simpson,
This is Kuaotunu
, first published in 1956, with
updated publication in 1964.
Simpson, seen left as driver of school buses, was born just a
few years before the 1889 discovery of gold at the Try Fluke
claim. Simpsons Beach, north of Buffalo Beach is named
after the family and Simpson’s father operated stables in
the Kuaotunu Lower Township near the beach. Eventually,
there were so many Simpson boys, they had the Simpson
Family Rugby Team.
We thank Rebecca Simpson (granddaughter, now living in
Kuaotunu) for permission to excerpt from the book, and
providing many additional images as well. See more photos at
the Mercury Bay Museum or Kuaotunu Hall. His book can be
purchased at Kuaotunu Store, Luke’s Gallery & Cafe or the Mercury Bay Museum.
We gleaned additional information and images from those who currently own property
on the original mining land: Alastair Brickell of Stargazers B&B, Lutz Gaebler of Try Fluke
Studios and Mark Tugendhaft and Nedilka Radjkovich of Coffee LaLa.
Most old news clips were found at
R.A. Simpson, aka “Alf ”, wrote
This is
Kuaotunu
.
He was also the bus driver for
the first and second Kuaotunu school buses,
needed because the local school closed as
enrollment dropped.
