Millerton, New Zealand
| Millerton | |
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 Millerton
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| Coordinates: 41°38′4″S 171°52′38″E / 41.63444°S 171.87722°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | West Coast |
| District | Buller District |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 40 |
Millerton is a small settlement in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand in the West Coast region. It is in the Papahaua Ranges, around 25 kilometres north east of Westport, on SH67 from Westport to Karamea.
The history of Millerton bears some resemblance to that of Denniston, being a town that lived from and for the coal that was mined in the Ranges. Millerton has a population of approx 30-40. It was classified like Denniston as a ghost town in the 1970s but has had a resident population for several decades. It is possibly New Zealand's only populated hilltop township.
Despite its elevation of 260 metres being considerably lower than that of Denniston (600 metres), the steep grade between the coastline and Millerton still meant that the coal was difficult to get down from the hilltop to the coastal railway near sea level. The Westport Coal Company built the Millerton Incline in 1891 and the Millerton Mine began production in 1896. Mining at Millerton ended in the late 1960s, as it largely did at Denniston.
The Millerton Incline was a narrow gauge (2 ft or 610 mm) incline consisting of two parallel sets of tracks on which the coal tubs ran, being hauled by rope. Remnants of tracks, trucks, bath house and other installations are still visible. The Millerton Incline was a significant engineering achievement for its time, and the remains of this incline and its infrastructure are more accessible than those of the more famous Denniston Incline. The Millerton Incline was used to convey tubs of coal from the mines around the Millerton area to the bins at Granity, which were once the largest coal loading bins of wooden construction in New Zealand. The bins no longer exist, but the incline remains and can still be seen today.
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