Waikino

Waikino is a small town situated in the North Island of New Zealand nestled in the Southern end of a gorge alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel Peninsula with its subtropical rainforests, steep ravines and fast moving rivers and streams. "Waikino" is Māori and means "water in a gorge'

Gold mining around Waikino has a history dating back to early colonisation of New Zealand. Waikino was the focal point of Gold mining in the Waikato- Bay of Plenty district with the 1897 construction of the Victoria Battery on the edge of what was a busy town supporting the extensive local Mining industry. Waikinos Victoria Battery processed ore from the large Martha Mine in Waihi. The Victoria Battery was then New Zealand's largest industrial complex. Besides processing ore, it supported carpenters shops, a sawmill and a foundry. With 200 stamps, the Battery was the largest quartz crushing plant for gold extraction in Australasia, and was capable of crushing over 812 tonnes of ore each day to the consistency of sand. The loud thumping sounds of crushing rock could be heard 10 kilometres away.

Up the scenic Waitekauri road 5 km behind Waikino, once existed the mining town of Waitekauri, near Golden Cross. Waitekauri is no longer there today because the town was demolished at the end of that era's gold rush, consequently the village reverted to farmland. The local Waitekauri watering hole, the historic two storied "Golden Cross Hotel", was literally transported to Waihi where it stands proud today as a reminder of day's gone by.

On October 19, 1923 the Waikino school shooting occurred at Waikino School, which claimed the lives of two students, Kelvin McLean, aged 13, and Charles Stewart, aged 9, and remains New Zealand's only school shooting. The gunman, John Christopher Higgins, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Higgins later had his conviction quashed by reason of insanity.

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Wikipedia