View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Commons@Waikato THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE TE AROHA DISTRICT Philip Hart Te Aroha Mining District Working Papers No. 3 2016 Historical Research Unit Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences The University of Waikato Private Bag 3105 Hamilton, New Zealand ISSN: 2463-6266 © 2016 Philip Hart Contact:
[email protected] 1 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE TE AROHA DISTRICT Abstract: Pakeha settlers and visitors delighted in the mountain and its vegetation, and to attract tourists some efforts were made to protect the portion behind Te Aroha township from disturbance by mining. Prospectors and those constructing mining tracks and the tramway struggled to cope with the rugged terrain, but the steep mountainside proved to be advantageous for mining. The topography worsened the impact of severe weather, in particular the gales and heavy rainfall which damaged buildings and caused regular problems for those maintaining tracks and tramways. Over summer months batteries often had to cease work through having insufficient water power. On the flat land, because swamps made transport difficult, the river provided the main access route until the railway line was constructed. Drainage created productive farmland and, coincidentally, partly relieved the mosquito and sandfly scourge. DELIGHT IN THE SCENERY In April 1898, a visitor to Te Aroha felt compelled to write a poem: Te Aroha! name which lingers softly on the tongue, Te Aroha! fount of healing, peace, rest, love. Thy name is love; thy fern-decked glades are rest; Healing, thy springs; and peace, thy solitudes.