I’ve been to Greymouth enough times to know that there isn’t much there to see, but 11km down the road is the must see Brunner Mine Industrial Site.
The most productive West Coast coal mining site in the nineteenth century and site of the worst mining disaster, when 65 men lost their lives in 1896, this is special place in NZ history. This disaster and others, tragically most recently at Pike River in 2010, are commemorated.
There are numerous mine entrances and remains of equipment around the site.
The largest remaining structure is the beehive coke ovens.
The Brunner Suspension Bridge crosses the appropriately named Grey River over to the Tyneside Chimney and lovely views over the site.
Outstanding! We are from the US and stumbled by and were pleasantly surprised by the thrill of the mine site. We did the hike and fully enjoyed it. We looked for the mine openings but did not see them. Where are they located? We plan to go back! Great pics!
Thank you Leanne, glad you enjoyed exploring the mine. The mine openings were just around the site, but no access to them. Hope you enjoy the rest of the South Island, it’s a pretty special place…