THE HISTORY

John Rochfort was first to survey the Papahaua Range in 1858.
Westport land mark Mt. Rochfort bears his name.
Julius Haast and James Burnett discovered and surveyed the rich coal deposits on what later became the Denniston Plateau.
More and more discoveries were made and it was attempted to mine coal at Ngakawau and Mohikinui.
It failed for lack of suitable transport.
The completion of the Mt. Rochfort railway along a narrow strip of coastal land North of Westport brought about the start of serious mining in 1878.
However to bring the coal to the railway required also some considerable engineering feats.
The most famous is the Denniston Incline which for nearly 90 years delivered coal from well known localities like Coalbrookdale, Burnett's Face, Whareatea and Iron Bridge, high on the Plateau.
Besides the Denniston Incline there was the Koranui Incline also finishing in Waimangaroa.
Millerton to the North also had its incline.
Stockton, above that, had the country's first electric railway and an incline to Ngakawau.
A small railway run down a gorge to the same destination from mines along Charming Creek.
These systems and the towns and mines they served provide the framework for the Buller Coalfields Heritage Trail and its additional walking opportunities.
To show that not all mining of the region belongs to the past, the trail also passes under the aerial rope system that carries coal from the opencast workings on the Stockton Plateau.

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