Mining in Malvern Hills

Mighty mines of Malvern
Malvern Hills are the source of our district’s namesake river, the Waikirikiri Selwyn. When geologists surveyed the area they found good supplies of coal and pottery clays – minerals keenly sought by the new Canterbury settlers.

Over the decades, coal was extracted from 77 mines in the area. Most were small and lasted only a short time. A branch railway line was built from Rolleston to Whitecliffs to transport the coal to Christchurch. The name Coalgate is a reminder of those days. Coal heated Canterbury homes. It powered industry, generating the steam that drove machinery. It fired up the kilns that turned the clay from Malvern into bricks and pipes for construction.

Subterranean pony power
Pit ponies were vital members of the coal-mining work force. They were the tractors before machines came along. The ponies had to have strength and endurance, and no fear of being in confined spaces. 

Boots made for walking
The studded leather boots shown here were worn by Kitten, one of the ponies who worked in the Klondyke Mine, near Coalgate. The boots gave her hooves better grip as she hauled her load of six trucks along 350 metres of rail track into and out of the mine, especially when it was frosty. Outside the mine, the coal was transferred to rail wagons and taken to Christchurch by train on the Whitecliffs branch line.

Coal and clay at Glentunnel
In the early 1870s, the Deans family farming at Homebush decided to go into brickmaking, using nearby Malvern coal to fire up Malvern clay. The Homebush Brick, Pipe and Terracotta Works was established in Glentunnel, and the township grew up around it. In 1924, the business was sold to McSkimming Industries, based in Dunedin.

For more than a century, until 1983, the works produced a huge range of bricks, drainage pipes, tiles and assorted domestic pottery ware. These goods were transported on the Whitecliffs line to Christchurch markets and beyond.
Glentunnel Library, built in 1886 and still run by the local community, is said to be a three-dimensional catalogue of all types of bricks and tiles made at the works up to then.The Klondyke was one of some 77 coal mines recorded in the Malvern Hills area. It lasted longer than most, operating from 1929 to 1972.

You can learn more about our unique geology and view heritage collections at Te Ara Ātea.