From Mine To Hearth—

(Continued from page 16).

drums round which the wire rope is coiled are connected by giant connecting rods to pistons where they have to work against water pressure.

The brakeman stands with his hands on a big operating wheel. He has a rough indicator on the wall which tells him where his trucks are, for, after the first few seconds he loses sight of the descending truck. He uses his judgment to slow this down as it passes the ascending empty, and then stops it with an allowable error of a few inches only when it reaches the bottom, half-a-mile away. His indicator is not accurate enough for this exacting job, but his judgment is equal to the task of sending a full truck down, and bringing an empty one up, in perfect safety, every two minutes.

The last truck is sent down the incline and the brakeman knocks off for the day. Now that the deafening roar of the brakes in action has stopped the exchange of conversation is possible. I am shown round the brakehouse and the operation of the machines, is explained to me. One could not but be impressed by the ingenuity and courage of the men who planned and pioneered this coal mine in the early days when transport was difficult and the place most remote. The use of water, too, as a braking system must have been the fruit of some fertile brain.

Although Denniston is on the top of a mountain a new tepid swimming bath has just been built—the warm water being supplied by the power house which is close by. New tennis courts have also been constructed and the game is most popular, despite the fact that the high altitude effects the bounce of the balls to a noticeable extent.

Another mining area of interest in this district is reached by travelling as far as Granity and then climbing the Millerton track (passing the Millerton mines by the way) and proceeding further up the hill to the left, to Stockton. Here the rakes of trucks are hauled by small electric locomotives drawing their power from overhead wires through trolley poles much the same as on a tram cat. The overhead wire is easily within reach of the raised hand but apparently no accidents occur.

A group of miners point our attention to a wisp of smoke rising from the hill above Millerton.

This mine has been on fire for some time now and has cost two of the mine managers their lives. Speculation amongst the miners reveals that in spite of attempts to restrain the fire it may take as long as forty years to burn itself out.

Still further north along the coast one comes to the Mokihinui district. In the early days this was the scene of a gold rush, there being about 2,000 of a population there in 1867. As the gold in the area was worked out interest in the coal seams became greater and with the completion of the railway from Mokihinui to Westport, in 1893, the area became of great importance.

At present, practically all the coal mined in the Buller district is railed to Westport where it is shipped to other parts of New Zealand or used for bunkering boats which have not been converted into oil burners.

The wharves at the mouth of the Buller River almost always present a very busy secne. Many boats come to Westport to be bunkered because it is the most northern port which they can enter on the Coast, and because the place has earned a reputation for speed in the handling of coal. It is common to hear the noise of the cranes still loading boats up to the hour of midnight. Tramp steamers of all kinds call, and considerable interest has been caused lately by the visits of French steamers engaged in the Pacific trade.