Tinline Valley

Bill Gardiner started a mill quite close on the right side of where the bridge crosses the upper Tinline River. Bryants shifted their first Pelorus mill up the Tinline and erected it close to where Bill Gardiner had his mill, milling country further back into the hills than where Gardiner went. Bryants shifted this mill to the Tunakino Valley and milled an area of country which they bought there. Again, Bryants started in the head of the Tinline Valley, and when they had finished Adam Gibson took over the mill and continued to log an area of country there.

The mill which had been operated by W. Carr, in the Tunakino Valley, was bought by Ward, Taylor & Co. and moved into the Tinline Valley and started milling above Bryants scene of operations. Later Carr took the mill over again. Baigents moved their mill from Dalton's at Canvastown and erected it near the same spot as Bryants had been. About 1931 Baigents of Nelson erected a mill near the bridge which crosses the Upper Tinline River opposite where Bill Gardiner had had his mill. About 1938 Robertsons started milling an area of Crown land well up the Pelorus, their logs having to be brought across the Pelorus River.

The new Bryant Brothers (junior) company also started milling in the Tinline Valley, and later shifted to the end of the road in the valley to mill an area of bush left there. Most of these milling operations were only possible through the use of crawler tractors to collect the logs. Bryants had a Fordson half-truck, and one wonders that they are still alive considering the places where they took it. When they finished milling in the Upper Tinline Bryants shifted to a different site and, when finished there, moved their mill to the Heringa Valley.