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Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies, Volume 1, Issue 5, October 1985

Jenkins Hill Prospecting Association

Jenkins Hill Prospecting Association

Meanwhile a rival company had been established to prospect on the Enner Glynn property on the west side of The Brook opposite Newports. This property, formerly owned by A. G. Jenkins, was now farmed by a relation Alexander O'Brien. Because the name Brook Street had been preempted, the name Jenkins Hill Prospecting Association was adopted. Capital of £ 100 in £ 1 shares was raised locally and two experienced miners, George Wise and James Gribble were employed as prospectors. Good indications of coal were found in October and Wise is credited with finding an almost vertical seam which in places at depth reached a thickness of 124ft. This seam outcropped on the hillside close to a small alluvial terrace opposite the circular basin. At a meeting attended by 30 to 40 shareholders on 31 October 1894 Thomas Pettit was elected chairman and F. G. Newman was appointed secretary.

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A 12 month prospecting lease was negotiated from O'Brien which, if a coal mining company was established, could be transferred to a 50 year lease. O'Brien had a better deal than Newport as he was to receive a royalty of 1s per ton.

Prospecting by the Jenkins Hill Association continued through the remainder of the year and in November 1894 blocks were exhibited at the Colonist office and Roughton's grocery shop in Hardy Street. Mention is made at this time of the Bishopdale Prospecting Association working on the Enner Glynn property. This is almost certainly the Jenkins Hill Association and not a third company prospecting in the Brook Valley. The first major underground work commenced on 3 November with a drive southeast into the hillside above the river terraces (Fig. 2). A steeply southeast dipping coal seam 5ft thick was encountered 50ft from the entrance and the coal although soft (due to surface weathering) proved suitable for household purposes and for raising steam. The Colonist reported that a gentleman* who inspected the property on 3 December had declared that it was a true coal and not a lignite and on this basis he was prepared to invest £ 100 in the property there and then. Three days later it came to the same paper's attention that a share had been sold for £5.

Fig. 2 Enner Glynn mine in February 1896. On the left is the initial prospecting drive with the first (prospecting) shall on the hillside above. The Brook Valley is on the far left.– F. G. Gibbs photo courtesy Nelson Provincial Museum.

Fig. 2 Enner Glynn mine in February 1896. On the left is the initial prospecting drive with the first (prospecting) shall on the hillside above. The Brook Valley is on the far left.
– F. G. Gibbs photo courtesy Nelson Provincial Museum.

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By the end of January 1895 the drive had reached 130ft and was timbered. A tramway from the face to the tiphead was now required and at a meeting on 28 January there was much discussion amongst shareholders whether the rails should be of iron or wood capped with hoop iron. In the end the cheaper wooden rails were agreed on. Thirty tons of coal of fair quality was now stockpiled and was bought by Roughton, a shareholder, for 15s per ton. Slack coal fetched 5s per ton. At the close of the meeting Roughton had received orders from a number of shareholders for coal. Coal was also found near Tantragee Saddle on Donald Stewart's property and a lease was offered to the Jenkins Hill Association. However the association must have felt it had enough to deal with for the offer was declined.

Since October 1894 some of the shareholders had been pressing for the Rev. Joseph Taylor, a lay reader, of Collingwood to report on the property. Taylor had some geological training, being a certified teacher of mining and had taught in technical institutes in Staffordshire during 1891–93. He was also actively promoting development of the coal seams at Puponga. In February the directors agreed to engage Taylor and in due course he reported on the property and on 8 March gave a public lecture. In his report and lecture Taylor maintained that geologically the "country had not been read properly" and that the coal near Nelson was not a brown coal, as thought by the geologists Hochstetter and McKay, but bituminous. He therefore considered that the coal measures were considerably older than the Tertiary age that had been assigned to them and were equivalent to the major English coal deposits of Carboniferous age. In March 1895 well known educationalist F. G. Gibbs purchased five shares in the association and, as recorded in his diary, took a leading role in the search for coal in the Brook Valley. The drive had by this stage reached 162ft but as conditions were unfavourable for finding coal (it had probably penetrated the so called Maitai "slates" to the southeast) the association, following Taylor's advice, began sinking a shaft from within the drive at a point 70ft from the entrance. The shaft followed the almost vertical seam at the rate of about 11ft per week. The seam improved both in thickness and quality with depth and further capital to allow exploration to continue was raised by issuing another 150 shares, existing shareholders were to have first preference. It was estimated that the £ 150 raised would allow prospecting to continue for nearly six months. Taylor who had charged £6 5s for his report and expenses offered to report periodically on the property in return for shares but this was declined. Also declined was an offer by O'Brien (who already held shares in the company) to accept shares in lieu of royalty on fire clay found in the mine. Bricks made from the clay were tested at the city gasworks and were declared to be of good quality.

During the winter of 1895 sinking of the shaft continued and it was also extended upwards the 37ft from the drive to the surface. Although the cost of sinking was high at 16s 8d per foot the association concentrated on prospecting rather than development. This was probably partly influenced by the fact that the quality of the coal continued to improve. Wise reported in July that the coal was different from anything yet encountered and was "good, hard and bright". As the shaft increased in depth ventilation had to be improved and a fan and pipes were purchased at a cost page 11of £8. However a certain amount of development work, such as construction of drives and shafts off the existing shaft, was undertaken and Donald Stewart took the first 50 tons of coal at 15s per ton. As raising materials up and down the shaft had become difficult a larger windlass was installed. However more sophisticated headworks were required and, in anticipation of this and other costs, the directors on 28 June resolved to issue a further 200 shares. Newman was to receive a commission of 2.5% on each share issued.

After much discussion amongst shareholders a whim rather than a cheaper whip was decided upon (a whip was a pulley device operated by a horse walking away from shaft whereas with a whim the horse followed a circular path). A tender of £21 19s for construction of a whim was accepted from Charles Hill and was completed by 16 August 1895 (Fig. 2). It was estimated that a boy and horse to operate the whim would cost 20s to 30s per week. Sinking of the shaft resumed on 21 August but as it was not vertical only one bucket could be operated. This displeased some of the shareholders who had previously been advised by Wise that the whim could handle two buckets at a time. Wise was not able to respond as he was off work due to illness and was later admitted to hospital. However the shareholders must have appreciated Wise's contribution to the development of the mine because on 6 September they resolved to grant him a fortnight's salary during his absence. As at the Brook Street Association's workings Sunday visitors were a problem. On the 19 August the Colonist suggested that warning notices be erected and a lid placed over the shaft entrance when not in use.

Meanwhile on 28 August Taylor arrived from Collingwood to again report on the mine. Two days later, before a very receptive audience of about 50, each of whom had paid Is admission, Taylor gave a lecture entitled "Coal formation in and around Nelson". In this he repeated his earlier assertions about the age and quality of Nelson coal and claimed that not only were the reports issued by the authorities misleading but that this had hindered the investment of capital from England into coal prospecting in New Zealand. Taylor calculated that the association had 4320 tons of coal in sight and that this would return £ 3240 giving a profit of £ 1600. He thought that £ 5000 (the association to date had only spent £ 450) was required to fully develop the mine and have it fully operational. The shareholders must have been impressed because when he presented his draft report on 3 September they resolved, in view of the "valuable nature of his services", to increase his fees.

* Possibly Joseph Taylor who first visited the mine about this time.