Oral History Project
Newmont Waihi Gold commenced an extensive, ambitious and ongoing project in 2005 - the Oral History Project. The aim of the project is to record informal videotapes of interviews between Newmont staff and a range of people on a variety of subjects. The tapes are annotated and catalogued and form a growing library of valuable historical knowledge. To date we have completed 49 interviews of people in the local and wider community.
Gold mining in Waihi spans three centuries and five generations. We are reminded of this at each of our annual early miners' reunions. When the men from the pre-1952 Martha Mine get together a lot of stories come out about the early days' underground mining and processing.
The Oral History project grew initially from a desire to capture as many of these stories and memories of the early mining industry as we could.
As time marches on and inevitably the old miners pass on too we are losing an irreplaceable source of historical information. We felt it was essential to record this information for posterity.
As the project has progressed, it has moved from simply collecting interesting anecdotes to forming the basis of a significant and substantial body of knowledge on past mining practices and a reflection of the miners' lives, recalling their youth and vigour.
The Interviews
Appropriate questions are researched prior to each interview and the interviewees are encouraged to tell their own stories - usually in their own homes. This helps to keep the interviews informal, relaxed and friendly.
The interviews are recorded on high definition digital video. Master tapes are archived and DVD copies are provided to the interviewees. The key people involved in the project are Doreen McLeod and Kit Wilson. The late Guy Spurr, who also had a passion for this subject, was involved as well.
Doreen explains, "The interviews are designed to seek the anecdote, the yarn and the description of the every day - of the lived experience. What we have captured to date reflects something of the ordinary, at times extraordinary lives of people who worked at the Martha Mine, Victoria Battery, the Refinery and attended Waihi and Waikino School of Mines."
"We have personal recollections of participants and their families' involvement in the mining and timber activities associated with the industry. They tell us what it was like to grow up in a town where mining was an integral part of Waihi society and a recognised part of the fabric of Waihi into the third century. It has provided an opportunity to gain an insight into the time, the place and the people."
A number of interesting themes have emerged as the interviews have progressed. Amongst these is the social conscience demonstrated by a number of mine managers. School leavers from needy families, while strictly speaking too young to work underground, were regularly given employment, as were older and/ or partially disabled miners who had given many years' loyal service to the company. There are many myths surrounding the loss of fingers or thumbs by miners in 'accidents' that have also been thoroughly explored.
A Community Partnership
More recently the company has been interviewing people involved in present day mining and also people outside the mining sector. This allows the project to develop and assemble a wider base of stories and experiences and record specialist views on specific subject areas.
"The company has the staff and the technical expertise - the community has the stories", says Doreen.
"We know we can neither do it alone nor do it all. This is a community project and Newmont Waihi Gold is proud to be part of it. The company believes that operating in a community means being part of that community and demonstrating a commitment to it. The Oral History Project is a reflection of that commitment and community involvement."
Currently the focus of the project is on acquisition, although extracts from the interviews have been used as a basis for a paper entitled "Through Local Eyes - Five Generations of Gold Mining in Waihi".
Doreen has presented this paper to conferences and to several interested organisations.
"If we don't gather this material now we will never be able to. It will be there for generations to come. As well as the gold it has yielded, Waihi is now producing another treasure in the form of a rich archive, ensuring that part of yesterday's and today's events are being captured for research purposes, education and for the generations of tomorrow."
The Oral History Project aims to capture stories of early Waihi. These photos were taken in the underground mine between 1930 - 1950.
