On this page we feature work sent to us by school students and letters we have received.

Mrs Willoughby

Thank you for teaching us about mining these days and a little bit about mining back then. It will really help with the report I am being asked to write. I think that the way you are mining now is a lot more healthy for the people and the environment than it was back then. The noise standard you are allowed to make is very low and the way you are keeping those standards is really quite fascinating.

The education centre was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the board game the most because I could learn and have fun at the same time. The tour was very interesting. I think that is quite neat that you still find things from the old mine tunnels these days. We are quite lucky to see them blow up the ground because before I didn’t really understand what happened when they did that. I didn’t realize that the pit was so big. I thought it was just really wide but not deep.
The lake you are making the pit into is a really good idea and I just hope I’m living near so I can see it finished.
Once again thank-you for teaching us about mining.

Yours sincerely
Ashley
Te Aroha Primary School

P.S Could you please make the conveyor belt into a ride? That would be so cool.



Dear Janine

Thank you for telling us interesting facts about Martha Mine.

I found it really interesting how the mine was to be filled with water. It must be hard keeping the noise level below 50 decibels considering that even our ‘very quiet’ class makes more noise than that.

Yours faithfully

Marcus
Tairua School







Dear Mine People

I had a blast at the mine. I really enjoyed it. I hope I can come back soon. The talk was really informative and I really liked all the big trucks and learning all the new information about gold and silver.

But the only thing that could make it better is to ride in the big monster trucks and have a look around where they make the gold bars. We’ll have to make do with the bus for now. Thanks again for having me.

Yours sincerely

Terrence
Tamahere Model Country School, Hamilton





Dear Janine

Thankyou for taking me for a tour around Martha Mine. That hole was deep! But not as deep as the people 100 years ago dug with a pick axe. They dug 600 metres deep. Unbelievable! Also that gold you showed us could get stretched from Waihi to Hamilton. That’s--------way-----over-------here----- of course it’s longer than that little line. That’s only an ounce, imagine a whole 25kg bar! It would stretch from Waihi to Spain! The best thing about the tour was the explosion.

Special thanks

Julian
Kaharoa School






Dear Janine

Thank you for taking us on the tour. Thank you for telling us information about the Martha Mine My highlight of the day was looking into the Martha Mine. Its so big and earning $16.20 an hour is an lot of money to earn.

Something I learnt on this trip was the mine was turned into an open cast mine from an underground mine and how the mine was going to be turned into an recreational lake.

Another thing that I learnt was how the old day miners would chop off limbs to raise there money payment.

Thank you again

Marcella
Peachgrove Intermediate School, Hamilton



Dear Linda and Jeanine

Thank you so much Linda for the fun learning experience in you education centre. The activities were really fun and I learnt heaps of stuff on the Then And Now activity. The model making was so fun because I ended up making a Poppet Head. The mural was a fun learning experience. I never knew gold was used in so many things and it looks great on your back wall.

Thank you so much Jeanine for the tour. I found it very educational and I learnt heaps of stuff like how you get the gold and silver out of the rock.

Yours sincerely

Amy

Dear Linda, Janine and Graeme

How do you know so much about gold?
It must be so cool to be able to go around and watch all the machinery nearly everyday. Thank you anyway, I learnt so much more about gold than before. In the information centre I loved looking at the rocks through a magnifying glasses, It’s amazing how different they look close. Graeme, thank you for spending your time taking us around to see everything. Well thankyou for what you taught us, thankyou.

From Alexandra



Dear Janine,

Thankyou for the tour of Martha Mine, we found it fun, educational and interesting. I learnt so many things that I didn’t know before and was amazed that you knew your speech so well! When will you know whether Favona is a go ahead?

Our class especially enjoyed having these things passed around to look at and feel. It was good having some local knowledge in you speech to listen to and learn. We learnt lots of interesting facts, like the mine being closed in 2007 and all about rehabilitation process.

You left our minds buzzing with new facts and increased our knowledge of Martha Mine in the past, present and future. Your talk and time was much appreciated

Yours sincerely

Emma
Waitoki School Kaukapakapa



Dear Linda

Thankyou very much for having me in your education class and for teaching us about the tunnel mines.

You said the information in a way that it stayed in my head and when my dad was talking about it to my mum I could correct him.

Yours sincerely

Sam

Dear Linda and Jeannine,

RE: Auckland University School of Law – Mining & Energy Law Field Trip

Many thanks for arranging our visit to the Martha Hill mine on Friday 30 August.

The drive round tour was very thorough and the students all asked me to convey to you both their particular appreciation for your explanations and responses and questions . I was interested to see a couple of blasts go off this time. I recall when I was working in the Pilbara in Western Australia our blasts of iron ore were sometimes up to a quarter of a million tonnes, but then we weren’t in the middle of town! We also had to take cover a little further away when they went off!

As always the visit was one of the highlights of the field trip both for the students and for myself. The students are all a little more aware now if not only the environmental effects of the operation, but also the economic and social importance of the mine in the Waihi area.

Once again, many thanks.
Best regards,
Yours sincerely

D. G.
Senior Lecturer in Law