William Morris Newsham: a prospector and miner in the Te Aroha district

Abstract

New Zealand-born William Morris Newsham fought against Maori without suffering any mishaps, but when aged 35 had the most perilous experience of his life. When assisting to survey a potential railway line in the King Country, he was captured by one prophet, Te Mahuki, and rescued by another, Te Kooti, after a harsh ordeal. After mining at Coromandel and Thames, in 1889 he settled in the Te Aroha district, taking whatever work was available. For the remainder of his life he was a small-scale miner, tributer, prospector, and operator of battery and tailings plants. Most of the 1890s was spent on the Waiorongomai field, but in the early twentieth century he explored nearby, his most notable claims being the Pick and Dish, close to the summit of Te Aroha. All his mining was done in small mining parties, sometimes backed by local small businessmen. He never ceased to search for gold, but found little of value, and achieved only a modest return from all his hard work.