May 25, 2014
The Heritage of the first gold rush, centred on the only fully-functional stamper battery (a.k.a. quartz crushing plant) in situ in Otago. Originally water-powered, it now runs (and has done since the late 1890s) on diesel power. The massive Oceana Gold Mine can be seen in the background of the photograph. The area around the battery building will never be mined, under an agreement with the NZ Department of Conservation and Oceana Gold Ltd.
The battery was originally built by the Callery brothers.
