1 active Westland Tai Poutini alert
- CautionActive landslide zones on Copland TrackDo not stop in either of Copland Track’s signposted active landslide zones; take extra care during and after heavy rain.Official details
Overview
About Gillespies Bucket Dredge
Why stop
- Rusted remains make the West Coast gold-mining story tangible
Heads up
- The narrow, partly unsealed drive takes planning
Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide
Your drive to Gillespies Bucket Dredge, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Westland Tai Poutini National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Westland Tai Poutini audio tourRecorded for this place
Gillespies Beach and the Failed Gold Dredge0:00 / 0:32
“Gillespies Beach is ahead, with dark sand, rounded pebbles and, when the clouds allow, the Southern Alps rising inland. Come for a shore walk and the old gold workings; strong surf makes it a poor choice for a swim.”
Plays as you drive up to Gillespies Bucket Dredge in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery
- The Lake That Powered the Dredge
- The Partnership in a Lichen
- Kahikatea and the Butter Box
- 49 audio storiesacross Westland Tai Poutini’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Blue Duck, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 31 trails, 53 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Gillespies Bucket Dredge
What remainsGillespies Bucket Dredge is a small historic stop reached on foot from Gillespies Beach.
Gillespies Bucket Dredge is a small historic stop reached on foot from Gillespies Beach. Rusted dredge machinery sits among old mining tailings, scrub and a pool; only fragments of the machine remain. This is the bucket dredge on the Miners Tunnel Track, separate from the late-19th-century suction dredge loop closer to the main beach car park. A wider look that includes the rusty machinery and pool makes the remains easier to read than a tight close-up.
Walk in from the beachAllow about 30 minutes for the 1.6 km return walk from the main car park and camping area.
Allow about 30 minutes for the 1.6 km return walk from the main car park and camping area. The route follows the Miners Tunnel Track through gorse-covered tailings. On a clear day, mountain tops show above the gorse. You can return the way you came or continue toward Miners Tunnel or Galway Beach.
Plan for the driveGillespies Beach is about 21 km by road from Fox Glacier.
Gillespies Beach is about 21 km by road from Fox Glacier. About half the drive is on a narrow, unsealed road; take it slowly and do not tow. Bring warm waterproof layers because the weather can change quickly. This is a destination drive, not a quick roadside pull-off.
A dredge with a wide reachThe dredge operated from 1932 to 1945 and was built on site from local timber shaped by hand.
The dredge operated from 1932 to 1945 and was built on site from local timber shaped by hand. Its mechanism came by horse-drawn wagon down the Cook River flat and around Otorokua Point. Electricity from the Fox Glacier hydroelectric station powered its buckets, winches and pumps, using water from Lake Gault. The rusted fragments link a quiet beach walk to the mining work and water infrastructure spread across this part of Westland.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Westland Tai Poutini
89 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
80 sightingsKererūMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
38 sightingsTūīMost seen around 5 AMSighting map
10 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
28 sightingsYellow-crowned ParakeetMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Westland Tai Poutini. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
