TE HAPORI • COMMUNITY
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LIFE “T
‘on the hill’ WORDS: CLAUDIA BABIRAT
A gathering 30 years ago of hundreds of former Denniston residents sparked the idea of Friends of the Hill, a community group that’s still actively connected to the coal-mining town – despite it being home to just a handful of people today
30 Ngahuru • Autumn 2023 / Heritage.org.nz
his is called a banjo. Can anyone guess why?” Gary James rotates the shovel so that he’s holding it like a musical instrument. A look of recognition sweeps across the faces of the school kids standing opposite him and a couple of hands shoot up in the air. “Its wide blade meant that miners could shovel a lot of coal in a short amount of time. Who wants to have a go?” We’re in the Friends of the Hill museum on Denniston Plateau, up a winding road half an hour north of Westport, standing at the entrance of a replica mine. Gary is hosting a school group on camp. It’s a tough crowd – a group of teenage boys – and the topic is history. But everyone’s listening. That’s because Gary has the best stories. In fact, he has all the stories. And he’s passionate about sharing them with people who want to find out more about the place that he’s loved for most of his life. There are a few things a future visitor to Denniston should know. Firstly, yes, there’s a museum. You’ll find it if you continue past the turn-off to the steep railway incline for which Denniston is famous. If you like your heritage with a twist of authentic, in-the-flesh storytelling, you