After visiting the historic site on the lower slopes of the Hooper's Inlet side of Harbour Cone at the weekend, Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust member Bruce McMillan said his group would like to see it developed and opened to the public.
Otago Peninsula Community Board chairwoman Irene Scurr has welcomed the ‘‘exciting'' idea and Sergeant Kellas thinks it has ‘‘merit''.
Mr McMillan, who is the Bannockburn-based immediate past president of the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust, said three trust members examined the remains of the 19th-century gold mine on Sunday.
Using a map in a book by late historian Hardwicke Knight they located a mine shaft on private land which fitted historic descriptions of the gold mine worked in the 1870s by the Hoopers Inlet Quartz Mining Company.
‘‘There is a ‘for sale' sign on the land. We called at the house to try and obtain permission but there was no-one at home,'' Mr McMillan said.
‘‘We found a shaft with an opening about a metre square which is believed to be about 40ft deep.
‘‘There used to be a steamdriven five-head stamper battery here and there were several tunnels.
‘‘We found at least two other exploratory shafts.''
The Goldfields Trust was interested in helping develop the site as a tourist attraction but did not have funds to buy the land, Mr McMillan said.
‘‘At the moment it is just a hole in the ground which is quite dangerous.
‘‘With the agreement of the landowners, it would be great to have access constructed and interpretive signage put up.''
Ms Scurr said the idea was ‘‘rather exciting and could have quite a bit of potential''.
The gold mine could become one element of an Otago Peninsula historic trail, she said.
‘‘There are numerous archaeological sites of interest on Otago Peninsula including the creamery, the lime kiln and settlement sites.''
Sgt Kellas' greatgrandfather Hugh Kellas and his brother Robert were shareholders in the mine company which was on land near their farm, Sgt Kellas said.
The mine never proved economical, he said.
‘‘There certainly aren't any 75-room mansions dotting the peninsula which belong to our family as a result.
‘‘But of course the technology they were using then was quite primitive.''
The overgrown site would need a lot of work to make it safe and presentable, Sgt Kellas said.
‘‘And of course, it would need an easement from the owners.''
The Star was unable to contact the landowners.
