Port Craig

rdf:langString Port Craig

rdf:langString Port Craig is located along the south coast (Te Waewae Bay) of the South Island New Zealand near Tuatapere.It was a small logging town born in 1916, with 200+ men women and children living there in its prime.Like other New Zealand bush towns, Port Craig was inhabited by hardy kiwi bushmen and their families, recent immigrants and a few others trying to keep clear of the law. The Marlborough Timber Company had a large scale plan to log one of the countries last significant coastal forests. The company planned big, they built the Dominion's largest sawmill, an extensive tramway system, port facilities and township all without road access. The bush was worked by the Lidgerwood overhead logging cable system (gantry) that weighed over 50 tonnes. The immense size of the gantry meant that it was very difficult to relocate in the inhospitable forest and after one major shift, the gantry was left redundant, crippling the local logging industry. All that is left of the town is considerable relics including the gantry base, a large English built wince (built in Hull) that operated on the wharf and thousands of bricks. There is also a fairly complete bakers oven and the original school building that is now used as a trampers hut.