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Port Molyneux
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'''Port Molyneux''' is a tiny settlement on the coast of [[South Otago]], [[New Zealand]], close to the northeasternmost point of [[The Catlins]]. Now home only to farmland, it was a thriving port in the early years of New Zealand's European settlement.
The settlement, located equidistant between [[Kaka Point]] and the mouths of the [[Clutha River]] was originally located at the Clutha's mouth. Taking its name from Molyneux Harbour, as the area was named by Captain [[James Cook]] in 1774,<ref>There is some suggestion that Cook's name was actually intended to be used on a different inlet, but accidentally became transferred to the mouth of the Clutha, which was itself known as the Molyneux River for many years.</ref> In 1838 or 1839, it became the site of a [[whaling]] station, and the first permanent European settlers, George Willsher and Thomas Russell, arrived in 1840.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkGDc Balclutha]," ''[[Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]'', from "An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand" (A. H. McLintock, ed.) originally published in 1966. Retrieved 30 December 2018.</ref> The growth of settlement in the area largely started after the 1844 purchase of the [[History of Otago|Otago Block]] from local [[Māori people|Māori]].<ref name=XV>"[http://bit.ly/2QUeqVH Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XV (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref>
The mining of coal at nearby [[Kaitangata, New Zealand|Kaitangata]] from the 1850s and the discovery of gold inland at [[Gabriel's Gully]] (leading to the [[Otago Gold Rush]] of 1861–63) led to an increase of the necessity for shipping. Port Molyneux was an obvious destination (even though it was not a particularly good harbour)<ref name=XIV>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkHHg Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XIV (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref> as it was located close to the regional hub of [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], about 15 kilometres upriver. The town continued to thrive until two events in the late 1870s which between them stripped the town of its livelihood. First, a major flood in late 1878 carried silt down the Clutha and changed the river's course. New outlets to the Pacific Ocean were created further up the coast (at its current mouth), and the outlet at Port Molyneux silted up, depriving the town of downriver traffic. Less than six months later, a second disaster for the town occurred, with an [[Kaitangata Mine disaster|explosion at Kaitangata coal mine]] which killed 34 miners. Compounding these events, 1879 also saw the opening of a railway link from Balclutha to the provincial capital of [[Dunedin]], making for easier transportation of goods and passengers to the city and its port.<ref name=XV/>
Almost nothing remains of the town as it was. In its heyday, the town's main street, Pendennis Street (now Port Molyneux Road), led to a central octagon. The township's commercial businesses included two general stores, an ironmongers, a butcher, a painter, a bootmaker, hotels, a carpenters, harbour and customs offices, and a sawmill.<ref name=XIV/> There was also a police station and [[lock-up]], a school, and a church.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2QYcRGq Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XIII (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref> Today, all that remains of the town are one or two derelict buildings inland from an area of coastal swamp. The church was moved four kilometres south to become the church at Kaka Point.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkIei Port Molyneux history summarised]," catlins.kiwi.nz Retrieved 30 December 2018.</ref>
==References==
[[Category:Ghost towns in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Populated places in Otago]]
[[Category:Clutha District]]
The settlement, located equidistant between [[Kaka Point]] and the mouths of the [[Clutha River]] was originally located at the Clutha's mouth. Taking its name from Molyneux Harbour, as the area was named by Captain [[James Cook]] in 1774,<ref>There is some suggestion that Cook's name was actually intended to be used on a different inlet, but accidentally became transferred to the mouth of the Clutha, which was itself known as the Molyneux River for many years.</ref> In 1838 or 1839, it became the site of a [[whaling]] station, and the first permanent European settlers, George Willsher and Thomas Russell, arrived in 1840.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkGDc Balclutha]," ''[[Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]'', from "An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand" (A. H. McLintock, ed.) originally published in 1966. Retrieved 30 December 2018.</ref> The growth of settlement in the area largely started after the 1844 purchase of the [[History of Otago|Otago Block]] from local [[Māori people|Māori]].<ref name=XV>"[http://bit.ly/2QUeqVH Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XV (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref>
The mining of coal at nearby [[Kaitangata, New Zealand|Kaitangata]] from the 1850s and the discovery of gold inland at [[Gabriel's Gully]] (leading to the [[Otago Gold Rush]] of 1861–63) led to an increase of the necessity for shipping. Port Molyneux was an obvious destination (even though it was not a particularly good harbour)<ref name=XIV>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkHHg Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XIV (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref> as it was located close to the regional hub of [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], about 15 kilometres upriver. The town continued to thrive until two events in the late 1870s which between them stripped the town of its livelihood. First, a major flood in late 1878 carried silt down the Clutha and changed the river's course. New outlets to the Pacific Ocean were created further up the coast (at its current mouth), and the outlet at Port Molyneux silted up, depriving the town of downriver traffic. Less than six months later, a second disaster for the town occurred, with an [[Kaitangata Mine disaster|explosion at Kaitangata coal mine]] which killed 34 miners. Compounding these events, 1879 also saw the opening of a railway link from Balclutha to the provincial capital of [[Dunedin]], making for easier transportation of goods and passengers to the city and its port.<ref name=XV/>
Almost nothing remains of the town as it was. In its heyday, the town's main street, Pendennis Street (now Port Molyneux Road), led to a central octagon. The township's commercial businesses included two general stores, an ironmongers, a butcher, a painter, a bootmaker, hotels, a carpenters, harbour and customs offices, and a sawmill.<ref name=XIV/> There was also a police station and [[lock-up]], a school, and a church.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2QYcRGq Port Molyneux: The Story of Maori and Pakeha in South Otago - a Centennial history. Chapter XIII (1940)]," retrieved from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 30 December 2018.</ref> Today, all that remains of the town are one or two derelict buildings inland from an area of coastal swamp. The church was moved four kilometres south to become the church at Kaka Point.<ref>"[http://bit.ly/2BRkIei Port Molyneux history summarised]," catlins.kiwi.nz Retrieved 30 December 2018.</ref>
==References==
[[Category:Ghost towns in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Populated places in Otago]]
[[Category:Clutha District]]
December 29, 2018 at 10:29PM
