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After, the river in flood
x-terra steve  
Posted : 15 years ago
x-terra steve

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Hi all,

a really good time to check out what the river has turned up is after a descent flood.

I was poking around the river bank last year after the river had been in flood i found the end of a paddle sticking out of the bank.

I pulled it out and to to my surprise a very old Waka paddle.

The paddle must have been lodged in place for many years until the river unleased its fury.

I handed it into the local museum and has since been in there care.

Not any gold here but still worth a mention.

Cheers Steve

x-terra steve attached the following image(s):
waka.jpg
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gavin  
Posted : 15 years ago
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That's pretty cool - how old do you think it is?
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WWW
x-terra steve  
Posted : 15 years ago
x-terra steve

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Hi Gavin,

Im not sure how old the paddle is.

The museum was going to do some research and let me know but they have not been in contact with me.


Good to see JW has been out there doing it.

Work has been full on so I havent been back up the river for a few weeks,went to a few local parks detecting and did
$18 in just under an hour.

Cheers Steve (from not so sunny nelson).
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overdog  
Posted : 15 years ago
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Hi Steve-you didnt find the waka as well did you? (",) Which river out of interest?
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x-terra steve  
Posted : 15 years ago
x-terra steve

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Hi Overdog,
how you doing?

No waka found but I had a dam good look!

The river was the Coilns river, just past the junction where it joins the Whangamoa river.

The Nelson Mail ran several small articles about the paddle,that is the last I have heard about it.

A few of me friends recound that I should have hung on to it but I wanted it put on display for all to see.

Cheers Steve
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Lammerlaw  
Posted : 14 years ago
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A terrific find and what you did with it was really most admirable...good on you and may you find plenty of gold for as a reward for thoughtful thinking.
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Lammerlaw  
Posted : 14 years ago
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Love it - I have collected this sort of stuff since I was a kid - and that wasnt yesterday - In fact I was an early colector licence holder - Number 0028! I think this was an absolutely marvellous find - if I had found it I would have gone Gaa gaa.
What you did with it was also great - good going - as for a reward for what you did with it - may you find many ounces of gold!
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Lammerlaw  
Posted : 14 years ago
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After the 1981 flood in the river I worked at the time the willow trees were stripped and many gone, all the gorse and broom along the river margin to the height of where the willow trees would haver reached were torn out and gone and in many places bedrock showed where bedrock had never shown before - that was the period of the best gold finds I ever had. Large nuggets were picked up just walking along and watching for the glimmer of yellow. In another part of the same river I got several ounces in several minutes from where a wing dam had been, the flood having stripped part of the wing dam wall away exposing the gold.

I also found a very early shovel blade with a foot and a half of handle on it dating probably to the 1879 era, the shovel blade was riveted and the handle was not straight but cranked.

It does pay to go for walks along the rivers after floods.

Edited by user 14 years ago  | Reason: Not specified
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