Curious about who worked the New Zealand goldfields, including those in Thames? Check out this online goldminers database created and maintained by Kae Lewis.

The Thames Goldfield was administered from the tent of Gold Commissioner James Mckay, and later in a more permanent office at Shortland. It was presided over by the Assistant Commissioner of the Goldfield of Thames, Mr Allen Baillie. A smaller office at Coromandel was opened later. The online Goldminers Database indexes the original records of people and companies mining in New Zealand during the period 1861 to 1872.

Discover if your ancestor was part of the 1867-1872 gold rush in Thames. If they were, the database will reveal the exact dates and location of the claim. It will certainly enhance their visit to Thames to know this in advance. The online database contains information on over 30,000 Thames goldminers.

Kae Lewis is also the author of Goldrush to the Thames, which tells the story of the Thames Goldfields beginning in 1867. Thousands of miners flooded the town to dig for gold high in the ranges behind the Thames township. The book documents almost all the important claims on the Thames and Tapu Goldfields, describing the individual workings on each claim and the methods they used to find and retrieve the gold.

You can buy Goldrush to the Thames at Carson’s Bookshop on Pollen Street. Copies are also available to purchase at The Rock Shop in theThames School of Mines.