Heartland - Hokitika

Television (Full Length Episode) – 1994

Presenter Gary McCormick helms another episode of this popular series about Kiwi communities and finds plenty of community spirit in Hokitika. The 1864 gold rush turned Hokitika from a "bleak sandspit" into a bustling town almost overnight. Extracting natural resources is still the district's biggest industry. McCormick goes greenstone hunting in the Arahura and investigates a sustainable forestry programme. It's a town where senior citizens lead busy social lives playing in bands, joining marching teams and playing Irish card games. It's also a town with a deep love of music in its pubs, community halls and school productions.

In just 10 months from December 1864 the discovery of gold saw Hokitika grow from a bleak sandspit into a bustling city of 16,000 souls, a sudden upsurge more dramatic they say than the San Francisco gold rush.
– Presenter Gary McCormick on the boom time in the Hokitika district