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Thames is divided into many little suburbs, with Parawai
and the Kauaeranga Valley in the South, Moanataiari, Kuranui Bay, and
Tararu to the North.
Pollen Street is divided into Shortland at the
Southern end and Grahamstown in the Northern End where many historic
buildings are located. Grahamstown holds a mini market day each Saturday
morning. The modern Goldfields Shopping Centre is located on the
fore shore with Pak 'N Save, The Warehouse and Stationery Warehouse
attached along with many other modern stores such as Postie Plus,
Hannahs, $2 shop and many more.
In 1769 Captain
Cooks Endeavor anchored off Waiomu (about 15km North of Thames.
Cook was reminded of the River Thames and his homeland that he named
both the river and region after it.
Gold was first discovered in Thames in 1867, at this
time Auckland was in a recession. Giant Kauri trees were felled to meet
the demand for timber, leaving the hills scarred with the tracks of the
miners. Gold was discovered in several mines. The Caledonian Mine
produced 11 tons of gold in 12 months.
During the goldrush Thames had three theatres, today it
has one in Pollen Street. Thames was almost a city during the goldrush
time. |
