Denniston is a small settlement, 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Westport, on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

[1] During the first few decades of the 20th century, up to 1400 people[2] lived in the townships on the Denniston Plateau to service the large coal mines there.

The open-cast Escarpment Mine Project was established by Bathurst Resources in an area of 200 hectares of conservation land on the southern Denniston Plateau.

Mining commenced in 2014, but was suspended in 2016 in response to the closure in June of the Holcim cement works at Cape Foulwind and a decline in global prices for hard coking coal.

Living conditions at Denniston were harsh; the rocky, windswept plateau is often immersed in cloud,[5] receives a high annual rainfall, and very low temperatures are common.

Once good road access to the plateau was established and the demand for coal declined, the townships shrank – and disappeared altogether once the incline and mines closed.

[6] To access the coal, the company extended the nearby Wellington Coal Company's branch railway on the south bank of the Waimangaroa River by 1.1 kilometres (0.68 miles) to Conns Creek, and constructed the Denniston Incline, and the roperoads from the mines to the top of the incline.

[11] It was a self-acting ropeway that used gravity to lower 12.5 ton gross laden weight New Zealand Railways' coal wagons one at a time from Brakehead, at Denniston, at the top to Conns Creek below.

[21] Later, horse-power was replaced by a steam engine-powered moving endless rope to which mine tubs were hooked by chains for their journeys to and from the bins at Brakehead.

[32] Prior to this, the only access for people and goods had been to ride in coal wagons travelling at high speed up or down the incline.

[33] Settlement soon spread up onto the plateau itself, and by 1887, there were three hotels, a postal and telegraph office, four general stores, three butchers and three bakers in Denniston.

There was no running water, no baths in houses, and toilets were tin sheds with cans that were emptied by night cart men.

[citation needed] In the days before social welfare, in an isolated community on low hourly wages, churches, unions, friendly societies and lodges provided important security for their members.

[37] A hospital, which opened in 1910 – paid for by subscriptions, levies and fundraising efforts – was built in a central location to deal with emergencies from mines in all directions.

For the remaining workers, the provision of buses enabled them and their families to live in more pleasant conditions down on the coastal plain.

[citation needed] The development of the Ironbridge Mine led to the establishment of the settlement known as Burnett's Face, about 2 kilometres southeast from Denniston.

It was initially a cluster of tents, but by 1891 there were wooden cottages, a school, two hotels, a butchery, a bakery, several stores, two halls, and two billiard saloons.

[41] Its main road was the constantly running roperoad skipway linking the mine with the bins at the head of the Denniston Incline.

The Conns Creek branch, which connected to the foot of the incline, was cut back to become a 1-kilometre (0.62-mile) long spur siding where the coal carried by truck from the bins at Brakehead was transferred into railway wagons.

[44] Middle Brake is one of the most intact industrial areas remaining because its inaccessibility resulted in much equipment being left on site.

[48] The Denniston Incline and the key historical areas of the plateau are now managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

[49][50] With recognition of the historic nature of Denniston and its increasing status as a local tourist icon and one that is close to Westport, a group of mainly locals, The Friends of the Hill,[47] seek to preserve Denniston's heritage and interpret it for the benefit of people visiting one of New Zealand's most famous coalfield settlements.

[6] In March 2013 the Environment Court gave Bathurst the go-ahead, though groups such as Forest & Bird vowed to continue fighting.