Bruce Bay or Mahitahi is a bay in South Westland, New Zealand, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 on the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

. It is south of the mouth of the Mahitahi River

Mahitahi River

The Mahitahi River is a river of the southwest of New Zealand's South Island. It flows northwest from the Solution Range, part of the Southern Alps, reaching the Tasman Sea at Bruce Bay.-References:...

, 80 km from Haast

Haast, New Zealand

Haast is an area in the Westland District territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. The Haast region covers over ....

 Junction and 224 km from Hokitika. Some of the bush around the bay has been cleared for farming, and quartz stones can be found on the coast.

A new marae was opened at Bruce Bay in January 2005.

The Hunt's Duffer gold rush

In 1866 prospector Albert Hunt who had found gold at Greenstone near Hokitika was granted a claim some 10 km south of the bay and 15 km inland. He was watched by a mob of 500 diggers at Okarito who on 26 March forced Hunt to lead them to the claim. He managed to escape, was recaptured and escaped again. By then there were more than 1500 men camped at Bruce Bay. When the angry mob arrived back at the bay, Warden Price was threatened and in the riot that night six makeshift stores were demolished and ransacked; but not Sweeneys, which was guarded by 20 armed men.

Next day Price swore in special constables at Okarito. The ringleaders William Quinlan and William Ryan were charged at Hokitika for causing damage to the extent of £664 on freehold property, but the case lapsed as the stores were all on leased land. Weld Town, the township at Bruce Bay which had a floating population of over 2000 collapsed as the diggers moved north, although there were still 300 hopefuls there three weeks later.

Later several claims were established on the coast and inland from Okarito (then Westland's third port and centre) to Bruce Bay, with a total population of over 3000 and a peak output in June 1866 of over 12,000 ounces. The largest townships south of Okarito were Five Mile Beach and Gillespies with 40 and 11 stores respectively. But the beach-workings and Okarito collapsed in late 1866, after a run on the Bank of New Zealand

Bank of New Zealand

Bank of New Zealand is one of New Zealand’s largest banks and has been operating continuously in the country since the first office was opened in Auckland in October 1861 followed shortly after by the first branch in Dunedin in December 1861...

 at Okarito and Ross in July.

See also

• West Coast Gold Rush
  West Coast Gold Rush
  The West Coast Gold Rush on the West Coast of New Zealand from 1864 to 1867 populated the area, which up till then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau...