Purchase Vol.2 DVD from Memory Line Productions.

On Denniston

The Denniston Incline was one of the great creations of the Age of Coal and was regarded by many as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Opened in 1879 to help transport coal from the mines of the famous Coalbrookdale seam on the Denniston plateau on New Zealand's West Coast, the Incline plummeted 1700 feet down grades as steep as 1 in 1 and a quarter. The system operated by gravity with a full wagon of coal going down pulling an empty up. Over the 88 years it operated, there were many runaways and smashes.

In this fascinating documentary we return to the remote and inhospitable Denniston plateau with some of the miners and men who worked on the Incline. As they tell their story, high quality 35mm archive film graphically shows how the coal was taken from the mines high in the hills down to the ships at Westport, including an exiting ride down the Denniston Incline on a "Q" wagon full of coal.

Through the reminiscences of some of the womenfolk we learn about the happiness and hardship of existence on this isolated and rocky cliff top in the clouds where it often snowed and could rain for a fortnight.

And we are left to wonder at a special chapter in New Zealand history - when there was life "On Denniston".

Purchase Vol.2 from 2Checkout.com

Purchase Vol.2 DVD from Memory Line Productions.

IN HI-FI STEREO SOUND

On Denniston

Narrated by: IAN JOHNSTONE
Written and Edited by: DAVID SIMS
Sound Design by: KIT ROLLINGS
Video Photography by: BRUCE DUNN
Produced by: HUGH MACDONALD
Directed by: HUGH MACDONALD & DAVID SIMS

In Colour and Black & White

Grateful acknowledgements to:
Coal Corp, Gerard Morris, Craig Printing Co Ltd.
© Copyright Memory Line Productions, Vol. Two

Running time 1 hour approx.