Fun time in Waihi…. the little town with a heart of gold

Yesterday Waihi shook off its small town image

Seddon Street Waihi, the little town with a heart of gold

Seddon Street Waihi, the little town with a heart of gold

People dress up for the Beach Hop…the late summer event that sets the Coromandel alight.

 

It was a carnival of colour and nostalgia when the cars and the people came to town to celebrate the Pre-Beach Hop.

 

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old timers remember their glory days

The Beach Hop happens in Whangamata every year and Waihi is on the road to that town and have capatalised on the event. Cars come to Waihi on the Wednesday before the big event. People dress up in fifities costumes, there is a drag queen race  up the main street and our little town takes on a carnival atmosphere.

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Drag queens get ready to race up the main street

Its a day of fun and frivolity for young and old alike.

The old guys tell stories of their glory days and the young ones dream of what it must have been like when those vehicles and clothes were new and fresh.

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When I grow up…Little Leo dreams

   Waihi is a town with a great history. It was built  around the Martha goldmine…once one of the biggest underground goldmines in the Southern Hemisphere. Parts of the mine have great names like the “Milking Cow”.

The museum has relics of these days…even a padded cell for deranged people!   

Visitors dress for the occasion in all sorts of costumes.               

People dress up for the Beach Hop...the late summer event that sets the Coromandel alight.

People dress up for the Beach Hop…the late summer event that sets the Coromandel alight.

 

     

     

In the background id the historic Cornish Pump House that was shifted from it's original site to the centre of town. It was used when the Martha Goldmine was and underground mine

In the background is the historic Cornish Pump House that was shifted from it’s original site to the centre of town. It was used when the Martha Goldmine was an underground mine and not the open cast pit of today

Vehicles on display range from T birds to the vintage and there is something for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Published on Thursday, March 21st, 2013, under Latest News

One Response to “Fun time in Waihi…. the little town with a heart of gold”

  1. J.T.Webster says:

    Hi Shirley,
    I’ve never heard of this, but it looks lots of fun! Love those old cars!

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