COMP CLOSED | Book Giveaway | Conquering Cascade

‘You have put your money into a good mine; it is the best coal in New Zealand.’ Mines Minister, Hon. C. E. MacMillan, 7 April 1933.

• The previously untold story of the Cascade Westport Coal Company and its workforce – a daring example of entrepreneurship and co-operation
• Like the neighbouring and famous Denniston incline, the success of the Cascade mine depended on revolutionary engineering
• Defying predictions of failure, Cascade Coal was mined high in the rugged headwaters of Cascade Creek and transported by New Zealand’s longest ever coal flume 12 tortuous kilometres to the Buller Gorge
• Bold and defiant, the coal company and its workforce were plagued with high- level union and political engagement.
• Author Phil Walsh spent more than 10 years researching in depth, interviewing descendants of miners and company people and sourcing unpublished material

Denniston Incline’s global reputation as a masterpiece of 19th Century industrial engineering continues to awe mining historians today. Much less known is that beyond the south-eastern rim of the Denniston Plateau—once dominated by New Zealand’s biggest employer of labour and the birthplace of New Zealand’s coalmining unionism—another equally remarkable example of mining entrepreneurship and co-operation once existed. This is the story of the Cascade Westport Coal Company and its workforce, the Cascade Westport Co-operative Coal Party.

Founded on limited resources and iron will, the company was a courageous player in the volatile, post WW1 coal trade. Forming in 1925 it was confronted with extraordinarily challenging access and coal transportation decisions, woeful finances, a tempestuous climate and a plummeting global economy.

Conquering Cascade chronicles the troubles and triumphs of the coal company and the 30-year alliance with its contracted workforce, their association culminating in a powerful legal showdown.

Author Phil Walsh spent a decade researching, and interviewing descendants of the company, the Party’s miners and flume builders. Referencing judiciously, he sourced considerable unpublished literature and rare photographic material, maps and diagrams to authoritatively document this truly epic saga in New Zealand’s industrial coal mining heritage.

Phil Walsh’s stories have been published in New Zealand outdoor magazines over thirty years. His debut book Fur, Fish, and Phantom Reds (The Halcyon Press) was published in 2014, followed in 2018 by Typical Coaster, a memoir of his grandfather.

Raised on a farm north of Westport, much of Phil’s first 20 years was spent exploring Buller’s vast wilderness which nurtured his life- long interest in West Coast and New Zealand history. Phil has a Diploma in Horticulture (Massey University) and enjoys a long career in the horticultural sector. He is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors. Phil lives with his wife Michaela in North Canterbury. They have three children.

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1. 1. You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
   2. Competition closes on the 26th July 2022, winners will be notified via email by 28th July 2022.
   3. As a competition winner, you must confirm you have received our email notifying you of the win within three days. If we have not heard from you in three days the prize will be redrawn, and your prize will be forfeit.
   4. Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
   5. GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
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   7. One entry per person.
   8. Prize is non transferrable.
   9. You must reside in New Zealand – the prize will only be posted within New Zealand.
   10. You must be over 50 years of age to enter, check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.