Vessels entering the West Coast river ports had to deal with hazards of dangerous bars of submerged sand ridges that shifted with every storm. Vessels often had to wait in the roadstead for favourable conditions for over a week. This was a dangerous practice as well. Paddle tugs were essential to ferry passengers and cargo from large ships and help vessels in and out of the port. Many vessels came to grief in these river ports. At Hokitika there were 108 strandings over a two year period between 1865 and 1867.
Vessel Lioness ashore on the Grey River, 1882
Gold and passengers were the main cargo from the 1860’s to 1870’s and during 1865 and 1866 in Hokitika the arrivals of passengers numbers was the highest in New Zealand.
Greymouth Wharf, circa 1880
In 1867 the value of exports through Hokitika was the highest in New Zealand with Greymouth third, Brighton (Charleston) 8th and Okarito was also a significant port.
Loading coal at Greymouth Wharf, circa 1950