The Victoria
Battery

The Ancient World

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The Victoria Battery, of Waihi's Martha Mine is situated on the south side of the Ohinemuri River in the Karangahake Gorge at Waikino, in the North Island of New Zealand. Built in 1897-98, the crushing plant had 200 stamping heads to crush the quartz mined from the Martha goldmine at Waihi. It was one of the world's largest batteries. Today, nearly everything has gone except the concrete foundations, masonry walls, charred remnants and old iron, upon which I have based the ideas for these paintings.

Ramparts I

Tableau I

Ramparts II

Catacombs

Tabernacle

Crypt

Tableau II (Sold)

Stonemasons Screed

Tableau III

Vigilante

Pond (Sold)

Vigil

Pathway Beyond

Sanctuary

Rock Sculpture

Crusade

The remains of the battery reminded me of the buildings of ancient antiquity. They had a monumental quality. Effigies created from charred wooden remnants, suggested to me a series of tableaux. The masonry walls have been beautifully crafted; an exhibition could be based on these alone. The atmosphere is forbidding and oppressive, suggesting the forces of good and evil. Each portion of the Battery has great potential for the artist in terms of visual imagery.
Today, the Victoria Battery, cared for by the Department of Conservation, is a feature of the Karangahake historic walkways tracks and has been given an ‘A’ classification by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

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The Victoria Battery Gallery Images copyright © 2005 - 2010 by Lola Rosita Badman. All rights reserved.