Rūnanga miners' hall

The coal-mining areas of the West Coast were the heartland of the United Federation of Labour. The large 1908 miners’ hall at Rūnanga, 8 km north of Greymouth, hosted many meetings during the strike.

On a number of occasions miners from surrounding settlements descended on Westport and Greymouth to support local watersiders and ensure the strike was being maintained. On 24 November large numbers of miners from Rūnanga and Blackball travelled by cycle, car and foot to Brunnerton after hearing that the miners there were considering going back to work. The Brunner mine stayed closed.

See images of Rūnanga during the 1913 strike here (Flickr)