The now abandoned wharf at Tokomaru Bay used to transport dairy products to ship overseas.

Marlborough's Canvastown has recently become the site of a second gold rush, with mining company Elect Mining in the process of applying for consent to set up a new mine in the town.

Many towns in rural New Zealand were originally set up for mining, and not much else. But once World War I and World War II hit, the vast majority of the miners left New Zealand to fight for the Commonwealth, and mining towns disappeared along with them.

Well, almost. Hidden and dotted around New Zealand are the remains of some of the country's once most prosperous towns.

FILE Barrytown still exists put the population is dwindling.

Step back in time and take a look at where New Zealand started:

Waiuta, Greymouth

Waiuta township. SUPPLIED/Joseph Divis, 1930s.

What: Gold

Boom: For 45 years from 1906 to 1951 Waiuta was the company town for the South Island's largest gold mine. The mine was one of the most regular and steady gold reefs found anywhere in the world.

Population: More than 600 at its peak.

Waiuta township looking south, 1930s. SUPPLIED/Joseph Divis,

Bust: World War II meant miners had to drop their tools and pick up guns to fight for the Motherland. Between 1939 and 1946 the number of men employed by the mining company fell from 240 to 113. Gold output dropped to less than a third of its pre-war amount.

The mine officially 'busted' when a shaft collapsed and the Blackwater mine flooded. The owners in London decided to close the mine and within a few months everyone was gone.

Now: Waiuta is now public conservation land. Some buildings have been preserved as historic sites.

Waiuta's abandoned Prohibition and Blackwater mines in Victoria Forest Park. SARAH-JANE O'CONNOR/FAIRFAX NZ

Denniston, West Coast, South Island

Denniston, 1930s. SUPPLIED/William Archer Price

What: Coal - roughly 12 million tonnes of it.

Boom: Denniston has one of the richest coal seams in New Zealand. From 1879 to 1967 the town was either loved or hated by the locals. Denniston was located on a remote mountain plateau and the only mode of transport was taking the very steep incline up the hill in a cart. The incline was once called the "eighth wonder of the world" because of its engineering.

It was like a rollercoaster without safety bars and with shoddy brakes - many died either riding it or being hit by a runaway cart when the brakes failed.

The town had its own medical society, many pubs, and a Returned Services Association.

Population: At its peak Denniston was home to some 2000 people.

There was no cemetery in Denniston - the ground was too hard. For a while, bodies and people had to be transported to Waimangaroa via the railway incline because there was no road.

The Denniston Incline, 1880s-1890s. SUPPLIED/James Ring

Bust: By the 1960s many families had moved way from Denniston to Waimangaroa, which had much warmer weather. In 1968 an earthquake caused so much damage to the incline it had to close. Coal was instead transported directly to Waimangaroa on trucks via a new road.

The last Denniston pub - Red Dog Saloon - closed in the 1960s when mining officially stopped.

Now: Denniston's population is around 10 people. Only two houses remain. But interest in the town's historical significance to New Zealand has grown, especially with Jenny Pattrick's​ popular book The Denniston Rose.

The Department of Conservation has restored the railway, fitted with an extensive monitoring system and emergency lights. with first-aid equipment located throughout the mine.

Tangarakau, along Forgotten World Highway, Taranaki

Tangarakau Gorge, 1915-1916. SUPPLIED/Albert Percy Godber

What: Coal and rail.

Boom: Tangarakau was at one time the second largest town in central Taranaki. The town was the construction centre of a railway built between Stratford and Okahukara in the 1920s. The work was slow as the builders could only use pick axes and dynamite.

The town prospered from the construction and opening of the 1929 Egmont Coal company.

Population: Tangarakau had a population between 1200 and 2000 including a school with around 140 students.

Tangarakau Public Works Department construction camp, 1930. SUPPLIED/ John Reginald Wall

Bust: The railway was completed in 1932, the coalmines closed in 1936, and the school in 1959. The area is now an isolated farming area with a camping ground. The railway is used as a tourist ride.

Now: To access the area where Tangarakau used to be requires turning off State Highway 43, also known as the Forgotten World Highway.

Drive 6km on unsealed road into bush and farmland and you will find Ghost Town camp ground. There are a few farms around but otherwise the area is now only home to forest and bushland.

Barrytown, West Coast, South Island

Barrytown beach, 1910s. SUPPLIED/D.J. Ryall

What: Gold.

Boom: In the 1860s Barrytown had many names including Fosberry and Barryville. Gold dredging brought more than 2000 miners and 11 hotels to the township.





Mail coach and wagon on Barrytown beach, 1910s. SUPPLIED/D.J. Ryall

Population: Barrytown was home to 2000 miners and 11 hotels. The All Nations Hotel is the last surviving hotel.

Bust: The gold rush went bust but Barrytown endured.

Now: In the 2006 census Barrytown had a population of 225 - an increase of 33 people from 2001. There is even a mining permit for the south end of Barrytown Beach up for sale on Trade Me for $60,000.

Tokomaru Bay, 91km north of Gisborne

Tokomaru Bay, 1927. SUPPLIED

What: Dairy, wool and whaling.

Boom: In the 1840s whaling took place on the shores of Tokomaru Bay. Tokomaru Bay's dairy factory was built in 1912, and rebuilt in 1915. In its heyday, from the early 1900s to 1920s, the township was made up of the Waiapu County Council offices, a courthouse, police station, school, and stores.

The bay's wharf operated from 1911 to 1952 and to ship produce from the nearby freezing works and dairy factory overseas.

Tokomaru Bay, 1940s. SUPPLIED/G.E. McConnell

Bust: Possibly due to World War II and the Korean War the works closed in 1952 and the harbour stopped being used in 1963. Many buildings and the wharf are still standing, just.

Now: Tokomaru Bay's population is slowly decreasing. In 2013, 390 people lived there, a decrease of 57 people since 2006.

In 2013, more than 80 per cent of the population were Maori. Musicians, painters, and potters have made their home; it is considered the craft centre of the coast.

*Historical photography provided by the Alexander Turnbull Library.