The panel, which went up by the Glenorchy Hall last month, is aimed at raising awareness of the area’s unique role in the mining of the mineral, Hansen says.
He hopes it will not only inform the township’s visitors, but also its many new residents, many of whom are probably unaware of the history.
‘‘It’s something historical about Glenorchy . . .we’ve got sheep and beef, and a bit of gold, but scheelite was something very unique, and I think it’s important to remember.’’
Scheelite contains a useful amount of the metal tungsten, which was used to harden steel for wartime munitions, especially during the First World War.
It came from several mines on Mt Judah, in what is now the Whakaari Conservation Area, which were the major source of scheelite in the country.
Hansen, who is chairman of the Glenorchy Battery Association, says someone suggested he create the panel because of his extensive collection of photos.
The photos ‘‘paint a thousand words’’ of what was a ‘‘pretty rugged’’ mining process, he says.
The association funded the $600 cost of the project, in which he compiled the information and photos and completed the layout with help from a graphic designer.
