Captain John Butt: The enterprising goldminers' true representative in Shortland (1867-1870)

John Butt was born in 1800 and by the 1860s was captaining ships for Henderson and Macfarlane's Circular Saw Line. That Line traded round the triangular route of Auckland, Newcastle (New South Wales), and San Francisco (California) at speeds of 14 knots/hour and made record trips. By 1867, gold was coming into Auckland at a great rate, and was gradually lifting the depressed economy. Cutters were being built at a 'rate of knots' in various parts of Auckland to carry the would-be lucky miners and entrepreneurs. Butt had seen gold for himself from his coastal trading round New Zealand, and determined to try prospecting himself. The 'tent-town' of Shortland, in the Thames area, had been built overnight, and realizing the Aucklanders needed to see the ore for themselves, he brought some nuggets to Auckland in August 1867, ostensibly to lure would-be backers.