On-Yer-Bike
On Yer Bike is about 5 kilometres north of Greymouth. It is a tourist business which supplies rides on quad bikes through some typical West Coast native forest. The business enterprise began in 1997 by Mike and Sue Roper. Ahead of the business Mike Roper was a taxi driver around Greymouth. The adventure business is recommended by previous visitors as featured on tripadvisor.
The farm where in actuality the business is situated has been doing the Roper family since 1917 when Micheal's grandparents, Charles and Violet moved to the area. During the 1960s and 70s Micheal's parents ran a chicken farm but this ended in 1978 when new regulations made the business non-viable quoi faire aujourdhui. Cattle and sheep have been part of the farm operations and is still, albeit a tiny part these days thinking about the success of the quad bike business.
Through your adventure you will more than likely come across a number of New Zealand's native birds including the Weka, Tui, Kereru (wood pigeon), Fantail, and Pukeko
Another sideline to On-Yer-Bike may be the cafe where customers can drop set for a cuppa and just to add another string to her bow, Sue Roper does crochet and with her other commitments everything keeps her busy.
More than 100 years back there clearly was a school nearby the area. It was called "The Camp School," the name of the district. No-one knows how it got its name, but it's probably because the initial sawmill on the West Coast was at Coal Creek and "The Cap" could have been described the men who have been working at the saw mill.
Coal Creek is a location that is prone to flooding. The water sometimes comes over the road near On-Yer-Bike as the creek floods with the volume of water which boils down from the mountains.
Ahead of the overhead bridge being built, traffic would have to cross the railway tracks and look each method for oncoming trains. In terms of we know, there clearly was a train/car accidents prior to the bridge being built. However, through the 1968 earthquake, a car ran into the edge of the bridge because it moved up and down causing the death of the driver.
Coultard/Hall Memorial
Just just before Runanga may be the Coultard/Hall Memorial. This was the scene of the Runanga Payroll Robbery 9th November 2017. The pay car left Greymouth that morning with the wages and salaries of the miners which totalled almost 4k. Just like the car was about to show the corner it ran into an obstruction in the middle of the road. The driver Coultard got out from the car in order to take away the obstruction and at the time a masked man appeared from the bush shouting, "Hands-Up" before firing at Coultard. He died at the scene. The robber then ran to the car and asked for the bucks but Hall, who was the mine's clerk refused to obey and fired two shots from the revolver he carried. The robber shot Hall from close range-so close that Hall's clothes were burning when he was tended to following the robbery. James was fired upon by the robber and was hit in the thigh and behind. The robber secured the amount of money prior to making his escape across the railway lines and out of sight.