John McCombie was gold prospector and miner who was a pioneer in the Coromandel and Waihi area. During the early 1880s he made further discoveries, notably the Woodstock and Silverton lodes in the Karangahake Gorge. He also became involved in local politics and was elected in 1884 as the representative for Ohinemuri riding on the Thames County Council. It was said that “‘His optimism with respect to the possibilities of mining was unbounded, and his one wish was to see a revival of the old days which, from his intimate knowledge of the field, he felt sure must come.'”
Image “Janet I Cutting Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library”.
John McCombie
Died 1926
