‘After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east… Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. .. he sent them on to Bethlehem… and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary… Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2: 1-12Image: www.sxc.hu/photo/416373
The treasures of the Wise Men were thought to be from Arabia and almost certainly were products that were traded at the time of Jesus’ birth. Gold represented Jesus' Kingship. What of them now as export products?
New Zealand has its own gold mines and history of gold mining. It continues to export gold and in 2008 gold exports to the world were valued at US$369,763,250; this was an increase in value from the previous year when our gold exports were valued at US$200,842,188 (Source: UN Comtrade database).
New Zealand's largest gold producer is OceanaGold which operates mines at Reefton on the West Coast and at Macraes in North Otago. It was expecting to produce between 280,000 and 300,000 ounces this year - more than ever it has produced.
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