Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
400 m return | upto 40 minutes return
At Arrowtown, over 300 miners settled in the cold valley, constructing stone buildings. By 1885 there were at least 10 huts and 2 stores. Some such as Ah Lum’s have been well renovated and evocatively cast us back to life in those times.
The start of the walk is signposted from the large parking area below Arrowtown, at the bottom end of Buckingham Street.
An even track winds through the gully with information panels and old stone buildings dotted amongst the exotic trees.
Following the discovery of several Otago goldfields in the 1860s, many storekeepers became disgruntled at the flight of miners to the newer (and potentially richer) claims being broadcast by word-of-mouth on the West Coast. Remember it was the merchants, not the miners who made money from the gold. The Chamber of Commerce hit upon the idea of attracting Chinese Miners from Victoria to come and fill the gap. By 1871 there were 2641 Chinese miners and business owners in Otago.
Anti-Chinese sentiment started to bubble, as European miners became resentful of their separate ‘shanties’ and exclusive social nature. Local storekeepers were losing money, as the Chinese would prefer to shop at their countrymen’s establishments for staples like dried vegetables and rice whisky. Their predilection for opium and gambling reinforced the social divide and racism was rife.
Select Committee reports showed the Chinese were invariably law-abiding, industrious, frugal and clean. They often reworked the tailings left by Europeans and their diligence paid off - further fuelling resentment.
Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC OtagoCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Arrowtown |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |