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Cromwell
| Cromwell is located in the valley of the Upper Clutha, deep in the heart
of the dry interior of Central Otago
. . . in a landscape of bare brown hills, of tussock and briar,
of purple thyme and tors of schist, of broad basins and fertile valleys,
of Lake Dunstan's pristine waters and of gorges carved by two great
rivers
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. . . a landscape first trodden by the Maori hunter and trader, opened
to European settlement by the sheepmen, exploited and transformed by the
gold seekers and later by the dam builders
. . . and now home to the merino and deer farmer, to orchards and
vineyards, to artists and artisans and to those, tempted by the landscape
and history, climate and location and the myriad of pursuits offered on
land and water, to visit this "timeless land." |
History
- Glittering Beginnings
Cromwell was originally known as "The Junction," being at the
confluence of the Clutha and Kawarau Rivers. In 1862, gold was discovered
below the Junction by two miners, Hartley and Reilly. Once the word of a
gold strike was out, there was an influx of several thousand miners to the
area.
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As gold ran out, Cromwell became the service centre for an extensive
farming and fruit growing area. It has a strategic location between the
Lindis and the Haast Pass, and acts as a hub between the towns of Wanaka,
Queenstown and Alexandra.
The decision to build Clyde Dam and use Cromwell as the accommodation
base brought many changes to the town. These included the doubling of the
residential area, relocation of the old town centre (now called "Old
Cromwell Town"), upgrading of services, and the provision of modern
educational and sports facilities. The relocated town centre, or "The
Mall," now houses the main retail, service and civic buildings in
Cromwell.
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Kawarau
Gorge Mining Centre
In authentic surroundings on Gees Flat, where in the past much gold has been won, the visitor may pan for gold with every expectation of finding "colours", and inspect various methods by which gold has been extracted in the vicinity over the years. A stamper battery has been restored and water races traverse the countryside to feed sluice-guns. The scars of operations dating from the 1860s are still clearly visible and the rock shelters of early Chinese diggers may also be seen.
A huge turbine, used from 1915-40 in an irrigation scheme, was recovered and resited here before Lake Dunstan formed. The lake's extremity lies a short distance downstream. The area forms part of the Otago Goldfields Park. 8 km W on SH 6. Open daily. Working displays at noon and 3 p.m. daily. Short horse treks around the park, a flying fox high above the river, and white water rafting and white water jet boating over a -series of rapids on the Kawarau River, are all available. |
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