Arrowtown

Arrowtown began its life as a Gold Rush town, with both European and Chinese working the river.
Gold was first discovered in the Arrow River in 1862 by a Maori shearer, closely followed by the man who laid claim to its discovery - William (Bill) Fox, and Arrowtown was first know as Fox's.

The Chinese lived separate lives at the top end of what is now known as Arrowtown, in little huts built from the local stone.It must have been a cold miserable life during winter. Some of their huts have been rebuilt and are preserved under the Historic Trust.  They were mostly shunned by the Europeans and their aim was to be able to save enough money to take back to their home country, buy land and help get their families out of poverty. Many remained in NZ and their descendants still live in NZ.




To the left and below is one of the more 'affluent' of the chinese huts. Most were smaller than this. As you can see, they are not luxurious and with their dirt floors and gaps between the stones and where the roof meets the walls, would have been cold in winter, with snow settling right down to river level at times.  The Chinese had well tended vegetable gardens throughout their village.

Now, Arrowtown is a tourist mecca, with many flocking to view the historic township, with many of its original stone buildings still present and being used today. The Arrow River, which runs alongside Arrowtown has a picturesque circular walk along its banks. While Pete and I didn't do this walk this time around, due to my stupid back, I walk/jogged it last time I was staying here with my son and his partner. People still pan for gold in the Arrow River and the odd nugget is still found, unfortunately, just not by me.

Above are  couple of pictures from along the Arrow River walk.

Arrowtown is well worth a visit and in autumn, when we are coming back next, the colours of the trees are stunning.

The old Masonic building. (I think)

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