Arrowtown, New Zealand

It is a bit rainy this morning but that does not prevent us from enjoying drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown. There is a dusting of snow on the mountain tops even though this is very early autumn in New Zealand. I had read that somewhere around here scenes from one of the Lord of the Rings movies was filmed…at a location near Arrowtown that is the only crossable part of the river. Hmm..I wonder. Might it be near here?

 

Whether it is or not, I am not sure. But I do suspect this part of the river has something to do with gold mining. Arrowtown is an historic mining town and gold played a large role in the development of the community.

At the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown we learn a lot about the history of this community…including the mining of coal and then the gold rush in the 1860’s.

In one section of the museum the Arrowtown Schoolhouse is replicated. There we find an abacus and wonder if its presence is connected to the numerous Chinese immigrants that came during the gold rush. The school house itself looked very much like ones seen in Western Canadian museums…the portrait of Queen Victoria, the flag, the handwriting charts. A big difference though was the map on the wall. Here it is a map of New Zealand; in western Canada it is a map of Canada. Duh!

The museum visit was delightful. Maybe the drizzle outside had something to do with my  impression but I think not. It was really interesting to see artifacts and life size dioramas of the history of the area and compare it to the pioneering days of Western Canada. Lots of similarities.

 Aside: Do look inside the outhouse (toilet) by one of the replica buildings. Someone has a sense of humour!

Stepping outside we find it is now only drizzling and this only serves to highlight the beautiful autumn colours.

Hint: Click on any photo to enlarge it.

A stroll down main street seems in order.

 Arrowtown Autumn Festival is on so there are several special events happening. Homemade scarecrows created by various local organizations and individuals are tied to lampposts (but they are not doing all that well in today’s drizzle).

Wish we could stay around to see the wearable art event. Sounds interesting!Let’s have a look inside this shop. Maybe we can find some wearable wool!

 Interesting fact: Sir Michael Hill (the jeweler) is from Arrowtown.

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