"Arrowtown" Arrowtown by fishandchips

Arrowtown was established as the town of Foxes in 1862. So the story goes, William Fox, John O'Callaghan and a small band of miners had discovered gold in the Arrow River and recovered some 230 lbs of gold before word got out.

When word did eventually get out, thousands of miners came into the district and resulted in the formation of settlements adjacent to the gold diggings. In it’s hey day, the population of Arrowtown was over 7,000 people.

The main street, Buckingham Street has some of its stone buildings date back to 1862 and 1863, which was only months after the beginning of the rush. This makes Arrowtown so nice given the excellent state of these old buildings.

Avenue of Sycamores and Oaks

Since the gloss went out of the gold rush in the early part of the 20th century, Arrowtown has continued on as a small satellite town to Queenstown and as a base for agriculture in this part of the basin. Strict preservation orders protect the originality of the town's historic buildings, and the Lakes District Museum has many displays of the pioneering past of the district.

The main Avenue of Sycamores and Oaks was planted in 1867 and to this day is a feature of Arrowtown.

There are two world class golf courses nearby (Millbrook and The Hills) and skiing options.

The Stables

The Lakes Distict Museum is a great place to catch up on the town's extensive history. The original part of the building was built in 1875 as the Bank of New Zealand. This was donated to the Museum in 1955 and has been added to in various stages since.
The Stone Cottage was built around 1870 for a mining agent. Since then has been used by a dressmaker, bank and lawyer's office. The Stone Cottage today is a tearoom.
Arrowtown Jail was built in 1876 in the Police Compound to replace the old log jail which had been used since 1863. You can still visit the jail by obtaining the key from the Museum.
Stables Restaurant the building was built in the 1860's and is a good example of local rock building with small windows and thick walls. Originally the Stables were used for horses of guests staying at the New Orleans Hotel.
The Arrow River if you are keen you can still hire a gold pans and see if you are lucky. The Arrow River is also a popular fishing spot. Fishing licenses can be obtained the Museum.
The Chinese Settlement was built by the Chinese miners from 1868. The Settlement includes Ah Lum's Store and outhouse, which operated until 1972. Much of the Settlement was unearthed in 1983 and some parts recreated.