This historic area was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. In November 1862 the first gold discoveries were made at the Shotover River (now Arthur's Point) by Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfern. The two men were employed as shearers by runholder William Gilbert Rees. Rees had settled with his family on the run known as The Camp (on Queenstown Bay) two years earlier. Further discoveries were made along the Shotover during the next year with approximately two thousand prospectors arriving at the property. Initially, Rees supplied them with provisions and transport but as the population swelled and makeshift canvas buildings were erected the whole area was declared a goldfield. A dispute over compensation of his land with the government followed. Rees was finally given £10,000 which did not fully recompense for the loss of his run. By 1863 the town sections had been surveyed and sold and Queenstown was firmly established. It was constituted a borough in 1866. The town's greatest gold year was 1863 and for a many years gold mining was its principal industry. By the end of the 1870's the population had begun to disperse and at the turn of the century the small remaining population had turned to various types of farming. The group of buildings which comprise the historic area range in age from Williams cottage built in 1866, at the time Queenstown was constituted a borough, to the bungalow built in the 1920s. The buildings are representative of a range of activities undertaken in the community during the Victorian/Edwardian eras - domestic life and social activities.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Area
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
7225
Date Entered
3rd March 1995
Date of Effect
3rd March 1995
City/District Council
Queenstown-Lakes District
Region
Otago Region
Extent of List Entry
The area comprises the buildings on Marine Parade: Masonic Lodge, 1920s bungalow, Archers Cottage, Williams Cottage, and McNeill Cottage on Church St.
Legal description
Lot 2 DP 24375, Lot 15 DP 302022, Lot 1 DP 300301, Sec 6 Blk III Town of Queenstown, Sec 5 Blk III Town of Queenstown, and Sec 4 Blk III Town of Queenstown, Otago Land District
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