Gold Rush

It’s not that well known that New Zealand had a gold rush in 1860, attracting many of the same men and women who had participated in the California gold rush of 1849 and the Australian gold rush of 1851.

New Zealand discovered gold in central Otago on the South Island, and as we drove through the central Otago valley on our way from Twizel to Queenstown, I marvelled at how alike the landscape was to California’s Gold Country, from the rushing rivers to the semi-arid landscape that was nonetheless full of vineyards and orchards.

The fruit stands were full of just-picked tree fruits: cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apples and apricots—we stopped at one and bought some of each, and all of it was the freshest most delicious fruit you could possibly taste.

Not far from Queenstown was an old gold mining village, Arrowtown, that would not look at all out of place in El Dorado, Amador, or Calaveras counties in California. It resembled so many of the towns I spent time in when I lived in the Sierra Nevada foothills—Angels Camp, Murphys, Moke Hill, Sutter Creek, Placerville and Volcano.

We enjoyed strolling down the main street, lined with cafes and shops (in one of which I bought Tom a slouch hat to protect his English skin from the unrelenting southern hemisphere sun).

But what really made Arrowtown special was the Chinese Settlement trail, which traced the experiences of the thousands of Chinese men who came to mine gold in New Zealand.

Most returned to China after the gold rush petered out in the late 1860s, but a few remained there, setting up market gardens and a couple of stores, one of which operated until its last owner, Ah Lum, died in 1927. Apparently, its demise was much mourned by the people of Arrowtown.

The New Zealand Heritage authorities have done quite a bit of archaeological research in the area and the information boards gave an account of their lives in a foreign and often hostile country.

Several dwellings have been recreated from existing foundations, but Ah Lum’s store was never demolished and it has been preserved as it was 100 years ago.

Although their gold rushes were similar in many ways, nothing like this exists in the California Gold country, which also had a significant Chinese presence. The effort to preserve the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement was one more admirable example of the way in which New Zealand has striven to tell the story of marginalised peoples in a complete, respectful, and honest way.