I've sort of lost track but one day we drove to Arrowtown which is only 20 or so km from Queenstown. This is an old gold rush town turned tourism spot.
The gold rush was in 1862. It attracted people from all over the world. Arrowtown was home to a large number of Chinese miners who came, in many cases, out of desperation to improve on a tough life in China. They weren't particularly well received in New Zealand. There was a large settlement of Chinese in Arrowtown. These first two pictures are of rebuilt houses that are typical of the their housing.
This is the Chinese general store that operated for many years.
To learn more click on this link and scroll down. Chinese in New Zealand
There is a nice museum in Arrowtown that chronicles late 19th and early 20th century life in the area.
Margot thought the sewing machine on the left in the background is the same model as the one she acquired from the Pope Home in Ottawa, IL.
A blacksmith display.
This is a gold scale used by the bank to weigh the gold brought in by the miners.
The town is pretty small - there are just a couple of streets in the commercial area. This is a small park on the main street.
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