Treasured past

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 26

Treasured past

The 40km round trip from Queenstown to Ahrowtown through Arthur’s Point and back past Lakes Hayes is a pleasant way of filling in an afternoon. Buses leave the H and H Depot daily at 2 p.m. and allow ample time 1 to explore , this picturesque former gold-mining *yik lage. , • . It was .established short-, ly after William Fox discovered gold in the Arrow River in .1862. The river soon became famous as one of the richest alluvial goldfields in the world. Today much of the charm of Arrowtown lies in its beautifully preserved old buildings of' wood and stone. Schist

rock was one of the few locally available building materials and several fine examples including the Masonic Lodge, the museum. and the council chambers > are still stnading after 100 years. The old stone jail, which was built in 1875, is a grim reminder that gold brought not onlyhonest diggers to the settlement but also rogues, robbers, bush-rangers and murderers. In his excellent booklet of sketches of old Arrpwtown' buildings, the local artist David John notes that anyone caught breaking the law' before the first jail was built in 1865 was simply shackled to a log.

This apparently did not stop one captive who strode into town with the log under his arm and ordered a beer. Visitors should not miss the opportunity of browsing through the Lakes District Museum which is housed in a building erected for the Bank of New Zealand in 1875. The museum’s well-presented displays cover not only local subjecgs but also the history of the entire Lakes district. Many ou the cottages that stand flush with the footpath along the “Avenue of Trees” (Buckingham Street) were built between 1864 and 1867 and are today a photographer’s delight.