Photographic prints and image files of the Dunstan Region, Otago, NZ

​Dunstan Region, Central Otago, New Zealand. This gallery includes images from St Bathans, Matakanui, Ophir, Clyde and Tarris.


St Bathans.
St Bathans "lies at the foot of the Maniototo and Dunstan ranges, connected by Mount St. Bathans, which rises to a height of 6,600 feet. It was formerly known as Dunstan Creek, but was re-named by the Otago Lands Department after St. Bathans, in the Island of Iona, in Scotland, famous in the days of the early Christians. In the spring of 1863 the Provincial Government sent a number of prospectors to St. Bathans, under the charge of Mr. Payman, and from that time the district has been noted as a successful goldfield. Formerly there was a great number of miners on the field, but the claims are now worked on a much larger scale by hydraulic sluicing and elevating. The surrounding country, a series of ranges, is held chiefly in large sheep runs". Source; Cyclopedia of NZ.

White Horse Hotel, Becks, Central Otago.

​Matakanui.
The Newtown Hotel, Matakanui, was "established about 1869, and conducted by Mr. W. Wall from 1895 till the latter half of 1904. It is of wood and stone, and contains ten bedrooms, two sitting-rooms, a dining-room capable of seating twenty persons, and a large billiard-room. The stables have six stalls and three loose boxes". Source; Cyclopedia of NZ. A bizarre court report about a miner's wife who disinterred a baby from the Drybread Cemetery 140 years ago to pass off as her own newborn child is one of the nuggets of information which have emerged during the research for a book about the area's early settlers. Source: Otago Daily Times, Sep, 2010.

​Omakau and Ophir. Central Otago.

Ophir.

Ophir was named by James Macandrew, superintendent of the Otago Provincial Council, in 1872. The name is based on a biblical story, where gold was brought from the Ophir mine to help build King Solomon's temple at Jerusalem. Before that Ophir was called Blacks, named after the station at Ōmakau owned by Charles Black. Today the art deco style hotel in Ophir is still called Blacks. Nowadays the town is known for the original buildings, including the restored Post and Telegraph Office, the 1895 Courthouse, and the 1870s Police Station. The Post Office is a schist and stone masonry structure built in 1886, and registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I Historic Place. Source; Web (edited).

​Clyde, Central Otago.
"Clyde is located  in an area known as The Dunstan named by an English surveyor, John Turnbull Thomson. He was the second white man to enter the region in the spring of 1857. It is believed he used the name Dunstan because the mountains reminded him of his birthplace in England where Dunstan means “a stone on the hill” Thomson was probably inspired by the schist tors dominating the landscape. Originally known as Upper Dunstan, Clyde like many Central Otago towns and settlements owes its existence to gold which was discovered in the region in 1861. Two miners, American-born Horatio Hartley and an Irish immigrant to the United States, Christopher Reilly, tried their luck near the entrance to the gorge where Clyde now lies". Source; Clyde Website.

Otago Central Rail Trail.
The Otago Central Rail Trail is a unique recreational facility, following the former Otago Central Branch Railway for 150 km from Middlemarch to Clyde. It was developed by DOC in partnership with the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust as a recreational facility for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Since the closure of the railway in 1990, more than 60 bridges have been redecked and have had hand rails added to make them safe for trail users. The crushed rock ballast of the railway foundation has also been removed and replaced with gravel to improve the surface. Source; DOC.
Some of the stopovers on the Otago Central Rail Trial are illustrated on this web page. These include Clyde, Omakau and Ophir. Other stopovers are illustrated on our Maniototo web page. These stopovers include the Ida Valley, Oturehua, Wedderburn, Ranfurly and Middlemarch at the other end of the Rail Trail.

Earnscleugh, Butchers Dam, Fruitlands, Mitchells Cottage, Old Man Range.

Butchers Gully, Butchers Dam, Lye Bow.
In 1862, gold was discovered in Butchers Gully (now submerged under Butchers Dam). Water was essential for mining the gold and for survival. European settlers quickly learnt the value of water in the dry Central Otago climate. Butchers dam is itself a legacy to the need for water reserves in an environment that makes water the equivalent of “liquid gold”. A store and butchers shop was set up mid 1865. During 1868, the road between Roxburgh and Alexandra was completed and Butchers Gully Hotel was built. It was later destroyed by fire on 29 January 1886, In May 1890, a replacement hotel was built and successfully managed by a succession of owners, until it was submerged under the Butchers reservoir in 1937. It is said that when the water level is low, the chimneystacks may be seen below the surface. The Last Chance Irrigation Company now owns the dam.
The Chinese influence on Butchers Gully can be seen in the remains of a market garden, orchard, schist rock storeroom and surrounding stacked rock fence. These were the efforts of Lye Bow (Li Bo), a Chinese gentleman, one of the many Chinese miners who came to New Zealand in the early 1860’s. A popular character of this area, his unusual story is told in detail on the Interpretative Loop Track. Source; Department of Conservation. 

Mitchells Cottage.
Mitchells Cottage is an exceptional example of craftsmanship and is is listed as a Category I Historic place. It is one of the best surviving examples of the stonemason's craft in New Zealand. It was built by gold miner, Andrew Mitchell, for his brother John and sister-in-law Jessie. Andrew began the project in 1880 and using local stone built the cottage with stone masonary techniques he had learned from his father at home in the Shetland Islands. Building the cottage became a long-term project. It was finally completed in 1904 and housed John and Jessie's family of 10 children. The cottage stands amongst large schist tors with a fantastic view over Fruitlands Valley. The cottage has five rooms. Additional rooms are situated at the rear of the cottage. Andrew Mitchell planted holly, spruce and other trees that remain today. He has also left another legacy of his remarkable skill - a sundial chipped out of a solid block of schist. Source; Department of Conservation.

Cromwell and Bannockburn.

Tarras, Ardgour and Bendigo.

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DUNSTAN