Photographic prints and image files of Queenstown Lakes District, NZ

Glenorchy, Head of the Lake.
The first European settlers arrived at the Head of the Lake probably in late 1861. They were shepherds working for William Rees who had taken a lease on all the land at the Head of Lake Wakatipu, east of the Dart River. By the mid 1860’s Tourism was becoming established as the early settlers wrote to their families and friends in Europe telling them of the magnificent scenery in their new home. Steamships were soon plying the Lake and by the end of the century there were 5 hotels at the “Head”. Artists, writers and later photographers came to the area to record the majestic scenes and to climb, hunt and fish. Source; Glenorchy Website.  ​The owner of this cottage told me as a child she was raised in Paradise, and this was the family holiday home in Glenorchy. That is a trip of only about 15 kilometers.

Paradise, Mt Alfred, Reece Valley.

Kinloch.
Glenorchy was dependent for nearly a century on the Wakatipu steamer service for its connection with the outside world. Glenorchy was serviced by a flotilla of early steamships and launches, the Ben Lomand, the Jane Williams and the Meteor. By 1912 the SS Earnslaw started, a twin screw steamer with a cruising speed of 13 knots and a capacity for 1035 passengers, 1500 sheep, seventy head of cattle, or 200 bales of wool. She also occasionally carried cars or buses to Glenorchy. The Lady of the Lake took two hours to steam her way to Glenorchy three times a week, dominating the township activities on boat days with unloading passengers, goods and fresh food. She also connected with Kinloch, unloading tourists for the Bryant family to transport to the Routeburn via horse drawn wagon, then Oakland cars and finally a small fleet of Ford buses. Source; Access Glenorchy.  ​My first visit to the Head of the Lake was on the Earnslaw the the late 1950's, travelling return between Queenstown, Glenorchy and Kinloch. Remains of the Kinloch wharf still exist.

The Routeburn Track. Lake Sylvan.
The track is a high mountain traverse of the Ailsa and Humboldt mountains, two ranges wedged between the granite peaks of Fiordland’s Darran Mountains and the crumbling schist ranges of Mount Aspiring National Park. Source; New Zealand Geographic.

Dart River.

Sheelite Mine, Richardson Mountains.

Lake Moke

Queenstown.
William Rees had run sheep in the area for just two years when gold was discovered on the Shotover River in November 1862. A town sprang to life; the site of Rees’s old homestead, the Camp, is in the centre of Queenstown. After gold fever waned, the town declined. Through the first half of the 20th century it had fewer than 1,000 people, with a trickle of summer holidaymakers. In 1981 Queenstown’s resident population was still less than 3,500. Since then, tourist numbers increased rapidly – in winter as well as summer. In 2019 the town had nearly 20,000 permanent residents and 3 million visitors.​During the 1900s the government decided to invest in a new lake steamer to cater for increasing tourist numbers on Central Otago’s Lake Wakatipu. The Dunedin naval architect Hugh McRae provided the design and the tender was given to John McGregor and Co., who had built ferries which plied Otago Harbour. McGregor’s completed the keel in July 1911. Once the framing was completed, shipbuilders dismantled the ship plate by plate. Each part was meticulously numbered and transported by rail to Kingston, at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu, for reassembly. Three months after building began, the Earnslaw was launched in front of a large crowd. The minister of marine, John Millar, captained the steamer on its maiden journey to Queenstown. Source; New Zealand History.  ​The Earnslaw is also known as the Lady of the Lake.

Although Queenstown has come under more pressure from development in recent years, there are pockets, in the township here and there, that feel like Penang or old Malacca. Sometimes, if you are lucky, on a summer night, when looking down from the balcony of an upstairs Korean restaurant, you might espy on old Chinese lady pass by in traditional attire.

Memories of Hong Kong, Beach Street, Rees Street.

Madam Woo, Steamer Wharf, The intersection of Rees Street and Beach Street.

Remarkable Sweet Shop on Beach Street. Earnslaw Park. China Town.

Athol, Garston.

Kingston Flyer. Fairlight. Kingston.
​The Kingston Flyer was introduced in the late 1890s as New Zealand recovered from the Long Depression of the 1880s. In that time slow mixed trains that carried both passengers and freight had served the Kingston Branch and Waimea Plains Railway, daily in some years and only a few times per week in others. However, as the economy was revitalised, the Railways Department sought to increase services on the two lines. The government acquired the Waimea Plains Railway and incorporated it into the national network. The Kingston Branch ran north–south between Invercargill and Kingston, while the Waimea Plains Railway diverged from the branch in Lumsden and ran eastwards, meeting the Main South Line in Gore. Mixed services operated to a higher frequency, and dedicated passenger trains were introduced. These services came to be known as the Kingston Flyer. Source; Web.

Cardrona Hotel, General Merchant, Post and Telegraph.

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QUEENSTOWN LAKES