Early Settlers Made Fortunes from Goldfields

Lake County Mail, Issue 33, 21 January 1948, Page 1

Early Settlers Made Fortunes from Goldfields

To the casual observer who, travels through Central Otago to-day, the tussock plains and rugged hills seem almost uninhabited and useless, but it is nearly 100 years ago since farmers first made their way into the district and to Lake Wakatipu. Since then they have bred some of the country’s best sheep.

Among the problems early settlers had to contend with was the Clutha (Molyneux) River. In getting their sheep and themselves across the river, many settlers suffered hardships and ruinous losses. However, two men, W. G. Rees and Von Tunzelman made their way to Lake Wakatipu and established sheep stations with their Merinos, Even then Merinos were recognised as the best sheep for high country. Rees’s station included within its boundary the land where Queenstown now stands.

In 1861, when gold was discovered in Central Otago, sheep owners were well compensated for the hardships they had endured, for theirs was the job to feed the hungry miners on the goldfields. Business and sympathy were two separate things even in those days and prices for mutton soared to incredible heights. Those who failed in the goldfields often turned to the land and thus began the opening up and exploration of the tussock plains and rugged hills of Central Otago which to-day carry some of the country’s best sheep.