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Otago gold rush
1860s gold rush in Central Otago, New Zealand / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Otago gold rush (often called the Central Otago gold rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria, Australia. The number of miners reached its maximum of 18,000 in February 1864.
![]() Old gold workings, St Bathans, Otago | |
Other names | Central Otago gold rush, Clutha gold rush |
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Centres | Lawrence, on the Tuapeka River; Arrowtown; Kawarau Gorge; Naseby; Dunedin (nearest major port and city) |
Discovery | 20 May 1861, Gabriel's Gully |
Duration | 1861–64 |
Prospectors | 18,000 |
Persons |
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Legacy |
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Current gold extraction | Macraes Mine, East Otago |
The rush started at Gabriel's Gully but spread throughout much of Central Otago, leading to the rapid expansion and commercialisation of the new colonial settlement of Dunedin, which quickly grew to be New Zealand's largest city. Only a few years later, most of the smaller new settlements were deserted, and gold extraction became more long-term, industrialised-mechanical process.