Alexandra

The swift Clutha river flows through a town surrounded by gaunt hills strewn with rocky outcrops and scented with wild thyme. In 1862 miners began to settle here. A bustling canvas town of several thousand inhabitants boomed for a few years when alluvial gold was easy to find.

By 1866 the population had dwindled to 100 Chinese and 148 Europeans. The Chinese who worked on the alluvial tailings established businesses and owned a billiard saloon, stores and the Royal Mail Hotel. The invention of the first gold dredge here attracted attention worldwide.

Towards the end of the 19th Century, over 30 gold dredges worked in the Alexandra-Clyde area. You can still see the piles of tailings left by the dredging along the river banks.

Orchards flourish on the south-west side of the river at Earnscleugh, and in September, when their trees are in flower, Alexandra hosts aBlossom Festival. The town is an excellent base for exploring the Maniototo; it has excellent mountain-biking trails, good fishing streams close at hand, and plenty of wine tasting.

FULL DAY ROXBURGH GORGE CYCLING TOUR FROM QUEENSTOWN

Central Otago By Rita Angus

Heritage Image Credit: Alexandra, circa 1905, New Zealand, by Muir & Moodie studio. Te Papa