Lumsden - Oreti

Once a vital hub for the Southland network of railways, Lumsden is now crossed by the highways that connect Gore, Te Anau, Queenstown and Invercargill, and remains a farming service town and home to 450 odd souls.

The little town more often goes by it's original name Oreti now, the name thanks to it's location on the side of the braided waterway on it's east and then southbound journey which concludes at the port of Invercargill some 80km away. The turn in the course of the river is the reason the area also has a third name, 'The Elbow.'

Like other Southland towns, Lumsden/Oreti began with a smattering of pre-european history, thanks to the interactions of the Ngai Tahu and Ngati Mamoe on the five rivers plain nearby. Gold and other seekers of European extraction arrived in 1861. A century later New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English was born here. In the 2017 election campaign English recalled swimming in the Oreti river as a child. Despite the national debate about water quality at that time, the Oreti remains eminently fishable, with large salmon pulled out by anglers.

For visitors, the Lumsden Heritage Trust have preserved here a steam engine, two shunters and a couple of carriages.

Image Credits; Lumsden and Lumsden Memorial Hall Derek Smith and Maclean Barker Photographers