On Thursday 20th May, the Year 12 History class started their History trip at the Hocken Library in Dunedin.

Amanda, the archivist had put together a wide collection of primary and secondary sources, which were organised around the key aspects the girls were researching: Law and Order; Chinese miners; Women and the wider aspects of gold mining life within the Central Otago gold fields.

After two hours of research, it was into the vans to head to Lawrence. A visit into Gabriel’s Gully, resulted in an informative chat with a local man, who not only opened up some of the colonial cottages and historic buildings for the girls to look into , but encouraged us to make a detour into Lawrence’s cemetery to go on a bit of a hunt for two local ‘celebrities’ within the cemetery.

After that detour it was on to another cemetery, this time in Cromwell. Then it was on to our accommodation in Kelvin Heights. We started Friday in the pouring rain, and headed to the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown where the girls were under the excellent guidance of Amanda, the Education Officer, who not only provided a wealth of resources but also encouraged girls to handle and research a wide range of primary artefacts.

Saturday was a very cold morning and we all struggled in the freezing fog in Cromwell, but by the time we arrived in St. Bathans the sun was out and it was time to gather more images of the historic buildings and sites. After a quick lunch, it was on to our final stop of the trip – Naseby. Another informative stop at yet another cemetery and then we were on our way home. A huge thank you to Mrs. Wright who accompanied us on this trip.