Our Year 12 Historians headed to Central Otago for a rich learning experience.

The Year 12 History class headed off to Central Otago last Thursday on a mission to investigate the impact that the 1861-5 Gold Rush had on the Otago region. 

The first stop was the Maniototo Early Settlers Museum in Naseby. Then the students investigated the segregation in the Naseby cemetery, which was also represented in the Cromwell cemetery, where we stopped later in the day. After Naseby, we went on to look at the Blue Lake in St Bathans, created from the working conditions of the miners. We finished the day in the Cromwell museum which although is a small museum, is rich with primary and secondary sources. 

Day 2 saw us wake to very thick fog which meant the students could not see the Kawarau Gorge, unfortunately, but the day cleared beautifully in Arrowtown. We had the absolute privilege of working in the Lakes District Museum for the day, under the superb guidance of the Education Officer, Amanda Viana. The students accessed a huge array of primary and secondary sources and a guided tour through the Chinese Village and finished the day with some gold panning in the Arrow River. 

Day 3 meant we drove through patches of thick fog on our way to Lawrence, where we ended our History tour of the region where it all began - in Gabriel’s Gully. 

We would like to thank Ms Williams who gave up her time to join us on this trip.