New Zealand Student Tours

Gold Rush Settlements

Arrowtown Shantytown Kawarau Gorge Queenstown Hokitika ●  Lyell ●  Reefton ●  Ross ●  Murchison ●  Crushing  ●  Kumara

For 20 historic years gold rush settlers lived lives of great hardship some amid harsh desert lands and others in drenching wetlands with impenetrable rainforests to clear. Settlers were lured to New Zealand with the hope of great wealth.  They were pushed from home lands of terrible poverty and squalor.   Hundreds of millions of dollars bought great wealth to thousands while thousands of other miners became destitute.  Accommodation, equipment and food were grossly expensive.   Disease and rivers took many lives. Studies Most of the communities that began with the gold  rushes of the 1860s are still to be found. Some are revitalised and thriving with new incomes; some are declining to shadows of their past and many are just ghost towns.  We explore some of these colourful places and the stories of their past and their positions today. Museums, educational displays and old mining areas all bring those communities and industries back to life for groups exploring the tenacious settlers their lives as well as the science and engineering of their industries. Gold extraction machine Greymouth

 take you there - safely & tailor your experiences to meet your interests.
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