About Arrowtown

Location

Surrounded by mountains, Arrowtown is situated close to the western bank of the Arrow River in an area of small hills and flats.

Arrowtown is 21 kilometres north-east of Queenstown and is reached by a side road turning off the Queenstown-Cromwell highway near Lake Hayes.

History

The town is believed to have been founded in 1862, when a rush to the district followed a rich gold strike by a prospector, William Fox. It is said that within a few weeks the first parties had taken 200 lb of gold out of the Arrow Gorge.

The mining settlement became known as Fox's, but soon afterwards was changed to Arrowtown after the nearby river (named the Arrow because its point of junction with Bush Creek resembled the outline of an arrowhead).

Wheat and other cereals were grown on the terraces and flats of the Arrow River delta and a flourmill worked at Arrowtown for a number of years. With the exhaustion of gold the settlement declined. Arrowtown was constituted a borough in 1867. (http://www.teara.govt.nz/).


          
Arrowtown has more recently drawn worldwide attention for its idyllic appearance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Population