Cromwell, New Zealand

Cromwell is located on the South Island of New Zealand, a 3,585 inhabitants, on the estuary of the Kawarau River into the Clutha River and in the Otago region.

Geography

Cromwell is located directly between the Dunstan Mountains to the east and the Pisa Range to the west below the Lake Dunstan, which was flooded after the completion of the Clyde Dam in 1992. The city also lies between two highways, State Highway 6 (Wanaka - Queenstown ) and State Highway 8 (Alexandra - Lake Pukaki ), which undergo a connection via Highway 8B within the city. The city is assigned to the Central Otago District.

History

Long before the first Europeans entered the country, the Clutha River was used by Māori as a transport route. They hunted the Moa and built Greenstone (Jade ) on the west coast from. On their way to their settlements to the east, took advantage of the the area around Cromwell around the camp.

Among the Europeans who invaded in 1857 as a squatter in the valley of the Clutha River and took possession of the land, the site of present-day Cromwell was originally known as The Junction, as he lay at the confluence of rivers second. It was the Chief Surveyor and Engineer of the Province of Otago, John Turnbull Thomson (1821-1884), of The Junction decreed a new name, as well as many other places in Otago. He made it even linguistic borrowings from the English Civil War (1642-1649) and as the founder of the English Republic, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), immortalized in the name of this place.

As part of the Otago Gold Rush ( 1861-1863 ), the two Canadians Hartley and Reilly came, and came in the Clutha River in July 1862 gold. The end of August feverishly around 2,000 gold seekers of the coveted metal. However, quartz has been found and removed. Here Thomas Logan (1836-1897) is often called, who sought his company Cromwell Quartz Mining Company for quartz and in a short time was 238 ounces of gold, became wealthy and the gold addiction further boosted. When the gold rush passed, the inhabitants concentrated on to farm the fertile land. As of 1870, the horticulture was developed, which consisted of the cultivation of wine and fruit mainly. 1878 400 remaining inhabitants were counted.

From 1917 to 1921, the railway line, the Otago Central Railway was completed, the Cromwell now directly to Dunedin, the capital of Otago, union and among others a faster access to the sea via the Port Chalmers enabled.

As with the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, the unemployment threatening rise in New Zealand, the government sent unemployed men with pick, shovel, pan, and tent to give in the former gold fields around them with gold looking for an employment. The pay was more than bad and the hopeless work hard so that the population of Cromwell man partially helped with lodging and meals over the bad period of time.

In 1948, started with the investigations, to build a dam for damming of the Clutha River. With the construction of the Clyde Dam in 1977 the rail link between Clyde and Cromwell had set and parts of the city to be relocated to higher areas. So parts of the historic city were flooded and the city modernized with significant Neuzubau. With three -year delay, due to stabilization work on the dam, Lake Dunstan in 1992 was flooded over 18 months now and had so that the image and character of the landscape changed dramatically.

Today

The city and region lives from agriculture, the culture of wine growing and especially fruit growing, which prompted the advertising experts to the city, to praise the city as the "fruit bowl of the South". In addition to the services business, the tourism sector is also into an important industry for the region. However, the economic success and growth in the region is also reflected in the population growth, which was between 2001, with 2,667 inhabitants, and 2006, with 3,585 inhabitants, at 34.4%.

Cromwell has successfully reduced in recent years its image as a city of the dam and placed on tourism. The Clyde Dam, built to generate electricity, as the third largest dam in New Zealand and an output of 400 megawatts remains nevertheless remains a determining factor for the city.

Nature and Landscape

As almost everywhere in the Otago tussock grass dominate the landscape. In the lower regions of the mountain slopes, the tea trees are Manuka ( Leptospermum scoparium ) and Kanuka ( Leptospermum ericoides ) to find, as well as the thorny Matagouri ( Discaria toumatou ), also called Wild Irishman. In the river valleys bloom over the spring and intermittently dry and very warm across numerous wildflowers. The purple thyme and the blue colored Common bugloss ( Echium vulgare) set widely recognizable color in the landscape.

In the animal world, especially the endemic, occurring only in the area around Cromwell beetle Prodontria lewisi ( " Cromwell Chafer " ) stunned the experts and was 1986-1997 subject of an investigation by the Ministry of Nature Protection.

Attractions

  • Bannockburn Bridge, one built from the remains of the pillars of the original suspension bridge construction
  • Bannockburn, remnants of a historic gold rush town
  • Bannockburn Hotel, an old pub
  • The Bannockburn Sluicings, a hiking trail through the embossed from Gold Mining Landscape
  • Bendigo Goldfields, historic gold fields with remnants of the old gold mining sites, Bendigo, Logan Town and Welsh Town with old stone houses
  • Carrick Gold Fields, ruins of the old gold mining town of Carrick Town
  • Quartz Ville is a 4 km distant old mining area
  • Young Australian, a 7 km distant large overshot water
  • Cromwell Gorge, the Gorge de Clutha River from Cromwell to Alexandra
  • Goldfields Mining Centre, a concentrated on the gold mining Touristmuszentrum
  • Old Cromwell Town, the old part of town with some restored old buildings

See also List of monuments in Cromwell.

Swell

  • Cromwell and District - A Historical Guide, Cromwell & Districts Promotion Group, Cromwell, 1993.
  • The Cromwell Gorge - An Historical Guide, Cromwell & Districts Promotion Group, Cromwell, 1994.
  • Noel Kennedy, Ron Murray, Early Pioneers in the Cromwell Area, 1863-1880, Cromwell & District Historical Society, 2nd Edition, 2004. ISBN 0-473-06149- X
  • Robert Gilkison, Early Days in Central Otago, Whitculls Publishers, Christchurch, 1930, 4th edition 1978. ISBN 0 - 7233-0551 -X
  • New Zealand Encyclopedia, David Bateman Ltd. , Auckland, 5th Edition, 2000. ISBN 0-90861-021-1
  • An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966 AH McLintock (ed.)
List of towns in New Zealand Districts of New Zealand New Zealand State Highway 6 New Zealand State Highway 8 Alexandra, New Zealand Pounamu Great Depression in the United States Clyde, New Zealand Service (economics) Kunzea ericoides
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